Meet the OCFS Fatherhood Team

 

Greg Owens, Janice Bibb-Jones, Robert Foulks, & Renee Bradley

On January 21st the Hudson Valley Fatherhood Alliance hosted the Fatherhood Team from OCFS.

The NYS Office of Children and Family Services has a number of initiatives underway to provide resources and incentives for dads -- some dealing with engaging the fathers of the children under their care and others helping teen fathers in their care explore the meaning of fathering.

We expect to see more of these folks over the next year. Robert is working with a group of fathers at the Highland Center which has been in the news lately. Christine has offered to provide a grant writing workshop later this spring.

You can read more about their work on their website.

This workshop is one in a series the Alliance is organizing to help agencies increase focus on strengthening fatherhood within the context of the programs we already offer.

P.S. -- here's a simple strategy that Renee shared. Take lots of pictures of fathers with their children. Many non-custodial fathers have no pictures of themselves with their children and the visual reminder seems to help them re-engage.