Reconnecting Fathers with Their Children: The Need to Directly Confront the Political and Structural Barriers for Successful Re‐integration

Abstract

Key principles and theories in community psychology are used as a lens to analyse some of the ways social ecological factors impact low‐income fathers and their families. The US opioid crisis is often discussed as a public health crisis mostly affecting white populations, yet people of colour are nonetheless strongly impacted, especially in terms of contact with the criminal justice system. Punitive approaches to managing substance use have created myriad challenges for low‐income families of colour. The authors discuss the Fatherhood in Action (FIA) program in Chicago that provides individual training to support men in improving their relationships with their children. The program aims to re‐integrate formerly justice system‐involved men into communities to enhance the contributions they make to their families and broader communities. Preliminary results point to promising program effects related to individual and community empowerment. At the same time, the paper discusses the need to work on broader liberatory approaches with participants, in addition to structural change efforts, to ultimately confront the injustices in the broader political system. The racialised effects of the criminal justice system create challenges for fathers, as well as mothers and children, that cannot be easily overcome through programmatic solutions. The examination of these different approaches and levels utilises Rappaport's empowerment theory (1987), Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (1979), and others.