Action for Boston Community Development —
A Variety of Approaches

Since 1998, “Good Guys in Head Start” has been a growing program in Boston’s 25 Head Start centers operated by the Action for Boston Community Development agency (ABCD). Funded by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF), Good Guys aims to enhance the presence of fathers in the programs and to strengthen father-child ties. As the agency began strategizing how to get fathers and other males involved, it conducted a survey. The men connected to the programs were asked what they would like to see offered. One answer, perhaps not surprisingly, was sports activities. As a result, the first city-wide basketball tournament was organized. Four hundred people attended, and 200 were Head Start parents. The numbers have tripled in subsequent years. The third year, soccer was added to reach a more diverse population, including Haitian, Brazilian, and Portuguese men.

While the tournaments have been very popular and succeeded in bringing males to the Good Guys program and events, there was a need to go one step further to deepen fathers’ involvement in their children’s education. Good Guys is shifting directions in 2004. Michael Rivera, Program Director of the Parker Hill-Fenway Head Start center and Co- Chair of the city-wide ABCD Good Guys explains, “This year, Good Guys decided to re-focus its activities on dads spending time with their children.” So the 2004 event in June will be Dad’s Day. It will be a family event, including developmentally appropriate fun parent-child activities, such as arts and crafts and a potato sack race.

Spread across the city, Good Guys ensures that local voices are heard. Each Head Start center has a representative to the city-wide ABCD Good Guys. A unique feature of the fatherhood program is fostering the adult male-child relationship, including males who are not the biological fathers, such as boyfriends of the mothers or significant male role models.

Collaboration Comes in Many Forms
Good Guys has drawn upon the many cultural resources in the Boston area to promote father involvement. An early collaboration was forged with the Children’s Museum which offers a Valentine’s Day with Dads and a special Father’s Day event. Free membership is available to all Head Start and Early Head Start families, and nearly one third of the families have joined. The goals of the Museum collaboration are:

• To encourage fathers to participate in their children’s learning
• To expose parents and children to science, math, drama, and creative activities
• To empower males, other parents, guardians, and staff through activities, workshops, and presentations
• To promote cultural and educational diversity

Another exciting collaboration is with the Wheelock College Family Theater. Head Start families receive discounted tickets and are encouraged to attend the very family-friendly productions. The goals are to introduce children to live stage performances and to promote learning through artistic expression.

With other community partners, Good Guys has provided other events oriented toward men. Financial economic empowerment training was co-sponsored by Fleet Bank and ABCD; a workshop, Tips for Toys for Your Children, a men’s Health conference, and breakfast forums have involved local health and higher education institutions. In addition, ABCD administers a Career and Life United in Boston (CLUB) program for fathers. CLUB uses a peer support model to help African-American and Hispanic men ages 17-25 increase their education level and skills, obtain employment, reduce involvement in the criminal justice system, and improve family support.

Read-to-Your-Child Campaign
Good Guys is committed to supporting children’s early literacy development and family literacy. Every year, ABCD sponsors a book reading event from October–May. Boston Read, a local organization, provides children’s books for the campaign. Mothers and fathers are encouraged to read to their young children at home and in the Head Start classrooms. The family earns points for their efforts; in fact, more points are awarded for a male reading to a male child. The city-wide Education Coordinator, a man, also plans workshops targeting dads for involvement in the campaign. ABCD estimates that last year, over 10,000 books were read by 600 parents. Participants were honored at the Parents’ Award Banquet and prizes were given to the families that read the most books.

Many of the dads in Good Guys have participated enthusiastically in the reading campaign. One father says, “ I am really enjoying my son’s progress. He can’t wait to get up in the morning and come to Head Start. If I could, I would keep him in Head Start for the rest of his schooling!” These views, echoed by many, suggest that these dads know the value of being involved in their children’s lives and educational experiences.

Early Head Start Fatherhood Demonstration
ABCD began administering its Early Head Start (EHS) program in 1998 and offers both center-based and home-based slots for infants and toddlers. ABCD applied for the fatherhood demonstration grant in collaboration with Boston Partners to Strengthen Fathers and Families, a group of local agencies. The overall goal of the collaboration was to “promote systemic change by opening up larger social service systems not accessible to fathers and families in need.”

ABCD’s approach to the fatherhood demonstration was to promote honest relationships between the staff and the EHS parents. By doing this, staff would be better able to understand fathers’ needs and identify ways to help fathers meet their goals. A necessary step was staff training and development to create a more father-friendly environment within Early Head Start and to help staff members understand the important role that fathers play in their children’s development. Training sessions encouraged staff members to reflect on their personal beliefs about men, teach them how to work with males to make family involvement easier, and increase their knowledge about the child support system. In addition, EHS case managers attended professional development events related to work with fathers.

The other primary focus of the demonstration project was to increase male participation in EHS activities. Although fathers had access to the full range of EHS activities, the current offerings did not fully meet their needs. Therefore, in December 2001, a father support group was started up in one center. It continues to meet once a week for an hour; often as many as 25-30 Head Start dads and other male figures from around the city attend.

Michael thinks the support group is a big success and describes it as “a place where men can have their feelings validated and strengthen their nurturing side.” The men share experiences and talk about being fathers. They plan activities like cook outs and sports which become opportunities for them to bond with one another.

Lessons Learned
According to Michael, who has been involved in the ABCD fatherhood activities from the start, engaging men is an evolving process. A critical part is educating staff on how to get men involved. Staff needs to understand that there are gender differences, that is, the needs of men are different from the needs of women. But both moms and dads need respect and validation from staff. One of the additional challenges for the Head Start program has been addressing conceptions of masculinity and femininity that differ from culture to culture.

The agency-wide focus on male involvement has supported the hiring of male staff. Michael is one of two program directors in ABCD Head Start; at his own center, he has hired a male teacher, case manager and three males who serve on the Policy council. He notes how important it is to help children see men in caregiving positions and to provide positive role models. Not surprisingly, hiring male staff has led to increased male involvement. Michael makes it a point to shake hands with men who come in the building to set an example for the rest of his staff and to welcome the men.

Good Guys has nurtured positive staff-father relations. Michael observes, for example, that men are feeling more comfortable talking with the classroom staff when they drop off their children. They experience Head Start as a place for them, not just for moms. Of course, when dads spend time talking with the staff, they have an opportunity to learn about their children’s progress as well as the program’s activities for fathers and families.

The challenge for Good Guys, like any parent program, is to be responsive to the changing needs of the parents. Michael notes that there are more and more single dads and ABCD Good Guys has to find better avenues to promote their involvement in their children’s lives and in the program activities.

Thinking ahead to future directions, Michael offers this insight: “Men’s strength is not in their muscles but in their passion for doing things with their children.” Promoting father involvement is not always easy, but the benefits are obvious for the Head Start children and their families.

Written by Bulletin staff based on an interview with Michael Rivera and review of program materials.

Michael Rivera is the Program Director of Parker Hill-Fenway Head Start and Co-Chair of the ABCD Good Guys, Boston, MA. T: 617-427-0464; E: rivera@bostonabcd.org