5. Exploration-Where are you now?
This section provides you with some questions and a checklist to help you reflect on how responsive your organisation and its individual programs are to the needs of fathers. The check list is built around the seven practice principles articulated in the Australian Public Service Commission’s Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society (www.apsc.gov.au/foundations/charterpublicservice.htm) which are:
- access
- equity
- communication
- responsiveness
- effectiveness
- efficiency
- accountability.
Please take some time now to consider the questions in the conversation boxes below.
Conversation box 1
- What are the benefits for your organisation if more fathers were to access your services?
- What level of experience have you had in working with fathers?
- What has been your key learning(s) from this work?
- What programs are already provided in your organisation or locality that may be relevant to fathers? (e.g. antenatal classes, separated fathers’ groups)
- What strengths do you or your service bring when working with fathers?
Audits that may be useful to the organisation
You might find the following two audits, the Male Involvement Audit and the Cultural Audit, useful in determining how well your organisation and its programs are placed to deliver quality father-inclusive services. They will help identify your target client groups, service demands and where you need to direct resources to deliver more accessible and responsive services.
If you are using an Action Learning group, it should first undertake the two audits to establish a benchmark for assessing any changes that occur over the course of this project as the organisation endeavours to become a more father-inclusive organisation / practitioner, or affirm the strengths of your current approach.
Male Involvement Audit
Using your service records and drawing from discussions with other staff members, complete the following audit. This should be an ongoing process, necessary to keep you up to date and informed about your service.
Current status
- Exactly how many men use your service? _________________
- Exactly how many male staff do you have? _______________
- Exactly how many male volunteers do you have? ___________
- What roles do these men play in service planning and delivery?
____________________________________________________ - Roughly how many men are indirectly involved in services provided by your organisation (for e.g. dropping off children, receive mail)?
- Does your organisation have an analysis of the demographics of men in
the community you service (e.g. ethnicity, age, needs, employment, etc)?
Yes No NA
If yes, what are the demographic characteristics?
____________________________________________________ - How many of the fathers who access your service fit into the following
groups?
Biological father____________ Employed full-time___________
Step father________________ Employed part-time__________
Separated father___________ Stay at home father__________
Young father______________ Care for a disabled child_______
CALD father_______________ Have special needs___________
Indigenous father___________ Father-figure________________
Cultural Audit
Use the Quick Reference Checklist below to get an overview of your organisation’s strengths and potential areas for improvement. Then identify two or three priority areas for your organisation to work on, including at least one that will give you a quick win. Once your organisation has made satisfactory progress, review the checklist and set new goals.
In preparation for this audit, talk to some of the current service users and stakeholders. Ask mothers, children, and fathers already using your service about what issues are relevant to local fathers and what services or activities they may be interested in. You may also want to ask questions such as what groups of fathers will attend. Will different groups of fathers require specific services? What scheduling issues would conflict with attendance? Also ask stakeholders if they are aware of any local men who can help plan events or bring other men into the service.
Quick reference checklist
Yes – meets needs
Limited – room for improvement
No – does not meet needs and/or requires immediate attention
N/A – not applicable
| Yes | Limited | No | N/A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access | ||||
| Is your organisation, centre, service or program easily accessible for fathers accessing your services? | ||||
| Does your organisation have strategies to increase men/fathers’ access to services? | ||||
| Does your organisation provide effective outreach services (e.g. services at different locations) to fathers? | ||||
| Do you provide information and services to the specific groups of fathers that access your service (e.g. information sessions on caring for a newborn to new fathers)? | ||||
| Equity | ||||
| Are fathers reflected proportionally to mothers and children in your client base? | ||||
| Communication | ||||
| Does your staff receive training about how to engage and work with men/fathers? | ||||
| Is this supported by a policy document and orientation process in your organisation? | ||||
| Do you think that your staff demonstrate an awareness of the diversity of men and the importance of fathers in the lives of their children, and is this knowledge applied to service delivery? | ||||
| Does your organisation currently inform fathers about its services effectively? | ||||
| Do you think your promotional material is appropriate for men/fathers? | ||||
| Does your organisation or service have the names of local programs that are inclusive of men/fathers? | ||||
| Responsiveness | ||||
| Is the décor of your organisation inviting to fathers/men? | ||||
| Is there appropriate reading material available for men? | ||||
| Do the hours of operation cater to the needs of men? | ||||
| Does your organisation have a working relationship with other men’s/father services in your locality? | ||||
| Can you identify key stakeholders and champions in your community and/or the sector? | ||||
| Do you recruit male staff into your organisation? | ||||
| Effectiveness | ||||
| Have you talked with men/fathers in your community about your services and programs? | ||||
