NYS Fatherhood Initiative → Conference
2008 New York State Fatherhood Initiative Conference
- Conference Brochure
- Conference Agenda
- Workshop Tracks
- Registation has closed
The structure of today’s family resembles a host of loving and nurturing configurations. However, as these families face increasing economic challenges, there is an anomaly that continues to pose difficulties for our nation’s children: fatherlessness. This morning, it is estimated that 24 million children woke up without their biological father in the home; 70 percent of those children are African-American and Latino. While the effect of fatherlessness knows no ethnic boundaries, families that live closer to poverty levels are most affected.
Studies show, children of families with economic challenges and fatherless households are more likely to struggle in a host of societal areas. In addition to poverty, fatherlessness contributes to a child’s involvement in negative behaviors, their vulnerability to abuses and their ability to achieve at desired levels of expectation. In response to these issues and more, we come together to explore the critical impact of fatherlessness.
Our conference theme; “Responsible Fatherhood: A Road to Healthy Family Development,” allows the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to explore several agency goals. 1) Address the impact of fathers on the economic security of New York’s low-income families; 2) to explore and build the programmatic capacity of service providers engaging in the work of responsible fatherhood; 3) to address the impact of public policy and legislation in the areas of family development and non-custodial parents; 4) to educate government, legislators, advocates, community, academia and others about the importance of responsible fatherhood.
On October 6th - 9th OTDA’s New York State Fatherhood Initiative, in partnership with the Office of Children and Family Services, will host its first annual New York State Fatherhood Conference. The event will be held at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, New York. Three hundred and fifty people are expected to attend workshops, town hall lectures, keynote addresses and other various presentations.
David A. Hansell
Commissioner, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
On behalf of Governor Paterson, and as Commissioner of the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), I am delighted to welcome you to the New York State Responsible Fatherhood Initiative’s first Statewide Conference. We at OTDA are sponsoring this conference in conjunction with our colleagues at the Office of Children and Family Services.
Our mission at OTDA is to assist families and individuals in New York who – for a variety of reasons – need help in achieving greater economic security, and a greater degree of self-sufficiency for themselves and their families. Fathers are a critical part of the family equation, and a father’s involvement in a child’s life – both financially and emotionally -- can make a tremendous difference.
Our Responsible Fatherhood Initiative is aimed at providing men with the supports and services they need to be fully involved dads. The Initiative is part of a growing statewide, indeed national, movement, and we are proud to be on the forefront of this important social issue. The theme of the conference, “Responsible Fatherhood: A Road to Healthy Family Development,” reflects several of our key priorities. We will be sharing with you important information about the programs that our Responsible Fatherhood Initiative has launched around the state, and we also look forward to hearing about your work. I encourage you to take full advantage of the various workshops, lectures and other presentations offered during the conference.
Thank you for joining us to demonstrate our collective commitment to all of New York’s families.
Gladys Carrión, Esq.
Commissioner, New York State Office of Children & Family Services
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is pleased and excited to partner with the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) in presenting this important conference on Responsible Fatherhood: A Road to Healthy Family Development.
We at OCFS recognize the importance of engaging fathers to improve outcomes for the children we serve. Fatherless children are especially vulnerable and suffer a greater risk of poverty, low academic achievement, low wage earning potential, higher school dropout rates, and neglect. We are grateful for the partnership we have forged with OTDA to locate absent fathers. Through our joint efforts, child welfare and child support staff can now access a federal database and child support locator. The Putative Father Registry is a dual resource for child support and for adoption planning.
This conference is a wonderful opportunity to educate a broader audience—government, legislators, advocates, community, academia and others—about the importance of responsible fatherhood. Together, we can change the statistics and the prospects for fatherless children. Thank you for your participation in this most crucial conversation. We look forward to new and refreshing ideas that can be transformed into novel policy and practice to encourage responsible fatherhood and healthy families.
