20th Annual National Conference Planning Session Following
Open Congressional Policy Brief on Family First - New Fatherhood and Foster-Care Legislation
JOIN US or VIDEO CONFERENCE
Friday, July 13, 2018
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FFCA has archived hundreds of policy, research, event, and call to action posts. Call us at +1-424-225-1323 or email alfie@fathersandfamiliescoalition.org
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BECOME AN AFFILIATE OR MEMBER
We started as a vision of different organizations coming together to support each other, create useful services for young parents and ultimately into a global resource. The passion integrated with the commitment to help others working daily for families and children to have a better life has been the sustaining influence of Fathers & Families Coalition of America.
Grow With Us and together let’s support the professional development of others and be champions for healthy families and children. In 2018, we have renewed our Membership component for individuals, parents, veterans, and organizations that will provide significant benefits with FFCA up to 25% discounts on our national conference, regional symposiums, specialty certificate programs, life coach and advanced practitioner credential.
We also have added new partnerships and more coming this summer! Artest Design Group rebranded Fathers and Families Coalition of America and is providing all of the Members of FFCA a 20% discount on all of their services. Artest Design Group owned by David Gutierrez created a new website for our Fatherhood Life Coach Certification Program. Fathers and Families Coalition of America conference attendees in February 2018 for just attending and opting into our monthly text connect system won a free website that is amazing and this is a website. Artest Design Group also supported a Fathers and Families Coalition of America California-based affiliate with a new site to meet the cutting-edge needs for their mentoring program. FFCA wanted to add unique benefits beyond professional development and training and with Artest Design Group and an active Membership or Affiliate individuals and organizations interest.
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VIRTUAL - FFCA LIVE ADVANCED PRACTITIONER CREDENTIAL
JOIN THE JUNE 26 & 27 PHOENIX CLASS
JOIN THE JUNE 28 & 29 SAN FRANCISCO CLASS
Fathers and Families Coalition of America will make available what was once excluded to our national conference, regional symposiums and or contracted advanced professional development and agency capacity building events. We are using technology for an ongoing virtual academy to help those who cannot travel to take our Fatherhood Practitioner Credential. In July, we will offer on demand for those who register for these two June opportunities. Continued Education Units are available if participating this June for 11-CEU hours that is included into the overall registration fee of $139.00 early rate and or $159.00 day of the event. Delayed registrations will have manuals shipped to support the continuous quality improvement training for paraprofessionals and professionals working with children, mothers, fathers and families.
Register Here https://www.regonline.com/advancedpractitionercredentialvirtual
PRACTITIONER CREDENTIAL SYLLABUS
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Join Fathers and Families Coalition of America, June 8, 2018, for our 20th Annual Families and Fathers National Conference Planning Kick-off featuring an exceptional guest speaker. Jill Hunter-Williams, Ph.D., Deputy Chief of Staff for the Honorable Congressman Danny K. Davis (IL-07) will join FFCA from the Washington, DC office to brief on three current and pending policies impacting children, parents, families, and communities. We are excited to have three options to participate that is far more interactive in comparison to a webinar with a virtual platform to view information, speakers, and attendees or join us by a teleseminar or in person. Dr. Hunter-Williams will discuss the reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families House Resolution 5861, which includes a straight reauthorization of the Healthy Marriage and Fatherhood bill. The Honorable Mr. Davis plans to offer an amendment to include his improvements to the Fatherhood grants that Fathers and Families Coalition of America has supported in the past. The only provided changes to the Fatherhood grants themselves and the other portions of the title IV of the Social Security Act to the child support, SNAP or tax pieces because those elements of the bill are not open for consideration. Nevertheless, Congressman Davis wants to emphasize the importance of modernizing and expanding the Fatherhood program. The following are just a few of the provisions of the amendment:
- Clarifies that States can provide non-custodial parents the same work supports as custodial parents.
