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Young Fathers Project
2001-2004

Introduction

The Young Fathers Project was a two-year pilot project funded by the Family Policy Unit of the Home Office (now DFES) and nationally managed by the Trust for the Study of Adolescence (TSA). The project developed, tested and evaluated an approach for working with young fathers who are either disengaged or socially excluded. The aim was to enable the young men to be more involved in bringing up their children.

The pilot sites

TSA, worked closely with the national organisations Fathers Direct, REU and the Community Education Development Centre (CEDC) to identify organisations to run the programmes locally at five sites across England:

Birmingham – CEDC (now ContinYou)
London – National Newpin (now Newpin FWA)
Newcastle – Children North East
Norwich – Mancroft Advice Project (MAP)
Sheffield – Father Figures/Nacro.

The different sites were selected to enable the project to reach young vulnerable fathers from different ethnic groups in urban and rural communities.

The programmes

Each site set up a programme for working with young vulnerable fathers. The programmes aimed to help the young fathers address their personal attitudes and behaviour both as men and fathers with the intention of improving their life skills and their practical child care skills. They will also find ways to manage relationships better, particularly those with their child’s mother and her family. The programmes consisted of semi-structured group-work, one-to-one work with a mentor/group worker and peer support.

Evaluation of the pilot projects

TSA’s research officer, Dr Enid Mordaunt evaluated the project. Her findings were published in June 2005 Young Fathers Project - Evaluation Report. An electronic version of the report can be downloaded from the reports section of TSA’s website and hard copies can be purchased from the publications team. A detailed summary of the findings is also in the reports section of the website. The findings have been widely disseminated at national conferences.

More information:
Please contact Young People in Focus
Email: info@youngpeopleinfocus.org.uk
Tel: 01273 693311

May 2005