Kenneth Braswell
Director, New York State Fatherhood Initiative, Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
Almost two years ago I came to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) with the hopes of making a change in the lives of families, particularly fathers. Over that time more than 2,000 non-custodial parents have walked through the doors of our program; 141% more than expected. Also over that time we’ve learned a lot about the need to focus funding, programs and support into the well-being of New York’s fathers. As a result of the agency’s commitment to effect broader change, we stand proudly at the forefront of all responsible fatherhood work throughout the nation. However, we have much to do. OTDA’s Fatherhood Initiative’s goal to move forward, build greater capacity and bring a broader understanding of effective models and best practices to the field of responsible fatherhood, remains at the apex of our concerns for low-income parents in New York State. Yet, while we have done well at creating a service environment that encourages self sufficiency for mothers, we pause on these three days to explore the roles and contributions fathers play in the family dynamic. We look forward to the healthy and much needed dialog around the issue of fatherhood in New York State and beyond.
This conference will serve as a welcome step to assisting the development of positive relationships, successful children and prosperous outcomes. We thank you in advance for your consideration and acceptance to attending the first New York State Fatherhood Conference. With eager anticipation we hope to see you in October!
Gregory Owens
Director of Special Projects, New York State, Office of Children and Family Services
I have worked for New York State for over 21 years, and when I was asked to co-chair the OCFS/OTDA Fatherhood Initiative with Kenneth Braswell in 2007, I was both excited and intrigued. We formed an OCFS work group and talked about how we can better align our efforts and share resources. You will hear more about our work in the town hall meeting during the conference.
OCFS is now focused on fathers in our juvenile justice system unlike any other time in my tenure with the agency. We are also working with fathers and families in the child welfare system using a promising toolkit developed by our staff, in partnership with other stakeholders, which could become a national model.
Our intentional focus on fathers for the 2008 Father’s Day celebration caused us to ask questions about how we work with young mothers, too. By exploring how to enhance services to all parents in our systems, we are improving the entire service delivery system. This is exciting work, and I am honored to be a part of it. This conference is a critical step in developing a consensus among state, local and national partners about what responsible fatherhood can and should mean for New York State. I look forward to working with you this October at the inaugural New York State Fatherhood Conference!
Conference Agenda
Monday, October 6, 2008
- 5:00pm - 7:00pm - Pre-registration Reception - Choices, (Stage Play) - Terry Owens
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
- 8:00am - 9:15am - Breakfast, Courtyard
- 9:30am - 10:45am - Plenary Session - Fatherhood White Paper, Dr. Ron Mincy, Columbia University
- 11:00am - 12:30pm - Morning Workshops 1-A - 1-T
- 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Lunch, Ballroom
- 1:45pm - 2:30pm - Luncheon Speaker - Fatherless America, David Blankenhorn, Institute for American Values
- 2:45pm - 4:15pm - Afternoon Workshops 2-A - 2-T
- 7:00pm - 9:00pm - Evening Session - Intimate Conversations with the Daughters of Men, Rachel Vassel & Guests
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
- 8:00am - 9:00am - Breakfast, Courtyard
- 9:15am - 10:45am - Morning Workshops 3-A - 3-T
- 11:00am - 12:30pm - Morning Workshops 4-A - 4-E
- 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Lunch, Ballroom
- 1:45pm - 2:30pm - Presentation & Discussion - All Men Are Sons: Exploring The Legacy of Fatherhood, John Badalament, documentary film
- 2:45pm - 4:15pm - Afternoon Workshops 5-A - 5-T
- 5:30pm - 7:30pm - Keynote Speaker (Dinner) - Roland S. Martin, CNN Contributor
Thursday, October 9, 2008
- 8:00am - 9:00am - Breakfast, Courtyard
- 9:30am - 10:15am - Plenary Session - Fatherhood and Latino & Native American Communities, James Rodriguez, Fathers and Families of America
- 10:30am - 12:00pm - Morning Workshops 6-A - 6-T
- 12:00pm - 1:00pm - Lunch, Courtyard
- 1:00pm - 4:00pm - Capital Region 7T, Rev. Alfonso Wyatt, Faith-Based/Community-Based Fatherhood Forum
Workshop Tracks
Family Development
- 1-A - Designing and Implementing Effective Fatherhood Programs in Large Scale Workforce Settings
- 2-A - Healthy Families: New York’s Approach to Involving Fathers
- 3-A - Life-Coaching and Fatherhood
- 4-A - Parenting as Partners
- 5-A - Responsible Fatherhood: Break the Cycle of Dependency Among Children Residing in Low-Income Households
- 6-A - Partners in Parenting Education
Capacity Building
- 1-B - No Money Down!
