The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #61746

Donald McDaniels, BA, Craig Spivey, MSW, Mildred Williamson, PhD, and Jataun Rollins, MSW. Project Brotherhood: Woodlawn Health Center, 6337 S. Woodlawn, Chicago, IL 60637, 312.747.7705, allahonly1@aol.com

Problem: Many fathers are among the regular participants in Project Brotherhood, a comprehensive men's health service program at Woodlawn Health Center which is a public ambulatory health center located in Chicago, Illinois. Over time, we have learned that a disproportionate number of the fathers are non-custodial and often with little involvement in the lives of their children. Some of the men are custodial, with varying degrees of involvement with their children. Action: A six-session parenting course entitled Project Fatherhood was designed and implemented for fathers and expectant fathers participating in the Project Brotherhood program. Several men graduated from the course over a two-year period, yet a comprehensive evaluation plan was not implemented to assess the impact of the course on these initial participants. A new curriculum is now in place for Project Fatherhood. A plan was organized to document the implementation process of the course and measure participant knowledge, attitude and behavioral changes among the men. Conclusion: An analysis will be made of the implementation process of the course, instructor/facilitator strengths, participants' pre/post test responses, along with their satisfaction/evaluation surveys. This analysis will provide 'lessons learned' from the project and demonstrate how improvements will be made in subsequent cycles of the Project Fatherhood course. Plans are to monitor participants longitudinally in assessing the impact of the program in changing behaviors.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• recognize bio-psycho-social characteristics of a cohort of urban black fathers;
• describe perceptions, attitudes and desires of a cohort of urban black fathers;
• identify successful and unsuccessful methods of teaching parenting skills to urban black fathers; and
• understand process and impact evaluation methods of psycho-educational interventions with a cohort of urban black fathers.

Keywords: African American, Caregivers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.