Program Enhancements to Improve Father Involvement in Early Childhood Home Visitation: Program Administrator Perspectives

Little is known about how home-visiting programs already using evidence-based models develop program enhancements to increase father involvement. This article uses interviews with administrators in a statewide network of home-visiting programs in a large midwestern state to explore their perspectives on the promise and feasibility of developing father participation program enhancements within established, evidence-based home-visiting program models. Respondents saw father involvement initiatives as important for home visitation, but expressed concern that these enhancements could compete against the primary program for staffing and funding. This study's findings indicate that administrator perceptions of home-visiting staffing and funding stability influence their interest in father involvement initiatives. Specifically, administrators expressed concern that father program staff would be the first to be laid off in the face of any other budget challenges. Moreover, even when funding for father program enhancements was available, administrators were less interested in these enhancements when father program eligibility criteria were restrictive and did not match typical service populations or when actual payment was likely to be delayed long after funding had been technically awarded and father services already provided.