- 2-B - The Importance of Legal Services in Serving NCPs
- 3-B - Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood
- 4-B - The Power of Collaboration: Using Community Collaboration to Serve Non-Custodial Parents
- 5-B - Strategies for Success: Fathering the Next Generation
- 6-B - Fathers-Why They Matter and How to Engage Them
Incarceration
- 1-C - Jobs Not Jail
- 2-C - Working with Incarcerated Fathers
- 3-C - Young Incarcerated Dads
- 4-C - Re-Entry into Mainstream Society: Making the Transition From Incarceration to Community
- 5-C - Locked Up But Not Counted Out: Helping Fathers Who Are Incarcerated (or have been) Understand That They Have Value Too
- 6-C - Unwed Fathers
Fatherhood (for Fathers)
- 1-D - Fatherhood: Man to Man Talk
- 2-D - Dads Taking the High Road: Tips for Positive Fatherhood Outcomes
- 3-D - Affirming the Inner Man: Discussion Questions and Activities to Help Practitioners Engage Men Around Their Own Success and Personal Development
- 4-D - A Guide for Responsible Fatherhood
- 5-D - When Dad’s in the Game, Kids Win!
- 6-D - Boys/Men to Dads: Motivating and Equipping Future Dads in Relevant Ways
Miscellaneous
- 1-E - Navigating the 7 C’s of Deep End Leadership
- 2-E - Navigating Article 10 with Non-Respondent Fathers
- 3-E - Therapeutic Supervised Visitation for High Conflict Families: The Positive Parenting Plus (PP+) Initiative
- 4-E - Domestic Violence Intervention and Prevention: How Fatherhood Service Providers and Battered Women Advocates Can Work Together to Serve Their Communities
- 5-E - All Men Are Sons: Exploring the Legacy of Fatherhood
- 5-F - myBenefits.ny.gov
- 6-E - An Insider’s Guide to Albany: Navigating the Budget, Legislative and Advocacy Process in NY State
Child Support
- 2-F & 4-F - Child Support 101: Everything you Wanted to Know About Child Support but Were Afraid to Ask
- 3-F - Understanding and Working with Child Support Enforcement
Town Hall Panels
- 1-T - Creating a Working Understanding of Family Court
- 2-T - Innovative Developments in Responsible Fatherhood Curriculum, Programs and Research
- 3-T - National Fatherhood Initiative: The 100 Billion Dollar Man-The Annual Public Costs of Father Absence
- 4-T - Adolescent Perceptions of Fathers in Popular Culture
- 5-T - A Focus on the Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice Systems
- 6-T - Partnering & Parenting in the Context of Incarceration
Albany-area Hotels
The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center
660 Albany-Shaker Road
Albany, NY 12211
Tel: 518-869-8100
http://www.desmondhotelsalbany.com
Albany Marriott
189 Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12205
Tel: 518-458-8444
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/albny-albany-marriott/
Best Western
Albany Airport Inn
200 Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12205
Tel: 518-458-1000
http://www.bestwestern.com
Comfort Inn and Suites
1606 Central Avenue
Albany, NY 12205
Tel: 518-869-5327
www.comfortinn.com
Hampton Inn Albany-Wolf Road
10 Ulenski Drive
Albany, NY 12205
1-518-438-2822
www.hamptoninn.com
Holiday Inn Albany
205 Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12205
Tel: 518-458-7250
http://www.hialbanywolf.com
Homewood Suites by Hilton
216 Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12205
1-800-CALL-HOME
www.albanyhomewoodsuites,com
Indigo (formerly Wingate)
254 Old Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12205
Tel: 518-869-9100
http://www.albanywingate.com