According to the Institute, many public services unwittingly create an environment that pushes fathers away and discourages their involvement.
The Dad Test allows service providers to self-assess how effectively they interact and support fathers. The test is broken down into six parts:
- Leadership - ensuring senior managers are confident in their knowledge of why fatherchild relationships are important
- Team - the importance of staff interacting well with fathers to encourage use of services
- Environment - how a service's physical environment affects whether a father will feel comfortable in getting involved
- Marketing and communication - communicating pro-actively with fathers can show that mainstream services are for them as well as mothers
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