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The intervention component of the Caring Dads program is a 17 week
group treatment program.
A typical group usually runs for 2 hours, one night a week, for
17 weeks. There are typically about 8 to 12 men registered in each
group. Men's children and partners do not attend. Groups are co-led
by male and female facilitators with knowledge and experience with
challenging issues around various aspects of fathering.
There are four main goals of the Caring Dads curriculum. They are:
- To develop sufficient trust and motivation to engage men in the process of examining their fathering.
- To increase men's awareness and application of child-centered fathering.
- To Increase men's awareness of, and responsibility for, abusive and neglectful fathering behaviors and their impact on children.
- Consolidating learning, rebuilding trust, and planning for the future.
The Caring Dads manual is available for purchase
from Trafford Publishing. Excerpts from the manual, including a
brief description the authors, are also available at the time of
ordering. The purchase cost is $40.00 CDN ($34.78 USD).
Order the manual
Included in the Caring Dads manual is
a client workbook. For ease of copying and preparing workbooks for
clients, we have provided a copy of the workbook for download.
Download the Client Workbook
Early reviews of the manual, from our colleagues
and pilot sites, provides new users with a sense of how the manual
is being received by batterer intervention and partner assault response
programs.
"This manual has all the tools and material required
for easy implementation of the program both at clinical and administrative
levels. It is organized in an intuitive manner, allowing for quick
and easy access to key aspects of the group content and process,
session by session. The beginning sections of the manual provides
the overall structure and overview of the group, yet with a rich
discussion of important considerations to planning and program delivery
based on lessons learned. This is invaluable in getting started!
The flexibility of the content for the entire program is outstanding.
The manual's use of icons in each session is most helpful as it
guides practice, alerting cautions and important decision points
in selecting material that tailors the content to the group's
process, depending on the required clinical emphasis. There is
considerable choice in the exercises facilitators decide on for
each session, taking the guesswork out and nicely placing the
emphasis on how to shape the session specific to that group's
needs. The program workbook contained within the manual is not
only highly useful it brings to life the various corresponding
session exercises. This manual's flowing and concise writing style,
its presentation, organization, along with the variability in
program delivery, makes it an easy and smart read setting it in
a league of its own."
Luis F Goncalves
MSW, RSW Clinical Supervisor - PAR Program
Another PAR program provider:
"There are three areas I would like to comment
on regarding the Caring Dad's program.
The community collaboration context.
Much of the literature into ending violence against women suggests
the importance of community partnerships. Few communities are
able to collaborate in an effective manner that addresses the
core issues of the men's violence. Caring Dad's is predicated
on the idea that a community should be responsible for working
towards ending violence against women. The opportunity for collaboration
through facilitation and case meetings is an important component
to this type of work. The Caring Dad's program is also one of
the few programs that allows for meaningful collaboration between
child welfare authorities and the violence against women movement. The philosophical background of the program
One of the major flaws of the other work being done with violent
and abusive men is that they fail to work towards engaging men.
This approach often leads to additional conflict and a lack
of participation in the group process by men. Caring Dad's first
goal is to engage men in a discussion. This has clinical implications
for the men as trust and respect is built early on in the group
thereby allowing for deeper and more meaningful conversations
later in the group. Many men are used to conflict and expect
that they will not be heard or understood. Engaging men early
in the process increases their investment in change and is more
likely to lead to change in behaviour. The set up of the manual
The Caring Dad's manual is perhaps the most user friendly
manual I have reviewed during the course of doing work to
end violence against women and children. It provides the opportunity
for facilitators to chose the activities that best meet the
needs of the group while meeting the overarching goal of looking
at the abusive behaviour of men towards their children. The
manual is loaded with notes on possible process issues, cautionary
notes, and linkages to the goals of the program. The handouts
are easily located and well thought out. Overall, this manual
and the program adds a new dimension to the work being done
to end violence against women and children."
Sincerely,
Ian DeGeer, MSW
Clinical therapist - PAR program
Family Counselling Centre - Niagara
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