- Enhances the Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage program by:
- Ensuring voluntary participation and penalty if state conditions benefit from assistance;
Promoting healthy relationships and marriages and focusing funding on low-income non-custodial parents who are ineligible for TANF; and - Creating a new grant for partnerships between domestic violence prevention organizations and fatherhood programs for staff training, domestic violence services, and disseminating best practices with the authorization of $25 million
A review of the completed amendment is available for review during the conference brief on June 8, 2018
Dr. Hunter-Williams will address new and exciting legislation that will create national demonstration projects that tie in the child-welfare/foster-care professional community with criminal justice and fatherhood practitioners. The critical facets that Congressman Danny K. Davis will champion include blending these fields to develop models that most likely will have to be designed from evidence-based interventions to connect children in the foster-care systems when appropriate to their incarcerated fathers. This Act will include funding to support sustained models of excellence to augment the needs of children in foster care, group homes and other systems of care as placed by state child welfare agencies with their fathers for sustained parent-child direct services, nurturing, and a requirement for technology and in-person father-child activities. The proposal that Dr. Hunter-Williams is genuinely cutting-edge and FFCA looks forward to listening to this pending legislation as an extension from the most recent brief of The Family First Prevention Services Act and other Social Justice and Policy Initiatives.
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We will start our 20th year providing the best professional development, training for parents and professionals, addressing issues of our communities, nation and internationally. We have been honored to bring some of the most exceptional talents, experts, researchers, proven practices, models of excellence, curriculums and more as well as passionate individuals who seek change and access to possibilities for children, their parents, families, and communities.
We will meet at the host hotel at the Hilton LAX Hotel (please rsvp in-person attendance) starting at 9:30 a.m. for a brief continental breakfast and greetings from the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fathers and Families Coalition of America with a unique brief on three (3) national policies and potential for national demonstration and funding of models by the Office of Honorable Danny K. Davis, Member of the United States House of Representatives (IL-07). Fathers and Families Coalition of America will host Jill Hunter-Williams, Ph.D., Deputy Chief of Staff for the Honorable Congressman Danny K. Davis (IL-07) will join FFCA from the Washington, DC office to brief on three current and pending policies impacting children, parents, families, and communities.
Dr. Hunter-Williams will provide an open session on funding of fatherhood and healthy marriage programs as well as child welfare and criminal justice demonstration programs, read more here
Following this brief by Dr. Hunter-Williams, a discussion will focus on a few confirmed featured speakers for 20th Annual Talk Presenters that include: LaTasha C. Watts Founder & Executive Director The Purple Project Shaker Heights, Ohio; Richard R. Ramos President-CEO, Latino Coalition for Community Leadership, Santa Barbara, California; Dr. Garry A. Mendez, Jr,Founder and CEO, National Trust for the Development of African American Men, New York City, New York; Larry Savala, President and Founder,Hispanic Family Initiative,Houston, Texas Area.
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Fathers and Families Coalition of America is approved by the National Association of Social Workers, Arizona Chapter for a total of 11 contact hours for attendees at the Arizona Healthy Families and Fathers Regional Symposium. FFCA continuously examines our Practitioner Credential with review by approved continuing education providers to ensure the fidelity of the training meets or exceeds the competencies of community-based education, professional development, and capacity building assistance. A glance of our syllabus will give participants a greater understanding of the intended credential impacts to help those who are working with children, parents, families and communities as well as methods to engage fathers in their practices.
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JOIN US IN JUNE FOR TWO ONLINE EXPERIENCES
Fathers and Families Coalition of America understands that increasing number of organizations are utilizing virtual training to develop employee skill sets. Many individuals want to attend our national, regional and local training but can't take time for travel. Therefore, we are renewing our successful virtual training strategy. FFCA will use a new state of art virtual platform with various elements to implement an informative and engaging experience.
But what are these elements for FFCA's Virtual Credential Training Program?
We have developed a detailed syllabus and research of core content to prepare all participants before you join us in person, virtually and or a new on-demand feature. It's essential to have a guideline that the training session should follow to ensure that FFCA covers all vital content.
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This research brief reviews some of how federal, state and local initiatives in the U.S. have attempted to ensure that father involvement is reflected in programs and policies dealing with children and families. It begins with a summary of how father involvement issues emerged at the national level and described critical federal funding mechanisms. The brief provides examples of state and local initiatives, most of which focus on providing direct services to fathers in the child support system to increase their employment, child support payments and parent involvement, although a few also aim to create system-level change across multiple public agencies.
Download the full brief at the link below.
