CDR Investing in Fatherhood Process Study & Evaluation

This study will address three research questions:

1. Which recruitment strategies are the most successful for participation? CDR will work to expand recruitment efforts and encourage greater participation through a number of strategies, such as offering various incentives and hosting classes in other spaces (e.g. churches, restaurants, clinics). This study will examine which methods are the most effective.
2. Which engagement/retention strategies are the most successful? Current fatherhood services staff at CDR have expressed difficulty in getting fathers to participate on a regular and steady basis in fatherhood services. CDR will explore several strategies for increased retention and this study will evaluate these strategies.
3. Do fathers who participate in the program earlier in their fatherhood experience (e.g. when their oldest child is under five years of age) report better outcomes than fathers who begin receiving fatherhood services later? CDR has extensive knowledge working specifically with young children and families in early intervention programs. In early childhood development, many studies have shown that the highest return on investment comes from early intervention, from birth through age five. The hypothesis is that this principle holds true in responsible fatherhood programming as well.