The Fatherhood program was designed to serve low-income fathers with children under the age of 24 in South Los Angeles. The program seeks to strengthen father-child relationships, improve co-parenting dynamics, enhance economic stability, and support participants’ mental health and well-being. A study was implemented to assess the outcomes of the program using a single-group pre-post design. The analytical sample included 419 participants who completed both intake and exit surveys. Analyses examined changes in participant-reported outcomes using descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests. Results indicated statistically significant improvements were observed in participants’ employment readiness, financial stability, and mental health indicators. Furthermore, participants reported increased confidence in job-seeking skills, reduced difficulty paying bills, improved co-parenting relationships, decreased symptoms of depression alongside heightened feelings of social support and hopefulness. However, the program’s associations with improvements in parenting behaviors and co-parenting dynamics was more modest. While statistically significant improvements were observed in co-parenting communication and reduced conflict, no significant changes were observed in parenting attitudes, disciplinary practices, and father-child interactions. This may be attributed to the already high baseline levels of positive perceptions and low levels of negative behaviors among participants. The Fatherhood program demonstrated success in reaching and engaging its target population and was associated with meaningful improvements in employment confidence and psychological well-being. These findings suggest that the program effectively supports fathers in key areas of economic and emotional resilience, while highlighting areas for further development in co-parenting and relationship engagement.

Authors:
Gino Galvez, California State University Long Beach, United States
Michael Giang, California State Polytechnic University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Gino Galvez is the Director of CEEE and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), California, USA.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gino-galvez-3232ab9/

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