The purpose of the Rural Fathers Listening Session was to understand the people, assets, and challenges of rural communities and identify ways to increase father involvement with families living in rural Pennsylvania and surrounding communities. These sessions provided an opportunity for parents and providers to share their experiences, concerns, and recommendations.
These facilitated discussions aimed to address four key learning questions:
How does living in Pennsylvania’s rural and surrounding communities affect the human services experience of fathers?
How does living in Pennsylvania’s rural and surrounding communities affect parenting?
How does working in Pennsylvania’s rural and surrounding communities affect providers who serve fathers and parents?
What are the best ways to communicate with and involve fathers living in Pennsylvania’s rural and surrounding communities?
Many issues were discussed during the listening sessions including several fathers, fatherhood service providers, and mothers. Fathers discussed accessing and using parenting and community resources, co-parenting challenges, obtaining 50/50 custody, and navigating the legal system. Mothers described the lack of resources and support for parents in rural communities and the stigma associated with receiving assistance. Fatherhood service providers discussed the barriers to adequately supporting fathers and ways to address them.
The Office of the Administration for Children & Families, Office of Regional Operations, Region 3 will report the findings from listening sessions across the state in a qualitative summary, which will be published in the fall of 2024.
Learn More about "PGH DADS" an Allegheny Family Network initiative connecting fathers with fathers.
Contact the Father Services Supervisor, Marcus Williams at 412-438-6119
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