Caring Dads responds to family violence in a new way
FOCUS ON ABUSIVE FATHERS MAKES POSITIVE CHANGE
IN FAMILIES
The Problem
For many years woman abuse staff at Family Service Toronto (FST) have been aware of the parallel abuse of children and lamented the impact without having any real capacity to change it. Last year, in an effort to address this issue, FST offered for the first time a single Caring Dads group; this year the Caring Dads program has increased to two groups.
Caring Dads is a specialized group-based education and counselling program that is designed for abusive and neglectful fathers. It is a model born out of the knowledge that children are often the witnesses of woman abuse and many of these children are themselves abused. Too often in child welfare investigations, the focus on changing the home environment is on the mother, while fathers are generally on the sidelines and remain disengaged.
Current research characterizes this group of men as hostile and highly controlling of both their spouses and children. Caring Dads research shows that about one third of men referred to the program fit this profile. It also found that many men are abusive of their spouse, but not necessarily abusive of their children – rather, these fathers have no real relationship with their children at all. There is another segment of men who have a functional relationship with their spouse, but are abusive or controlling of their children. Many men face additional challenges including alcoholism, substance abuse, high levels of past criminal behaviour and unemployment. There is not one stereotypical man or type of abuse but a range of presentations to address.
The Program
The focus of Caring Dads on changing men’s behaviour signals a paradigm shift in the field of woman abuse response. Current systems of support, including program funding, are built on a model of taking the abusive man out of the equation. But fathers also need supports to change behaviours, especially in situations of blended families in which step-children are even more vulnerable to abusive men.
The most important element that differentiates Caring Dads from many other parenting programs is the aspect of accountability. A primary concern of the program is to protect the safety of the children. If a dad is not doing well in a program, clinical reports are sent to the referral agent, which will likely inform the Children’s Aid Society or courtappointed referral agent’s decision on the reinstatement of a child into the home. At FST, Children’s Aid Society Toronto (CAST) provides extraordinary support in assessing appropriate referrals to the program and support for participants during the 17-week program. This relationship is very important in assessing risk for children and to the motivation and success of the participants.
Caring Dads uses proven, well-researched strategies to help dads engage with their children and move towards child-centred parenting. The program model works on a continuum on which abusive parenting is at one end and child-centred parenting is at the other. The program supports fathers to engage voluntarily to learn how to care appropriately for their child.
Caring Dads at FST is fortunate to have group workers in our Next Steps program who are skilled and familiar with working with men as partner abusers. Initial co-facilitation is provided by Rick Albert and Satha Vivekananthan, who also does the case coordination. 12-15 men commit to this 17-week group program and are expected to contribute, learn from each other and even do homework. Mothers are contacted during the course of the program to track results and flag emerging issues. Satha is encouraged about this clinical shift to supporting abusive or neglectful fathers, as it can be a learned behaviour. She says, “This work is about family. We have to create a healthy generation in the family home and learn for the future.â€
The Outcome
What is exciting about the Caring Dads program is that the evaluation research shows that abusive fathers can change their attitudes from the beginning to the end of the program. Fathers are found to be more engaged as fathers, better able to prioritize their children’s needs, show lower levels of anger and hostility arousal. The data on the program also shows high demand where it exists. There are five Caring Dads programs in Canada and a handful more internationally.
What is the future of the program? FST is attempting to secure funding for a longitudinal research study with a control group to answer definitively the question: does this program prevent child abuse? At this time FST, CAST and Dr. Scott are awaiting word on an application to the National Crime Prevention Centre to support this research. In the meantime the program has been successful in obtaining backto- back annual grant funding from Hedge Fund Cares Canada. This foundation focuses exclusively on support for child abuse prevention and treatment initiatives. FST is grateful that the Hedge Fund Cares grant allows us to deliver a modest level of service and, equally importantly, to develop the working systems to support a much larger volume of service and research.
Want to comment on this article or this issue? Go to Catalyst feedback page or e-mail catalyst@familyservicetoronto.org
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