The early childhood development approach seems simple – when a member of the family is absent, children miss out on key development milestones. Yet at the Fatherhood Solution Conference held by Children’s Institute’s Project Fatherhood last week, childhood experts gathered for the 12^th year to discuss how fatherhood involvement could be increased across their field. As the point was brought up frequently throughout the day, fathers have long been undervalued by public and private institutions tasked with caring for at-risk families.

The conference, which was held inside the Westin Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport, brought together over 400 professionals that ranged from LA County Department of Children and Family Services staff to leaders and program participants in father-specific services. Keynote speakers included DCFS Deputy Director Angel Parks-Pyles, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work Assistant Professor Dr. Tova Walsh, and Los Angeles City Council President Herb J. Wesson. 

Dr. Walsh, who has spent more than a decade researching fathers and their impact on children, said many systems that support at-risk families have made it difficult for dads to stay involved. Whether during custody decisions or family therapy sessions, it is not uncommon for fathers to feel left out.

“We know that when fathers are included in positive ways, they will be associated with better outcomes in multiple areas,” Dr. Walsh said. “We need to support fathers and create programs that are thoughtfully designed with fathers at the center of them.”

Nationally, 17.8 million children, or roughly one in four kids, live without their dads. During her presentation, Dr. Walsh explained that when fathers are involved, children develop better socially, emotionally and mentally. Through high school, children with present fathers have better outcomes in school and lower rates of teen pregnancies.

Parks-Pyles, who spoke on behalf of DCFS director Bobby Cagle, highlighted many ways the department has partnered with Project Fatherhood to correct some of the gaps. This included specialized trainings with staff along with cofounding the Los Angeles Fatherhood Network, a collaboration that interfaces with 60-plus organizations to address barriers for father involvement. The broader partnership model between Project Fatherhood and DCFS is something Parks-Pyles noted is being replicated on a national level by other public child welfare agencies.

We need to support fathers and create programs that are thoughtfully designed with fathers at the center of them.

Tova Walsh, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work Assistant Professor

“Through training, every new social worker must be proficient with father engagement,” she said. “To date, Project Fatherhood, in partnership with our training division, has trained over 300 new hires.”

Keith Parker, Director of Project Fatherhood, has led the program since November 2018 and believes there is an immediate need to address the challenges fathers face. “The fatherhood conference is an opportunity to engage stakeholders across the fatherhood field and to recognize our work with fathers from all walks of life by sending one clear message that fatherhood involvement is shaping the next generation,” he said.

This year the conference honored 16 Project Fatherhood participants by inducting them into the Fatherhood Hall of Fame.  Dr. Edward Berumen, Program Supervisor with Project Fatherhood, said the Hall of Fame recognizes fathers for their long-term participation in the program. To be eligible, fathers had to be currently active in Project Fatherhood and completed 100 group sessions over three years.

“We’re hoping as we move forward that more fathers will want to join,” Dr. Berumen said. “It’s been rewarding to see all of the hard work these men have done together.”

Hall of Famer Jaime, who has participated in Project Fatherhood for eight years, said many of the dads in the program never knew their own fathers. He said the program addressed the challenges they faced in their own childhoods to make them stronger parents. The award was an acknowledgement of just how far they had come.

“To be able to help our kids, we fathers need to be helped first,” he said.

Another Hall of Fame inductee, Evan, has been part of the program for six years and currently serves as a facilitator for weekly group discussions with dads. He said many of the fathers enter the program having lost custody of their kids and feel isolated and alone. The Hall of Fame represents the transformation that happens when dads receive the right support.

The fatherhood conference is an opportunity to engage stakeholders across the fatherhood field and to recognize our work with fathers from all walks of life by sending one clear message that fatherhood involvement is shaping the next generation.

Keith Parker, Project Fatherhood Director

“It’s seeing guys come in broken and watching them create a bond with one another to become better dads,” he said. “There is no amount of money in the world that can beat the joy of watching this process up close.”

Wesson said that being a father is vastly more important than being Speaker of the Assembly or City Council President.  As an African-American, he described the challenges of raising a son in a world where young men of color are frequently targeted by the police.  He also talked about Camp Wesson, which takes 150 kids camping each summer. 

“The most important thing to a child is to know you love them and approve of them,” he said.

Learn more about Project Fatherhood here.

When McGyver first became a father 10 years ago, he wanted a different relationship with his children than he experienced with his own dad. McGyver believes his dad was a good person, but lacked the ability to have an intimate relationship with his kids. He grew up feeling something was always missing.

Now a father of four living in South Los Angeles, McGyver is preparing for his 10^th Father’s Day as a parent. The holiday is an opportunity to reflect on what he has accomplished as a dad and how he has worked to be a constant presence in the lives of his kids. This has meant blocking out weekends for uninterrupted family time and fully embracing whatever activities his kids find interesting.

His focus on being a more involved father is what led McGyver originally to sign-up for Children’s Institute’s Project Fatherhood. McGyver, whose youngest son and daughter are enrolled in CII’s Head Start programs, learned about Project Fatherhood a few months ago while attending a health fair and felt the program resonated with his own beliefs about being a dad.

“What fatherhood really means is being there to grow up alongside my kids,” he says. “I’ve wanted to be heavily involved in their lives from the get go and have them know that their dad is always behind them.”

This Father’s Day will mark Project Fatherhood’s 23^rd year supporting dads in their approach to parenting. The program works with a range of dads – those, like McGyver, who seek out the program voluntarily, as well as fathers who are court-mandated to join due to claims of abuse or neglect in the home. Regardless of how men get there, Project Fatherhood staff promote a culture where dads are active participants in their family and serve as a constant support to their kids.

Project Fatherhood fills a crucial gap. Nationally, 19.7 million children, or roughly one in four, live without a father, and few programs exist that focus on the needs of parenting men.  Program Director Keith Parker says it’s important to understand that the role of father is not optional in families, observing that, “Father’s Day honors the essential role of fathers in their children’s lives.”

Dr. Hershel K. Swinger founded Project Fatherhood at CII in 1996 after observing the stigma around fatherhood in South LA that limited the involvement of dads in their children’s lives. Some fathers grew up with dads who practiced “tough love” – a way of parenting that often included physical or mental abuse – while others had no contact with their fathers.

What fatherhood really means is being there to grow up alongside my kids. I’ve wanted to be heavily involved in their lives from the get go and have them know that their dad is always behind them.

McGyver, CII Parent

Over the last 23 years, the program has reached more than 15,000 dads who have parented 23,000 children. The program fostered a successful partnership model with the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services that is being replicated on a national level.

Dr. Edward Berumen, Program Supervisor for Project Fatherhood, said Dr. Swinger was a visionary in understanding that investing in fathers could improve the abilities of families to overcome the challenges of poverty in South LA.

According to the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, when fathers are involved during pregnancy, mothers have fewer complications. Throughout infancy and early childhood, a present and engaged father can make a major difference in a child’s social, emotional and mental development, and children with involved fathers have better outcomes in school and reduced risks of teen pregnancies.

“If you want to improve outcomes for children, you need to involve fathers,” Berumen says. “We need programs like Project Fatherhood that strengthen father involvement for the benefit of the whole family.”

Dr. Berumen said a Project Fatherhood’s success is due to networks of support among dads who gather in weekly group discussions to share their experiences and offer suggestions and support. Dr. Berumen and other Project Fatherhood staff facilitate these discussions, but let the fathers lead.

“Fathers walk away learning from people who have gone through similar experiences,” he says. “They go home and use what they’ve learned to improve their relationship with their own families.”

Johnnie has been going to the Project Fatherhood group discussions for three years and said they have transformed the way he parents his 4-year old daughter. Johnnie said many of the dads in his group grew up with absent or abusive fathers and find the groups to be a safe space where they feel comfortable talking about their histories of trauma.

If you want to improve outcomes for children, you need to involve fathers. We need programs like Project Fatherhood that strengthen father involvement for the benefit of the whole family.

Dr. Edward Berumen, Project Fatherhood Program Supervisor

“I didn’t grow up with a father, so I’m trying to be the example that I never had when I was a child,” Johnnie says. “I had challenges early on, but now I live for being a father.”

Project Fatherhood staff say many of the dads decide to stay in the group well after their children grow up, because they enjoy the bonds they’ve formed with other fathers and want to be mentors to new dads. One father has been involved in the groups for 19 years.

Michael, who has been a part of Project Fatherhood for several years, said he doesn’t know if he will still be attending the groups in 15 years, but does appreciates how the group helped him realize that good parenting never ends and there are always opportunities to make small tweaks. He said he wants to give that back to other fathers. “Because of Project Fatherhood, I am constantly learning about being a good father and learning different ways to improve myself,” he says.

McGyver said he carries a similar sentiment as he gets ready to join Project Fatherhood. Whether it is his first Father’s Day or his 20th, growing as a father is something that never ends.

“I’ve learned that having kids is not the same as being a father,” he said. “It takes a lot of work, but it is humbling to look at my kids and be amazed by them every single day.”  

While summer vacation has just started for kids across Los Angeles, Children’s Institute’s early childhood educators are making sure their students don’t miss out on learning opportunities during the long break. Though Summer Slide sounds like a thrilling amusement park attraction, the term refers to the decline in reading and other academic skills that occurs when school is not in session – particularly for low income students.  

Unlike more affluent children who participate in camps and other enrichment activities, many children served by CII spend their summer indoors, watching TV or playing video games.  By the time they return to school in the fall, they’ve fallen behind, exacerbating the achievement gap, and may spend months catching up to their peers.  

But there are opportunities everywhere for children to learn throughout vacation.  Dalila Rodriguez, Director of Early Childhood Education at Children’s Institute, says learning during the summer isn’t a luxury only wealthy families can afford. A number of free community resources make it easier for low income children to keep up with their peers over the summer months, and there are many activities parents can do with their kids to spark learning.

Many of CII’s Early Childhood Education programs avoid the Summer Slide altogether.  Some centers close for only two weeks, minimizing out of school time and allowing parents to maintain their regular work schedules. At centers that follow a traditional school schedule, CII’s monthly parent groups continue during the summer months even when the centers are closed. This way families can share strategies for keeping children engaged and access free community resources and tips to keep their children learning.

Daniela Troya, Senior Early Childhood Services Manager, says CII teachers use summer to reinforce that parents should always be active participants in their child’s education. While children are vulnerable to falling behind during school breaks, parents involved in learning year-round help create better academic outcomes for their kids.

“Families are lifelong teachers and we want to promote that,” Rodriguez says. “Summer is a really good time to remind parents about how important it is to spend time with their kids and help with the learning process.”

Here are some helpful tips CII recommends to ensure students continue to learn outside of the classroom.

Sean Anders, the writer and director of last year’s hit film Instant Family, addressed an audience of high school seniors dressed in matching maroon gowns at Children’s Institute’s third annual Dream BIG Graduation last Friday. At the end of each school year, graduation scenes like this play out across Los Angeles, celebrating young people marking this important milestone on the path to adulthood. What’s different about the group listening to Anders is that every single graduate was earning their diploma while in foster care.

Anders, who created Instant Family after he and his wife Elizabeth adopted three siblings from the foster care system, understands the challenges and remarkable achievement of the 107 graduates. Nationally, youth growing up in foster care are three times likelier than their peers to drop out of high school, fewer than 13 percent will attend college and only 3 percent will earn a college degree. By contrast, every student participating in the 2019 Dream BIG Graduation was heading off to college in the fall.

“The truth is you have a lot of mountains ahead of you to climb, but you have already climbed incredible mountains to be where you are today,” Anders said. “You have already proven so much.”

This year’s Dream Big Graduation was full of such affirmations from foster youth advocates like Jessica Chandler, an LA County social worker and former foster youth who was recently featured in the HBO documentary Foster, joined Anders in celebrating the Dream BIG Graduates. Other speakers included former foster youth Sandra, currently a student at Pasadena City College, and Candi Marie and Maraide Green who worked with Anders on Instant Family.

At the end of the ceremony CII’s Board Chair Paul Kanin presented the graduates with a fully loaded dorm kit to ensure the students begin their college journey in style. The rolling suitcases filled with bedding and other supplies were provided by Random Act Funding, founded by Susan and Robert Downey Jr, and CII’s support group The CHIPS, who also sponsored the event. The evening concluded with a celebratory BBQ dinner catered by Donny Joubert of the Watts Gang Task Force.

I hope you all will come back here and have the opportunity to show people what you are capable of.

Jessica Chandler, DCFS Social Worker and Foster Youth Advocate

Each graduate at Dream BIG participates in CII’s Individualized Transition Skills Program (ITSP)which supports academic and professional success for teens and young adults who are aging out of foster care.

