Engaging Latino fathers into early head start: A review of the literature

Abstract

In the United States (U.S.), Early Head Start programs provide important services and resources that can benefit children and families. While additional benefits occur when these programs engage fathers, Early Head Start has historically experienced challenges engaging fathers, generally, and Latino fathers in particular. Identifying practices that successfully engage Latino fathers is particularly important as Latinas/os account for more than half of the U.S. population growth since 2000. We reviewed the relevant research and evaluation literature, identifying 23 engagement practices with some degree of empirical support. These practices highlight the roles of organizational change and of cultural responsiveness in engaging U.S. Latino fathers. Our discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for research and practice.