30 Years of Making Room for Dads

Fathers & Family Network: 30 Years of Supporting Dads

As we near the end of our 30×30 series recognizing our fatherhood-focused work and its impact, we would be remiss if we did not dedicate a piece to the Fathers & Family Network (FFN) that started it all. For 30 years, the FFN has helped make one idea a stronger part of family support across Massachusetts: supporting families means supporting fathers, too.

Established in 1996, the FFN is the longest-standing component of the Children’s Trust’s Fatherhood Initiative. Through a statewide network of community-based organizations, FFN has worked to ensure fathers are recognized, welcomed, and supported as an important part of their children’s and families’ lives. That work requires strengthening the broader system around families so that the professionals and organizations they encounter are prepared to meaningfully engage fathers. For three decades, FFN has helped build that capacity in communities across Massachusetts.

From Fatherhood Programs to Father-inclusive Communities

The Fathers & Family Network reflects a larger vision for what father engagement can look like.

A single fatherhood program can create an important opportunity for connection and support, but lasting change depends on what happens outside that program: whether a father feels welcomed when he walks into a family-serving organization, whether professionals recognize him as an important caregiver, whether services are accessible to him, and whether organizations know how to connect him with additional resources when he needs them.

That is why the FFN invests in both fathers and the systems that support them. The approach is grounded in the Children’s Trust’s broader Fatherhood Initiative, which promotes father engagement, healthy co-parenting relationships, effective fatherhood programming, professional capacity building, and greater awareness of the importance of fathers.

The FFN Programs

At the heart of the FFN’s work is connecting professionals, community organizations, resources, and fathers themselves.

Regional Communities of Practice bring together professionals from family support, social work, education, and other fields, along with community leaders, to strengthen how they serve fathers and families. Participants share effective practices and resources, coordinate services, build partnerships, and learn strategies for making their own programs more father-inclusive.

Regional Fatherhood Resource Fairs bring fathers and community providers together, increasing awareness of available services and creating a welcoming environment for fathers to connect with support.

The FFN’s work creates an impact that can extend beyond any one meeting or program. When professionals are better equipped to engage fathers and organizations are better connected to one another, communities can build stronger pathways of support for families.

About the 30 for 30 Fatherhood Series

This story is part of 30 Stories for 30 Years, marking 30 years of the Children’s Trust Fatherhood Initiative. The series highlights how professionals and organizations across Massachusetts support father involvement, healthy co-parenting, and stronger parenting partnerships as part of upstream prevention.