ABSTRACT
Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) was designed for and funded by the California Department of Social Service, Office of Child Abuse Prevention for low-income families from various cultural backgrounds to encourage fathers to become and stay positively involved in the rearing of their young children. This chapter provides the theoretical foundations, core elements of SFI and other evidence-based family interventions. The SFI curriculum, delivered in Spanish or English, has proven popular and effective with Americans of Mexican, African, and European descent. The final phase of the SFI program aimed to help families who had already come in contact with the Child Welfare System. The data overall yielded significant support for SFI as a couples focused approach has positive benefits on fathers direct hands-on involvement in the care of young children, as well as on the relationship between mothers and fathers. The SFI group intervention, reported to be useful with other ethnic and cultural groups with only minor adaptation.
