Family Engagement

Fathers for Life: Strengthening Families and Fatherhood: Children of Fathers in the Criminal Justice System

This resource was developed under an Innovation and Improvement Project grant from the Office of Head Start with the goal to encourage and support positive relationships of families with infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children of incarcerated fathers or fathers on probation or parole. Head Start programs may find this resource useful.

About Fathers for Life

The overarching goal is to strengthen relationships of low-income families with infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children who have an incarcerated father or a father on probation or parole. This project is also known as Fathers for Life.

The project is designed to:

  • Support infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children who have incarcerated fathers or fathers released on probation/parole
  • Provide parenting support to incarcerated fathers and fathers released on probation/parole who have infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children
  • Improve the well-being for enrolled families of infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children whose fathers are incarcerated or released on probation/parole
  • Provide training and resources to teachers and service coordinators (i.e., family advocates or family service workers), and other professionals working with infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children of incarcerated parents and their families

Resources


Professional Development Manual

The Professional Development Manual includes four sessions that are reflective of the training needs that will support staff members who work with families and children of fathers who are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole:

Technical Assistance Manual

The Technical Assistance Manual has a variety of resources for community development, public relations, and implementation. Sample documents are also included:

Interventions Manual

The Interventions Manual includes valuable materials that can be used to support Fathers for Life programs: