Direct Assistance for Dads (DAD) Project
About |
Meaningful father involvement is crucial for children. Children with involved fathers have higher levels of social skills, fewer behavioral problems, and do better in school. In contrast, children whose fathers are not involved are five times more likely to live below the Federal Poverty Level, and have a doubled risk of not finishing school. Father involvement positively correlates with children’s secure attachment, social and emotional development, cognitive development, and quality of life, including health and socioeconomic level. Fathers’ positive influences in their child’s early years also improve children’s odds against later incarceration, teen pregnancy, low educational attainment, crime, and substance abuse. Father involvement also correlates with reduced stress and depression in mothers, and is a protective factor against child abuse and neglect.
The Direct Assistance for Dads (DAD) Project at the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) aims to meaningfully engage expectant and parenting fathers via the existing Empowering Families of Milwaukee (EFM) and Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) home visitation programs, strengthening father involvement in their child(ren)’s and partners’ lives, and ultimately strengthening African American families and communities. |
Aims |
Objective 1: Develop, implement, and evaluate a fatherhood-focused home visitation program, the DAD Project, in the targeted community.
Objective 2: Integrate the work of the DAD Project into existing fatherhood resources and networks. Objective 3: Conduct outreach, recruit, and enroll expectant and parenting fathers in the targeted community. Objective 4: Meet the identified needs of fathers enrolled in the DAD Project. Objective 5: Increase the involvement of DAD Project participants in their child(ren)’s and partner’s lives |
Expected Outcomes |
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Partners |
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Team |
Kaija Zusevics, PhD, UW-Milwaukee
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