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BY GRETCHEN LIVINGSTON, PEW RESEARCH CENTER
APRIL 25, 2018
To download the entire brief, go here
Excerpts:
One-in-four parents living with a child in the United States today are unmarried. Driven by declines in marriage overall, as well as increases in births outside of marriage, this marks a dramatic change from a half-century ago, when fewer than one-in-ten parents living with their children were unmarried (7%).
At the same time, the profile of unmarried parents has shifted markedly, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.1 Solo mothers – those who are raising at least one child with no spouse or partner in the home – no longer dominate the ranks of unmarried parents as they once did. In 1968, 88% of unmarried parents fell into this category. By 1997 that share had dropped to 68%, and in 2017 the percentage of unmarried parents who were solo mothers declined to 53%. These declines in single mothers have been entirely offset by increases in cohabitating parents: Now 35% of all unmarried parents are living with a partner.2 Meanwhile, the share of unmarried parents who are solo fathers has held steady at 12%.
Due primarily to the rising number of cohabiting parents, the share of unmarried parents who are fathers has more than doubled over the past 50 years. Now, 29% of all unmarried parents who reside with their children are fathers, compared with just 12% in 1968.
While it's well-established that married parents are typically better off financially than unmarried parents, there are also differences in financial well-being among unmarried parents. For example, a much larger share of solo parents is living in poverty compared with cohabiting parents (27% vs. 16%).3 There are differences in the demographic profiles of each group as well. Cohabiting parents are younger, less educated and less likely to have ever been married than solo parents. At the same time, solo parents have fewer children on average than cohabiting parents and are far more likely to be living with one of their parents (23% vs. 4%).
......... As the number of parents who are unmarried has grown, so has the number of children living with an eligible parent. In 1968, 13% of children – 9 million in all – were living in this type of arrangement, and by 2017, that share had increased to about one-third (32%) of U.S. children, or 24 million. However, the share of children who will ever experience life with an unmarried parent is likely considerably higher, given how fluid U.S. families have become. One estimate suggests that by the time they turn 9, more than 20% of U.S. children born to a married couple and over 50% of those born to a cohabiting couple will have experienced the breakup of their parents, for instance. The declining stability of families is linked both to increases in cohabiting relationships, which tend to be less long-lasting than marriages, as well as long-term increases in divorce. Indeed, half of the solo parents in 2017 (52%) had been married at one time, and the same is true for about one-third of cohabiting parents (35%).
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The Homeless Children and Youth Act (HCYA) would remove the barriers that too many homeless children and youth face in receiving homeless assistance. There are two introductions by Senate Bill and House Resolution to address the plight of millions of children in America.
The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on homelessness in America. During this hearing, both representatives and witnesses highlighted the specific need for flexibility in HUD programs to serve homeless families and youth who are often invisible in their communities and face many barriers to receiving homeless assistance.
Fathers and Families Coalition of America is sharing information provided by First Focus. They are championing awareness of the Homeless Children and Youth Act (H.R. 1511), which would allow some of the most vulnerable homeless children and youth to be eligible for services needed to support their healthy development. Moreover, H.R. 1511 aligned with bipartisan legislation with the S.611 - Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2017
Learn more about HCYA from both S.611 - Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2017 and Homeless Children and Youth Act (H.R. 1511),
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Fathers and Families Coalition of America was honored to host a brief in May regarding a new and exceptional opportunity for policy to help children and families. The Family First Prevention Services Act was signed into law as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act on February 9, 2018. This act reforms the federal child welfare financing streams, Title IV-E and Title IV-B of the Social Security Act, to provide services to families who are at risk of entering the child welfare system. The bill aims to prevent children from entering foster care by allowing federal reimbursement for mental health services, substance use treatment, and in-home parenting skill training. It also seeks to improve the well-being of children already in foster by incentivizing states to reduce placement of children in congregate care.
Learn More about the Family First Prevention Services Act Here
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SPECIAL SUMMER SYMPOSIUM FOR FIRST DAY & SEASONED PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH FAMILIES, CHILDREN, PARENTS, AND COMMUNITIES
There are so many reasons why you should register today! Of course, some so many talented speakers have given their careers to help develop public policy, fighting for social justice, examining what makes an evidence-based intervention and implementing models. We are committed to taking portions of all registrations to go towards the support of programs serving children that live in group homes/orphanages and lack the "home where their parent(s) or a family member are raising our future in the now." Yes, there will be a time for exceptional training that Fathers and Families Coalition of America has developed with child and family, social work, psychology, sociology and other fields as experts but the niche of preparing new and advanced professionals working with fathers.