Due to instability and a lack of support, youth aging out of foster care are far likelier to be chronically unemployed with almost 40 percent experiencing homelessness within 18 months of leaving the system. Yet this year’s Dream BIG Graduation boasted a 94 percent graduation rate for youth in CII’s program. Each plan to attend a variety of colleges and universities next fall that include UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley.

ITSP Supervisor Julio Cruz said the Dream BIG Graduation serves as a reminder that youth in foster care can accomplish their goals when they receive proper support and guidance. Cruz said youth often fall behind academically in the foster care system because they move homes and schools frequently. It’s not uncommon for a foster youth to move between four different schools in a single year, which sets them up for failure. For those who do graduate high school without the support of ITSP, they receive little guidance on navigating the complexities of the college admission process or accessing financial aid.

When youth enter ITSP, they are behind in school and usually at risk of dropping out. They are assigned a counselor who serves as their personal advocate, partners with DCFS social workers to limit moves between schools and foster homes, and works with school officials to make sure all previous academic credits are counted. Counselors provide individualized support such as helping youth get a driver’s license or reviewing transcripts to determine the right course selection to graduate. As the youth get closers to finishing high school, ITSP counselors guide them through the process of college applications, financial aid and freshman housing.

The truth is you have a lot of mountains ahead of you to climb, but you have already climbed incredible mountains to be where you are today. You have already proven so much.

Sean Anders, Creator of the 2018 film Instant Family

Broadly, Cruz said the program emphasizes a culture where graduating high school and attending college is seen as achievable. He said the Dream BIG Graduation is the perfect example of this culture where younger youth in the program attend and see how many kids in the 2019 class were able to do it.

“We help show them that being a high school graduate and attending college is possible,” Cruz said. “We take them on college tours and have current students meet with older youth who have graduated.”

Sandra, a sophomore at Pasadena City College and 2017 Dream BIG Graduation alumnus, spoke at this year’s ceremony and credited ITSP for where she is today. She was on the verge of dropping out of high school after entering foster care mid-way through her sophomore year. At the time, Sandra said she felt isolated and alone before her ITSP counselor helped turn things around.

“I didn’t have anyone to help me with applying to school or jobs,” she said. “I would never have got this far without CII’s program.”

Jada, a 2019 Dream BIG graduate attending USC next year, said she was proud of her own accomplishments, but more importantly saw her experience as an opportunity to inspire others. USC ranks as the 22nd best undergraduate university in the country according to US News Best College Rankings. Jada said foster youth have a tendency to put a ceiling on their own potential when in fact they have the ability to accomplish a lot.

“It’s always a constant battle with ourselves,” she said. “It can be hard to cope with what we’ve experienced, but one of our major focuses should be on attending college and building our own personal support systems where we can succeed.”

It can be hard to cope with what we’ve experienced, but one of our major focuses should be on attending college and building our own personal support systems where we can succeed.

Jada, 2019 Dream BIG Graduate attending USC in the fall

Many of the youth participating in this year’s Dream BIG Graduation were first generation graduates in their own families. With the average college graduate expected to earn an average salary of $44,000 (compared to $25,000 for those without a high school diploma), Jada said it has never been more important to hold a college degree as a way of breaking the cycle of generational poverty. She said college isn’t only a pathway to higher earnings but it also offers foster youth a chance to enrich their lives by discovering what they are passionate about both academically and professionally.

Jessica Chandler, the social worker for the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services who was featured in the HBO documentary Foster, spoke to the graduates about her own doubts earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work after she grew up in foster care. Chandler told them that they have the ability to earn degrees and be successful regardless of the path they took to get there.

“It doesn’t matter what you had to overcome or how close you were to not being here today, because you all made it,” she said. “I hope you all will come back here and have the opportunity to show people what you are capable of.”

Nathan, a 2019 Dream BIG graduate attending El Camino College this fall was ready to get started on his own college career and eventually earn a degree, but said being able to rely on ITSP will make a huge difference during his freshman year. While he has appreciated the extra guidance on applying to things like financial aid, he said having people he can call regardless of what is happening in his life will be the most important resource.

“It’s nice to have someone I can rely on whenever questions comes up,” he said. “And I know they will be checking in to make sure I’m not slacking, because everyone needs someone to keep you on track.”