Parenting and Employment Support for Fatherhood

Overseen By McKenna C LeClear

Age: 18+

Sex: Male

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Midwest Evaluation & Research

Disqualifiers: Under 18, Not a father, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores whether a specific program can help fathers improve their parenting skills, relationships, and financial stability. Participants will attend workshops on parenting, healthy relationships, and economic stability, along with receiving ongoing job support. Fathers or father figures with children under 24 who live in the San Diego area might be a good fit for this trial. The program under evaluation is the SAY SDDC FIRE Program. As an unphased trial, this study offers a unique opportunity for fathers to enhance their skills and improve family dynamics.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that the SAY SDDC FIRE Program is safe?

Research has shown that the SAY SDDC FIRE Program focuses on parenting, healthy relationships, and financial stability. As it is not a drug or medical treatment, it lacks the same safety data as those treatments. Instead, the program offers educational workshops and support services.

The trial is labeled "Not Applicable" for a phase, indicating the absence of typical safety concerns found in drug trials. Participants engage in organized activities to enhance life skills. These programs are generally safe, with no reports of negative effects, as they emphasize learning and personal growth rather than medical procedures.

In summary, participants in the SAY SDDC FIRE Program can expect a supportive environment that emphasizes education and improvement in various life areas. No known safety risks are associated with joining this program. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the SAY SDDC FIRE Program because it offers a comprehensive approach to supporting fathers through a combination of parenting education, relationship building, and economic stability training. Unlike traditional parenting programs, which may only focus on childcare skills, this program integrates 16 hours of the 24/7 Dads curricula with workshops on healthy relationships and economic stability. Additionally, it provides ongoing job readiness and post-employment support, addressing multiple facets of fatherhood and employment challenges. This holistic approach aims to empower fathers not just in their parenting roles but also in their professional lives, potentially leading to more sustainable and impactful outcomes.

What evidence suggests that the SAY SDDC FIRE Program is effective for improving parenting and employment outcomes?

Research shows that programs like the SAY SDDC FIRE Program, which participants in this trial will receive, help parents make healthier choices and improve family relationships. Studies have found that responsible fatherhood programs enhance communication for dads and reduce conflicts at home. They also improve relationships with partners or co-parents, benefiting children. Participants in similar programs have reported better financial stability and job readiness, positively affecting their families. These programs aim to help fathers build stronger connections with their children and families. ^{6 7 8 9 10}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Matt D Shepherd, PhD

Principal Investigator

Midwest Evaluation & Research

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for adult fathers or father figures living in the San Diego, CA area with a child under 24 years old. It's not open to those who aren't fathers/father figures, live outside of San Diego, have children over 24, or are minors.

Inclusion Criteria

I have a child who is under 24 years old.

I am a father or serve as a father figure.

Reside in the San Diego, CA area

Exclusion Criteria

Reside outside of San Diego, CA area

I am a father with children older than 24.

I am under 18 years old.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Program Enrollment and Core Curriculum

Participants enroll in an eight-week program that includes 16 hours of 24/7 Dads curricula, 4 hours of Healthy Relationships workshops, and 4 hours of Economic Stability workshops.

8 weeks

Weekly sessions

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in parenting, co-parenting, and financial behaviors and attitudes 12 months after program enrollment.

12 months

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• SAY SDDC FIRE Program

Trial Overview The SAY San Diego Dad Corps FIRE program is being evaluated to see if it improves parenting behaviors and attitudes, co-parenting skills, employment status, job readiness, and financial stability after participation.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Primary Services Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Primary services: Participants receive 16 hours of 24/7 Dads curricula, 4 hours of Healthy Relationships workshops, and 4 hours of Economic Stability workshops over the course of 8 weeks. Participants also receive ongoing job readiness support and post-employment support.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Midwest Evaluation & Research

Lead Sponsor

Trials

11

Recruited

11,700+

Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) San Diego Dads Corps

Collaborator

Trials

1

Recruited

1,300+

Published Research Related to This Trial

The fatherhood training program by REACHUP, Inc. showed significant improvements in participants' self-awareness, fathering skills, and relationship skills, with pretest scores averaging 8.90 and posttest scores averaging 16.42 out of 22, indicating a strong positive impact over five years.

Attendance in the program nearly doubled from 55 participants in 2013 to 97 in 2017, highlighting a growing recognition of the importance of male involvement in parenting, with benefits extending to non-biological fathers like grandfathers and uncles.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effectiveness of a 24/7 Dad® Curriculum in Improving Father Involvement: Profiles of Engagement. Wilson, RE., Obure, R., Omokaro, P., et al.[2022]

The 'Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids' (HDHK) program led to significant weight loss in fathers, with an average loss of 3.3 kg compared to a negligible change in the control group, indicating its effectiveness in promoting weight management.

The program also positively impacted various health metrics for fathers, including reductions in waist circumference, BMI, resting heart rate, and improvements in physical activity levels, while also encouraging increased physical activity in their children.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The 'Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids' community randomized controlled trial: a community-based healthy lifestyle program for fathers and their children. Morgan, PJ., Collins, CE., Plotnikoff, RC., et al.[2022]

Despite the increasing need for mental health interventions for children, father engagement in these programs remains low, with 58% of studies reporting engagement rates below 50%.