FFCA has the advantage of providing an online and interactive virtual dynamic opportunity to join this New York Symposium from anywhere in the United States or Internationally. Signing up for this special June 11th & 12th symposium is easy, and we have made the entire program priced at a very modest registration. The impacts of our credential program offered on June 12th have tremendous results for attendees. This symposium is an expanded version of our Fatherhood Practitioner Certificate program from 2017 or earlier that a review of our syllabus will provide our commitment for participants' professional development success.
Register today and while you get the experience to listen to our confirmed experts on Monday, June 11th you will go through a tremendous program on Tuesday, June 12th. Learn more about this collaborative symposium and register today here!
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Fixing Fathers Inc. has just released a new podcast entitled, The David Lee Show. The host of the show is Dr. David Lee Asbery. The show will focus on the needs of fathers and their families. From child support, divorce, separation, custody, relationships, parenting, and education, to planning financially for your child’s future. The David Lee Show provides men with a forum to think, discuss, and resolve some of the issues that they are facing today. Once you’ve had a chance to listen to one of the episodes, we hope that you will consider becoming a subscriber. Here at the David Lee Show, our goal is to educate and empower fathers so that they fully understand that their involvement is crucial to the overall development of their child.
How the DOC and Department of Children and Families Helped this Father to Be a Father to his daughter, and a Model Citizen
Having a criminal record makes it difficult to find a good job. On this episode of The David Lee Show, owner and operator of Mckay Custom Clean, Blaine Mckay talks about the issues that he faced after being incarcerated. With help from the DOC and DCF, Blaine provides you with his take on how these two agencies got it right! With a baby girl that was born while he was incarcerated, Blaine admits that he would not be where he's at now if he didn't receive support from the New Haven & Bridgeport communities. Blaine has a new lease on life, one that leaders need to duplicate for others.
Fathers and Families Coalition of America's Connecticut based affiliates are actively engaged in helping children and families by Dr. David Lee Asbery and Mr. Bruce Trammell. Learn more about the special podcast program by David here
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China Fathers and Family Alliance Conference - June 16th and 17th Peking University - Beijing, China
Fathers and Families Coalition of America's international response to support professional development, organizational capacity building assistance, advocacy and network/affiliate development will bring us to Beijing, China for our sixth international venue. 中国父亲与家庭联盟大会正在筹办 敬请期待 with our China Affiliate from the Schools of Education and Psychology under the leadership of Professor Chi Zhang and Professor Flora Dong at Peking University and founders of ExPsy. These are exceptional researchers and leaders striving to facilitate a national and new coalition. Fathers and Families Coalition of China adopting FFCA's core purposes and through ExPsy adapting to meet the needs of China's diverse families will introduce they're first ever national conference. FFCA leadership is supporting their proposed event at Peking University, June 16th and 17th.
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FRPN Webinar: State Approaches to Including Fathers in Programs and Policies
May 2018
Save-the-date for the next FRPN learning community webinar - State Approaches to Including Fathers in Programs and Policies - on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at 12:00 p.m. EST. Six presenters from three states featured as follows:
Ohio
- Kimberly A. Dent, Executive Director, Ohio Commission on Fatherhood
- Mr. Aldonis Grimes, Director, Cuyahoga County Fatherhood Initiative
South Carolina
- Patricia Littlejohn, Executive Director, South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families
- Stephen W. Yarborough, Assistant Director, Office of Policy and Training, Child Support Services Division, SCDSS
Kansas
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(James C. Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer and President honoring the 2018 President's Servant Leadership The Hon. Phillipa Johnson)
There is a master plan in our lives. While we may avoid the journey for the purpose or destiny of our lives, We all know many in their walk of life are sources of the brightest role models. In 2018, the theme for the year given to Fathers and Families Coalition of America is Greater Purpose that we use our national conference with so many talented individuals as well as closing tribute to honor others. In the past, we honored so many others such as Gladys Knight, Mr. Cedric "the Entertainer," Honorable Janet Napolitano, and others who tirelessly served their communities not limited to but just a few:
Hon. John S. Martinez, Charlene Lewis Meeks, Raymond Capper, Stanely Siederman and of course so many honorees to include those who gave pieces of their lives and bodies for our nation as Wounded Warriors. Couples of Excellence we have honored to include marriages that lasted 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 plus years and this one special couple of over 70 years. Wow, you cannot understand the "feeling of love" with this two elders basking in the glory of their love as a story for their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren as they took the microphone in a youthful manner and as happy as they could be declaring love for over 70 years as he serenaded to his bride in Spanish and even those who could not understand the words they knew the language of true love.
