Fathers are Essential to Children’s Well-Being

Through virtual skills-building workshops and parent support groups, we help fathers build and nurture connections with each other, with mothers, and with other father figures and caregivers. All parent support staff are certified by the National Family Support Network. Each group of stakeholders meets six times per year to align community leaders and organizations around the importance of fatherhood in evolving and healing families. In total, 88 partners are engaged in coalition work.

The Advancing Fathers program has a two-fold emphasis. First, to provide direct services to fathers and mothers to support and improve father involvement in the family. Secondly, to promote community awareness about the importance of fatherhood through our community Fatherhood Coalitions. Fatherhood coalitions are a powerful catalyst for connecting fathers to community programs. 

We help fathers increase their parenting skills and build and nurture connections with each other, with the mothers of their children, and with their children. Our skills-building workshops and parent support groups are available locally and virtually, making it possible for anyone throughout Illinois to join. Currently, we convene three fatherhood coalitions in Illinois to align community leaders and organizations around local fatherhood resources and the importance of fatherhood in evolving and healing families. Over 100 partners and stakeholders are engaged in coalition work. 

Who We Serve

We serve fathers and mothers, and other caregivers of children. We serve fathers through fatherhood skills workshops and fathers’ support groups.

We serve mothers through the Build A Winning Team Workshop.

We help community providers through coalition meetings, educational presentations, the creation of community fatherhood asset maps, and fatherhood initiatives and resources for the families they serve.

What We Provide

Community fatherhood alignment and direct services to fathers and mothers around fatherhood issues including:

 

  • Fatherhood skills workshops
  • Build a Winning Team workshops for moms
  • Weekly support groups for dads
  • Dad Talks—brief motivational talks for dads about topics of interest to them on YouTube. 
  • Annual Father’s Day Read Along 
  • Annual father and child fishing events 
  • Father engagement training for community providers and other tools for effective engagement
  • Community-based fatherhood coalitions

Where We Serve

Counties Served:

Cook (Westside Chicago), Winnebago, and McLean

I would say for me it (relationship with my co-parent) did improve, it improved because I improved. Dad

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