Accountability Guidelines for Fantastic Fathers

Accountability to the Safety and Well-being of Children

• Programs targeting fathers who have abused their children or their children's mothers must have firm collaborations with agencies that can identify abusive fathers and can strongly encourage or mandate men into treatment.

• Fathers' participation in intervention must have the potential to benefit children independent of men's progress through intervention.

• Consideration should be given to whether and how children can access clear and developmentally appropriate answers about their fathers' involvement in intervention.

• Abuse of children's mothers compromises children's needs for safety, well-being and stability. As such, men's abuse of children's mothers must be recognized and addressed as part of intervention for fathers.

• Outreach must be offered to partners with information about the program and referrals to appropriate therapeutic or advocacy services.

• Rather than focusing on co-parenting, intervention should emphasize the need for men to be respectful and non-abusive of children's mothers and the mother-child relationship.

• Programs for abusive fathers need to maintain respectful and transparent relationships with men.

• Recognizing that any one program is often insufficient to meet all the needs of its clients, program facilitators should be ready to refer men to alternative or additional services.

• Intervention programs for abusive fathers are responsible for being accessible to men of diverse cultures and individual circumstances.

• Programs should allow program participants to add to these guidelines.

• Programs for fathers who abuse their children or their children's mothers need to be offered with the guidance and support of a community advisory committee that includes representatives from agencies that provide services to children, women, and men.

• Programs for abusive fathers should offer training and education to the community as is necessary for service that is accountable.

• Programs for abusive fathers should maintain evaluation cycles.