The Hidden Biases of Good People: Implications for Individuals and Organizations Tuesday, December 10, 2024 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Pacific, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Eastern$45 per person This training satisfies the federal grant requirements for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Training. The Dibble Institute® is offering this workshop because for us to create healthy relationships, we need to understand our hidden biases so that we might reduce and manage them. Broadly speaking, group-based bias involves varying degrees of stereotyping (exaggerated beliefs about others), prejudice (dis/lik ..read more

Understanding the impact and complexity of culture is essential for enhancing your fatherhood program. Culture is like the Wi-Fi of fatherhood—unseen but always powering how dads behave. It provides the norms that influence dads’ behaviors, including how they parent and connect with their children. But culture is complex. In any culture, there are subcultures that vary in norms. Examples of subcultures in the United States include those tied to: Race or ethnicity, such as African Americans, Arab Americans, and Hispanic Americans. Affiliation, such as military branches, athletic teams, politi ..read more

When we train facilitators of National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI) programs, we cover many knowledge and skill-based tips for effective facilitation, such as knowing the goals of the program, the learning competencies of specific activities, and how to handle disruptive participants. In addition to those practical tips, there are the intangibles facilitators need to help fathers benefit the most from a fatherhood program. Chief among them is confidence. You might be asking, “Confidence in what, exactly?” I’ll tell you shortly. But first, let’s examine the role of confidence in performance. W ..read more

Image created using Adobe Firefly 3. As human service organizations have become more aware of the need to address dads’ mental health, National Fatherhood Initiative® has created resources and provided guidance that address this underserved need. The guidance includes sharing research on this vital topic. In that vein, I recently ran across a must-read commentary about considering dads’ mental health as part of efforts to improve perinatal outcomes for moms and babies. The authors point out the lack of this consideration ignores the evidence of the positive impact dads have on maternal and ch ..read more

On August 26th, I received an invitation to attend a briefing the next day on the upcoming release of a parenting-related advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Unfortunately, I had a conflict but was intrigued to learn more, particularly the impact it could have on serving dads. The Office of the Surgeon General released the advisory on August 28th. Parents Under Pressure: The Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Parents calls attention to the increasing gap between the stress reported by parents compared to other adults—stress that results from the rig ..read more

Dads are irreplaceable and essential for child well-being. Whether teaching them life skills, providing emotional support, or simply being a steady presence, dads’ profound impact on their children's growth and development is unique. Research shows that when dads are actively involved, kids thrive emotionally, academically, and socially. (This infographic does a great job of summarizing the strengths of father presence.) But despite these benefits, many dads face hurdles to participating in parenting, especially when it comes to accessing programs and services that support families ..read more

Unless you’ve been on a remote desert island for the past couple of years, I’m sure you’ve heard about the push to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the public and private sectors. Despite recent challenges to these efforts, DEI seems here to stay. In recent years, National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI) has seen more government agencies and other human service organizations intentionally include fathers in their work. And, while not all these father-inclusive efforts use the term "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" to describe them (because some started before DEI beca ..read more

A Florida father's story of hope began while he was incarcerated. Thanks to National Fatherhood Initiative® partner Operation New Hope, a dad named Fazil completed the InsideOut Dad® program while in prison—twice, actually!—because he found it so beneficial the first time around. Before participating in the program, Fazil didn’t have a relationship with his son. However, the program prompted him to contact him to start rebuilding their relationship while incarcerated. After his release, Fazil was also able to reconnect with his daughter and build their relationship. NFI is incredibly gra ..read more

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock lately, you know there’s an increasing emphasis on helping dads in a vital area of self-care: taking care of their mental health. Caring for your mental health is critical to your overall health and well-being. Research is clear that poor mental health negatively impacts your physical health and vice versa. You can’t sacrifice one to focus on the other. They work in tandem. And yet, gym rats fill our nation’s health clubs. Why? Because it’s a lot easier for us men to admit and accept the need to work on our physical health than on our mental health. (D ..read more

National Fatherhood Initiative® Chief Partner Success Officer Erik Vecere addresses attendees of the Baytown, TX Leadership Summit on Fatherhood August 2024. Why Fathers Matter This article is written by Carol Skewes for The Baytown Sun. It is republished here with permission from the author. The City of Baytown has spearheaded a ‘Fatherhood Initiative,’ in an effort to prevent drug and alcohol abuse in young men, and to connect resources to promote responsible fatherhood. Baytown received settlement funds after it became a participant in a state lawsuit. The basic idea is to provide, nu ..read more