Improving paternal involvement in early childhood home visitation: Program administrator perspectives

Background: County public health departments have rapidly expanded early childhood home visiting programs using federally approved models.  However, existing programs have primarily been targeted to pregnant women, mothers, and children rather than family units.  Little is known about how home visiting programs already using evidence-based program models develop enhancements to these models to engage fathers and increase paternal involvement. 

Methods: Interviews approximately 90-120 minutes in length were conducted with 34 home visiting program administrators in a large Midwestern state. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded thematically, and subjected to content analysis.   

Results: All respondents were familiar with paternal involvement initiatives but few had personal experience with them.  Those that had experience reported that initiatives were typically structured as a dedicated male home visitor who visited homes and/or ran groups with fathers.  Three concerns about paternal initiatives emerged: 1) Male gender was framed as an assumed requirement in staffing to serve fathers but as potentially unfeasible to serve most young mothers and infants.  2) Other program enhancements that focused on the experiences of teen mothers and their own mothers emerged as potential program enhancement rivals or competitors to paternal involvement initiatives; and 3) Existing funding streams for paternal involvement initiatives were perceived as unrealistically restrictive.

Conclusion: Respondents saw paternal involvement initiatives as important for home visitation but expressed concern that formal initiatives could compete against established home visiting programs and other enhancements for staffing and funding.  Administrator perceptions of home visiting staffing and funding stability influence their interest in paternal involvement initiatives.