Involving fathers in social services

https://doi.org/10.1016/0190-7409(91)90065-PGet rights and content

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe practitioners' attitudes regarding maternal and paternal family role divisions and to assess practice behavior regarding the involvement of fathers in treatment. On the basis of survey data, attitudes concerning role responsibilities for child rearing were found to be maternally oriented, and fathers were found to be significantly less involved in treatment than mothers. The correlates of paternal involvement suggest ways that agency policies may be altered to promote the participation of fathers in treatment.

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      In many cases, even when fathers are known to the system, they often have little to no contact with their child's case worker (Brown, Callahan, Strega, Walmsley, & Dominelli, 2009; O'Donnell, 2001). The maternal focus in child welfare has led to what some have called a de facto discrimination against fathers (Jaffe, 1983; Lazar, Sagi, & Fraser, 1991). Even when the perpetrators of child maltreatment are fathers, services frequently remain focused on mothers, denying fathers similar chances at rehabilitation while blaming women for the actions of men (Alaggia, Gadalla, Shlonsky, Jenney, & Daciuk, 2015; Skramstad & Skivenes, 2015).

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      A National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being study found that around one-third of children involved in the child welfare system were living with their biological fathers (Bellamy, 2009). However, research indicates that child welfare services are often maternally focused and workers rarely make efforts to engage the fathers of children involved in services (Brown, Callahan, Strega, Walmsley, & Dominelli, 2009; Franck, 2001; Lazar, Sagi, & Fraser, 1991; O'Donnell, 2001; Strega et al., 2008). The systematic disregard for fathers has created what Jaffe (1983) called de facto discrimination against men by child welfare workers.

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      Not surprisingly, fathers are included to a lesser extent than are mothers in the treatment of developmental psychopathology in general and childhood anxiety more specifically. One survey of clinicians found that fathers were included in 6% of the treatment for developmental psychopathology whereas mothers were included in 38% of the treatment (Lazar, Sagi, & Fraser, 1991). More recently, another survey of clinicians found that fathers were included in 30% of therapy sessions and mothers were included in 59% of therapy sessions (Duhig et al., 2002).

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