We know that:
- Child and family well-being improves when fathers are positively engaged in their children's lives.
- People parent differently. Fathers play a unique role in children's development.
- Parents need help. Dads deserve support and resources to become the fathers they aspire to be.
The Dad Allies Initiative launched out of our third-annual Fatherhood Summit’s last-day planning session. This work draws upon the tremendous system change successes of the Fathers Corps, a program of First 5 Alameda County.
Inspired by their trailblazing work, a set of guiding principles was developed for our use. These guiding star actions form the Council's Father-Friendly Principles, a standard set of goals for service providers and policy makers to adopt for the benefit of fathers and their families. These principles are the backbnone of the Dad Allies Initative.
Dad Allies activities build community and program capacity to increase fatherhood specific and inclusive education and support services so that men (and any other father figures) can become the fathers they want to be, and their children and families need them to be.
Dad Allies consists of three main components:
Community Cafés: A series of Community Cafes across the state organized with local providers to bring together fathers, providers and dad allies, to lift up the voices of fathers, engage community providers, and bring these groups together around our common goal of providing father friendly services.
Provider Learning Series: A series of workshops delivered by local and national thought leaders and academics on timely issues facing fathers and father figures with the goal of providing education and recommendtions about how to build a strong father-friendly provider network.
Dads Connect - We are currently revising this monthly fathers group. Please email us if you are interested in this.