Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood

This webpage provides resources to support TANF programs in supporting positive outcomes for families by providing strategies to align and partner with Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) programs.
Young daughter with her mother, father and dog, enjoying together in park.
Stakeholder Resource

Many fathers enter child welfare involvement feeling confused, sidelined, or even afraid. They may not know their rights, aren't sure who to talk to, or don't understand how their involvement, or lack of it, affects their child's case. This Child…

Stakeholder Resource

Fathers are often the missing piece in family service plans — not because they don't want to be involved, but because systems were not built with them in mind. This Child Welfare Information Gateway webpage addresses that directly, offering…

Stakeholder Resource

Saying "fathers are welcome" is not the same as actually engaging them. This toolkit from the University of California, Davis offers concrete activities and approaches that help social services organizations make fathers feel like genuine…

Profile / Case Study

The most effective father-engagement programs listen, adapt, and improve over time. The Fathers and Continuous Learning project explored exactly that, and researched how organizations can build feedback loops so they're learning from fathers'…

Stakeholder Resource

This webpage offers a comprehensive approach to empowering parents and serves as an example of how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can think more intentionally about family formation as part of their services. It shows how…