We have been blessed with many entertainers, and one that used his saxophone in the language of love was the international artist Marion Meadows. He wrote this particular song for Ms. Charlene Lewis-meeks who was fighting breast cancer and ultimately went to rest for eternity. But the commitment to Fathers and Families Coalition of America by so many people like Marion is humbling. What many did not know that night he flew from a considerable distance from Oman to Los Angeles that was over 8,600 miles to play his gift for her and others with a particular song for Dr. Herschel Swinger.
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Now Announcing
Sensational Spring Savings
Instantly Save 20% Limited Discount Offer
Why you should attend: Because our members tell us the new added training modules help increase skills working with individuals that promote, create and discover fantastic improvement working with mothers, youth, fathers, and families we want to give a free member discount now. Compare each symposium training to other symposiums focused on professional development working with families and discover the tremendous benefits for improvements of best practices for practitioners concerning children, youth and their families as appropriate approaches and interventions in serving the community incorporating fatherhood services.
Current events in just America highlight much-troubled youth because of fatherlessness and a December 2017 Washington Times Opinion gives an example of what is well known the social, community, families costs. Is this advanced practitioner training investment to increase skills for helping children and their parents? This is the simple answer, yes and we want to make our symposiums accessible for all to attend. This is a limited discount of 20% on all regional events. Why we have chosen to collaborate with local leaders on these events is ultimate to help others who cannot travel to national conferences.
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"MOVING AMERICA'S FAMILIES FORWARD: SETTING PRIORITIES FOR REDUCING POVERTY, VIOLENCE, STRENGTHENING FAMILIES AND EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY - BY ADVANCING PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY"
Millions of boys and girls grow into adulthood feeling a sense of loss with their fathers’ absence and a feeling of “no one loves me.” However, we can shift this epidemic that impacts children, parents, families, and communities by investing into those who work with youth and parents daily. Herbert Gayle, Ph.D., study on the wellness of children reports a known truth that “What seems to be severely lacking in the lives of the children is their fathers’ presence and stabilizing function,” however, together we can make a difference. Fathers & Families Coalition of America’s Advanced Practitioner Credential provides some of the needed skills and techniques to reduce fatherlessness and the associated poor outcomes for children and take the reins of championing #family-life & #fatherhood. Fathers & Families Coalition of America is advancing the needs of future innovators & leaders to be moved into their purpose.
Obtaining an advanced training is the next progression for an advanced professional career that denotes professional commitment and achievement and represents a feature of certifying knowledge and experience that meets or exceeds excellence as professionals. This advanced practitioner program, developed by Fathers & Families Coalition of America, is a dynamic integrated 16-hour training program built on the core competencies from professional fields such as: Child welfare, early childhood, marriage and family therapists, social work, criminal justice, psychologists, educators, counselors, family service workers and fatherhood practitioners.
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POLICY AND PRACTICE WITH RESEARCH MANIFESTS SOCIAL JUSTICE AND TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
Dates: June 11th & 12th 2018
Location:
The Columbia University School of Social Work
1255 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027
REGISTER HERE TODAY!
REGION-2 SYMPOSIUM RATES:
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FFCA WEST REGION-9 SYMPOSIUM - FEATURED ADVANCED PRACTITIONER CREDENTIAL
Featuring Training by Fathers & Families Coalition of America’s
Advanced Practitioner Credential
ADVANCED PRACTITIONER CREDENTIAL TRAINING TOPICS
Special Added Training Seeking Safety Trauma Informed Care Model
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