First Oregon Fatherhood Summit speaks to progress, need for more work to engage fathers

The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) was proud to take part in the first annual Oregon Fatherhood Summit on March 20 at Self Enhancement Inc.'s Tony Hopson Sr. Center for Self Enhancement in North Portland. The summit attracted over 150 people for panel discussions and talks about how programs for children and families can better honor fathers as equal partners with mothers.

Royal Harris, Father Involvement Specialist with Multnomah County's Healthy Birth Initiative, captured that theme in his presentation to the fathers who attended, "You are not an appendage or an afterthought," he said. "You are an integral part of the success of your kids."

ODHS is striving to improve how it includes fathers by having dads with lived experience on the Fathers Advisory Board participate in trainings for new child welfare workers. Advisory board members also advise ODHS on what fathers need and how to better engage with them.

In an afternoon workshop, Fathers Advisory Board member Justin Powers remembered a caseworker who encouraged him to address his substance use disorder and look to his future as a dad. It changed his life.

"When you are shown something different, you can show up differently," Powers said.

Summit host Self Enhancement Inc. (SEI) advocates for fathers in the child welfare system through various programs. SEI runs a 22-week Fatherhood Engagement Program for African American fathers in the community managed by Child Welfare Programs Manager Ja'Nelle Samuels and facilitated by SEI Fatherhood Engagement Coordinator Eric Smith. The program teaches practical life and hands-on parenting skills, as well as workplace readiness and financial literacy.

"When it comes to parenting, dads should never be an afterthought, especially when it comes to the well-being being of a child," Smith said.

SEI facilitated a workshop at the summit focused on culturally specific services for fathers, as well as issues facing fathers such as lack of residential substance use disorder treatment programs.

Other summit topics covered strategies for dads' groups, traditional Indigenous healing practices and maintaining cultural connections for reunification.

Key summit takeaways include:

• Many fathers want to play an active role in parenting but often do not receive the same outreach from child welfare caseworkers as mothers.
• Child welfare caseworkers and others in the system who lead with curiosity can build trust and rapport with fathers who have felt marginalized and judged. These conversations can build collaboration between fathers and caseworkers to meet parenting and custody goals.
• Many barriers have an economic root, such as suspended driver's license due to inability to pay parking tickets.
• Fathers recovering from substance use disorder, and those who have experienced the criminal justice system, are valuable peer mentors for fathers. Peer mentors can build trust by showing fathers they understand their experience.
• Some parts of Oregon's support systems are still not built for dads. For example, in Oregon there are about 375 beds for mothers in recovery who want to keep their kids with them, and 10 beds for fathers.
• Kids benefit from maintaining contact with fathers when they are incarcerated. Fathers need more programs to prepare them to reunite with their children as part of reentry.

The conference closed with a call to action and words of encouragement. Speakers who had navigated challenging times and now help other fathers, shared advice. Closing speaker Dr. Alan-Michael S. Graves, Senior Director of Teaching, Capacity Building and Policy Change with the Good Plus Foundation said, "Don't give up hope. Take ownership. Make everything about your kids." The call to action was to continue improving services for fathers through a new Oregon Fatherhood Coalition announced as the summit closed.

Royal Harris emphasized progress while acknowledging the road ahead. "In Oregon, the good news is we are paying attention. And at the same time, this is just the beginning. There is a lot of work to do."

Watch the Oregon Fatherhood Summit video

About the Oregon Fatherhood Summit

A coalition of community organizations working to empower fathers and families planned and participated in the summit, including Self Enhancement Inc., Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw, Squires, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Dads Helping Dads, Fathers Advisory Board, Healthy Birth Initiatives, Oregon Family Support Network, Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative, Indigenous Unity Our Tool, Morrison Child and Family Services, Oregon Department of Human Services, African Family Holistic Health Organization, and Relief Nursery.