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Aetna Voices of Health Competition

Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida

 

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Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida



The Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida's mission (FTF) is to increase the involvement of fathers in children's lives. The FTF values the importance of fathers' health and engagement with their children before they are born through adulthood. To achieve our goals we raise awareness of the importance of fathers. We assist agencies to start and market programs for future, expectant and new fathers to keep them healthy and informed as parents and to keep data about father and child involvement. We develop and promote programs for fathers to increase their involvement in their children's schools. We develop and conduct training workshops to train others to conduct fatherhood programs. The FTF offers parenting workshops for men about fatherhood choices and experiences facilitating their learning and encouraging responsible decision making. We participate in research related to fatherhood and fathers diverse roles in diverse communities. Our community outreach efforts include networking and collaboration with universities and community partners to advocate for programs and funding to help strengthen fathers, families and communities. Our intent is to encourage and empower men from all walks of life to become engaged fathers and to develop healthy relationships with their children and families. Everyone benefits!

The Fatherhood Reading Squad & Mentoring Program invites fathers and male role models into M-DCPS to network around educational needs of children and to learn effective ways of reading and talking to children. The FTF published an inspiring book, Neighborhood Dads following fathers in schools who volunteer to increase literacy opportunities for all children. The book is used as a training tool for organizations and schools interested in providing the program as a resource for fathers.

Fathers in Education Day and Fathers in Action & Advocacy Week, a collaboration between the Fatherhood Task Force and Miami Dade County Public Schools invites fathers and male role models into schools to read and share activities with school children as well as attend parenting workshops to learn parenting skills, how to stay healthy and build family financial security. Paternal Health Care & Education Conferences focus on fathers' health and involvement affecting birth outcomes and growing children. These collaborative initiatives resulted in the FTF Fatherhood Magazine encouraging future, expectant and new fathers to get health check-ups when planning a pregnancy and the service community to take action in serving them. The Best Practices of Fatherhood workshop is being offered to high school students.

We want to eliminate father absence as a strong indicator of poverty and children's academic and social difficulties. We aim for each child when possible to know the love, security and commitment from their father or a significant male role model and to continue to experience the support from other male role models. We aim to reduce the number of children who grow up fatherless - to reduce the number of children who are in the foster care program waiting for a family to love them unconditionally and indefinitely and to reduce the number of fathers imprisoned through education about fatherhood. We aim for every boy/man to know how important their health and involvement is to birth outcomes and the life of a growing child

In order to do this we ask everyone to raise boys to realize how important a positive male role model is in children's lives as they grow to be a man and perhaps choose to become a father themselves. In order to do this we need society, organizations, legislators to step up, support and educate young men on the best practices of being a father to start in middle school through high school.

Our contact info:

Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida

Holly Zwerling, CEO/President
holly@fatherhoodtfsf.org, www.ftfsf.org, 305 812 400