Effective strategies to engage fathers, such as adapting treatment formats and settings, are rarely implemented, with most interventions still focusing on traditional behavioral parent training without specific adaptations for fathers.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Intervention and Implementation Characteristics to Enhance Father Engagement: A Systematic Review of Parenting Interventions. Gonzalez, JC., Klein, CC., Barnett, ML., et al.[2023]

Paternal involvement in children's lives is linked to better outcomes such as improved cognition, mental health, and lower rates of obesity and asthma, highlighting the importance of engaging fathers in pediatric care.

Despite the benefits, pediatric care often focuses on mothers, neglecting paternal health, which could be improved by innovative strategies like motivational interviewing and mobile technologies to better involve fathers in their children's health.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Promoting Father Involvement for Child and Family Health. Allport, BS., Johnson, S., Aqil, A., et al.[2019]

The 'Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids' program led to significant weight loss in fathers, with an average loss of 7.6 kg over 6 months, compared to no weight change in the control group, indicating its efficacy in promoting weight management.

The program also improved various health metrics in fathers, such as waist circumference, BMI, blood pressure, and physical activity, while positively influencing children's physical activity and dietary habits, highlighting the program's role in fostering healthier family dynamics.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The 'Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids' randomized controlled trial: efficacy of a healthy lifestyle program for overweight fathers and their children. Morgan, PJ., Lubans, DR., Callister, R., et al.[2022]

The TRUE Dads program, which involved 1,042 co-parenting teams in a series of workshops, led to significant improvements in fathers' mental health, communication, and employment status compared to a control group.

The intervention demonstrated that enhancing relationship quality between co-parents and reducing personal distress can positively impact parenting and children's behavior, suggesting that combining fatherhood support with relationship and employment programs may be more effective for low-income families.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

TRUE Dads: The impact of a couples-based fatherhood intervention on family relationships, child outcomes, and economic self-sufficiency. Cowan, PA., Cowan, CP., Gillette, PF.[2022]

The educational program for fathers significantly improved father-infant interaction scores, particularly in caregiving aspects, suggesting that targeted education can enhance parenting skills.

While the program did not show significant changes in infant development knowledge or father-infant attachment, it indicates that hybrid educational approaches can be effective in fostering better interactions between fathers and their infants.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of a hybrid online and offline program for facilitating father-infant interactions in South Korea: a quasi-experimental study. Park, SE., Bang, KS.[2022]

The Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood initiative has successfully provided relationship education and fatherhood programs to over 2 million individuals in the U.S. over the past two decades.

Recent randomized controlled trials conducted as part of this initiative aim to evaluate the effectiveness of these community-based programs, highlighting the integration of program evaluation with family science.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Introduction to special section: Federally funded, community-based healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood program impact studies. Rhoades, GK., Doss, BD., Carlson, RG.[2022]

Community-based programs for low-income fathers often face challenges in achieving high attendance rates, but some programs successfully engage fathers in parenting and economic security classes.

Higher levels of participation (or dosage) in these programs are positively associated with better outcomes for fathers, including increased engagement with children, improved parenting satisfaction, and higher earnings.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Fathers' Dosage in Community-based Programs for Low-income Fathers. Fagan, J., Pearson, J.[2021]

Citations

1. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05244421

SAY San Diego Dad Corps FIRE Program Evaluation | ... Will participants report significantly healthier parenting behavior after completing primary educational services and employment support services? Items ...

2. acf.gov acf.gov/ofa/programs/healthy-marriage-responsible-fatherhood/data-reports

Data & Reports Valuable lessons from the final reports on local evaluations for Responsible Fatherhood (RF) grants include the following: Recruiting fathers to ...

3. srcd.org srcd.org/research/responsible-fatherhood-programs-children-benefit-more-integrated-family-approach

Responsible Fatherhood Programs: Children Benefit from ... Improving communication and reducing conflict are important outcomes for HM programs and have consistently been correlated with father ...

4. acf.gov acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/es_fatherhood_ongoing_research_program_evaluation_efforts_0.pdf

FATHERHOOD Assistance. (OFA), promotes responsible fatherhood by funding programs that support responsible parenting, economic stability, and healthy marriage. "We need ...

5. mdrc.org mdrc.org/work/projects/testing-identified-elements-success-fatherhood-programs-fatherhood-ties-project

The Testing Identified Elements for Success in Fatherhood ... Fatherhood programs are designed to support fathers' connections with their children, improve fathers' relationships with their partners or co-parents, ...

6. miami.gov miami.gov/My-Government/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Apply-for-a-Program-at-Sandra-DeLucca-Developmental-Center-SDDC

Apply for a Program at Sandra DeLucca Developmental ... Educate individuals with disabilities through inclusive access to community-based educational, recreational, leisure, and cultural activities.

7. policy.dcfs.lacounty.gov policy.dcfs.lacounty.gov/Policy?id=5777

Structured Decision Making (SDM) Safety Plans This policy guide provides guidelines for the development, approval, and monitoring of Structured Decision Making (SDM) Safety Plans.

8. dds.ca.gov dds.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NCI_FDLChildFGS3_20190326.pdf

NCI Family/Guardian Survey Regional Center Outcomes This report contains regional center level results from California's statewide National Core Indicators Family/Guardian Survey data.

9. first5alameda.org first5alameda.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/First-5-Data-for-Action-2024.pdf

First 5 Data for Action 2024 In a recent survey of Alameda County parents, children who regularly attended well-child visits had a higher level of kindergarten readiness. Pacific Islander.

10. acf.gov acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/ca-cfsr-r4-swa.pdf

Child and Family Services Reviews Statewide Assessment ... The onsite review includes case record reviews, case-related interviews for the purpose of determining outcome performance, and, as necessary, ...