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Impact Evaluation of the Saint Francis Ministries’ Fatherhood FIRE Program on Father Engagement and Family Outcomes
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Abstract
Children with engaged fathers have shown greater academic success, positive social behaviors, and fewer social-emotional challenges (Amato & Gilbreth, 1999; Cabrera et al., 2017; Yoder et al., 2016). Strong co-parenting relationships are associated with improved child well-being (Carlson, McLanahan, & Brooks-Gunn, 2008). Fathers are eager to play an active role in their children's lives (Holcomb et al., 2014; Edin & Nelson, 2014). Some fathers, especially those involved in child welfare system, face social and economic barriers limiting their involvement.
Saint Francis Ministries is a long‑standing, multi‑state nonprofit child‑welfare organization. It provides foster care, adoption, family preservation, residential treatment, and other contracted child‑welfare services across multiple states throughout the Midwest and the South, serving thousands of children and families each year. Saint Francis Ministries delivered the Fatherhood FIRE program across four states through a public–private–university partnership. The goals of Fatherhood FIRE to strengthen father–child relationships, support co‑parenting, promote economic stability, and address behavioral health factors.
This presentation details evaluation findings from a randomized controlled trial that examined: Do fathers participating in the enhanced Saint Francis Fatherhood FIRE program demonstrate greater improvement than those receiving fatherhood services as usual in the following areas: (1) healthy relationship skills, (2) parenting skills, (3) co-parenting skills, and (4) father-child engagement? Implications for practice and research are discussed.
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Date
2026-01-17
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Publisher
Center for Published Partnerships and Research, University of Kansas
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Keywords
Fatherhood, Prevention, Public-private-university partnership, Randomized controlled trial, Evaluation
Citation
Barton, J. (2026, January 16). Impact evaluation of the Saint Francis Ministries’ Fatherhood FIRE program on father engagement and family outcomes [Conference presentation]. Society for Social Work and Research 2026 Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., United States. https://hdl.handle.net/1808/36302