Who We Are
The Michigan Fatherhood Coalition (MFC) is a Michigan nonprofit organization composed of committed volunteer practitioners/professionals who work in private and public agencies with fathers. The MFC formed because a group of interested practitioners recognized the need for an organization within Michigan solely committed to responsible fatherhood for the well-being of Michigan's children.
Child well-being requires the presence of nurturing and caring parents who understand the value of good parenting and how this impacts healthy child development. MFC believes that both parents are important to healthy child development. We work with agencies and organizations to create more father friendly environments and intervention strategies that better support fathers.
What We Do
The mission of the Michigan Fatherhood Coalition is to:
- Work with practitioners to ensure that programs (even programs that were originally designed to serve primarily mothers and children) include and engage fathers
- Train practitioners who work with fathers about best practices to enhance positive male parenting
- Provide a network for those who promote healthy families
- Be an information source both for and of fatherhood initiatives in Michigan and disseminate the latest information on fatherhood issues
Why Fathers?
A growing body of research over the last 20 years, much of it funded by federal agencies, shows the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. Simply put, high father involvement is related to optimal child development, on both intellectual and achievement measures. In fact, more important than the actual time fathers spend with their children is the quality of the interactions. There is little doubt that fathers play a significant role in the lives of their children.
Research indicates that fathers have an independent effect on child well-being. Certain qualities such as the father's parenting style and level of closeness affect the child's well-being and increase positive outcomes for children who do not live with both of their parents. In addition to positive outcomes for children, children also affect fathers' behavior – parental competence is positively linked with fathers' personal development and quality of participation in the larger community.
Most parenting services have been geared towards mothers and their children. Because there are many roadblocks (personal and structural) to healthy father involvement, the aim of the MFC is to better serve fathers for the benefit of their children. The MFC wants to change the culture of private and public agencies to be more father friendly by making them aware of the issues that keep fathers from developing healthy relationships with their children and by helping them develop strategies for integrating fatherhood into their mission and services.