| Does your organisation periodically review its practice and how it aligns with community needs, including those of fathers? | ||||
| Do you believe working with fathers is one of your organisation’s strengths? | ||||
| Efficiency | ||||
| Does your organisation set Key Performance Indicators relating to men/fathers and incorporate these into individual work plans? | ||||
| Does your organisation budget for father-specific and father-inclusive initiatives? | ||||
| Accountability | ||||
| Does your organisation provide an analysis of your father-inclusive statistics in your annual report? | ||||
| Does your Board seek members with a strong interest in fathering issues? | ||||
| Do you have genuine acceptance from your Board and/or senior management on the importance of father-inclusiveness? |
What are the areas that require the greatest intervention?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Once you have identified your priorities consider the questions that relate
to them on the next few pages to help you determine how you can promote change.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What local issues do you think could get in the way of fathers accessing
your services (e.g. location of service, available transport, financial restraints,
cultural barriers, or your services’ opening hours)?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What strategies could be put in place to increase access to your services
by men in your area? Who could oversee this? How long will these strategies
take? When will they be reviewed?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Could any of your services or clients benefit from an outreach service? If
so, how could this be put in place?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Consider the groups of fathers that access your service. What information
do they already receive? What information may they require? How best could
they receive this information?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Equity assessment
If fathers are not reflected proportionally to mothers and children in your
client base, what could be the reasons for this?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Communication assessment
What knowledge and/or skills are required by your staff (male and female)
to work more effectively with men? Where can you access training for your
staff?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
How is your organisation currently informing fathers about your services?
Could there be a more effective medium?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What services in your area work with men? Are they included in your referral
list? What other organisations or services in your area can you inform of
your services for men (e.g. churches, schools, neighbourhood centres)?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Are there any opportunities to work collaboratively with these services to
improve outcomes for fathers and their families?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Responsiveness assessment
What improvements could you make to the décor, reading material and
hours of operation that would be more inviting and inclusive of men?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What are some services in your locality that you could build a working relationship
with? Who are the people with a strong passion and interest in your services
that could be identified as champions?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What are the barriers to recruiting male staff into your organisation?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Effectiveness assessment
What are some ways to increase your awareness of how effective your services
are? How could you incorporate consultation with men/fathers in your community?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Do you incorporate evaluations into your programs? Does this go beyond client
feedback at the conclusion of service delivery?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What strengths do you or your organisation have in working with fathers?
What areas can you improve on?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Efficiency assessment
What are some Key Performance Indicators relating to men/fathers that could
be incorporated into individual work plans?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Is there any funding that you could divert or seek for father specific and
fatherinclusive initiatives?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Accountability assessment
How do you currently gather your data and how can you increase the accuracy
of your statistics?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
In what ways could you increase support from the Board and/or senior management
on the importance of father-inclusiveness?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
It’s also a good idea to set periodic review dates to check progress and maintain momentum.
Date of review ____________________________________________________________
Service delivery
The next conversation box is designed to prompt some further thinking. Think broadly about the questions (e.g. you could consider them from a practice and/or a program perspective).
Conversation box 2
How do you support fathers to value their roles in their children’s lives and increase or affirm their engagement with their children?
To do this, consider how you:
- enable fathers to understand their roles and impact as fathers and partners in their children/s lives
- enable fathers to recognise their aspirations for their children’s wellbeing and the experience, knowledge and skills that they can contribute to this wellbeing
- work with fathers to develop their capacity to positively engage with their children.
How do you develop and use father-inclusive practice, policies, processes, services and programs? To do this, consider how you:
- recognise elements of your own practice including communication styles which are father-inclusive, and those which are not father-inclusive
- identify and promote opportunities for improving father-inclusive aspects of the organisation, its policies, processes, services and programs
- deliver services where the structure, content, format and language are appropriate to fathers as participants.