Father Engagement Training & Professional Development for Staff
Equip Your Team to Engage Dads with Confidence
When dads are involved, children thrive. Research shows that engaged fathers contribute to stronger social-emotional skills, better school performance, and healthier family stability.
But here’s the challenge: many programs struggle to effectively reach dads. Maybe your sessions don’t fit their schedules. Maybe your outreach doesn’t resonate. Or maybe you’re unsure how to create a father-friendly environment.
You’re not alone—and you don’t have to guess what works. For over 20 years, Dad Central has trained 200+ agencies and thousands of professionals across Canada with research-backed strategies to engage fathers in meaningful, lasting ways.
👉 Our training gives your staff the tools, confidence, and proven methods to include dads in your programs—so children and families succeed.
Why Father Engagement Training Matters
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Children need dads. Involved fathers strengthen child development across cognitive, emotional, and social skills.
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Programs need dads. Father-friendly services improve attendance, retention, and outcomes.
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Staff need confidence. With the right training, your team can overcome barriers and actively welcome dads.
“This training gave us a practical roadmap. We’ve already seen more dads attending - and staying engaged.”
— Family Service Practitioner, Ontario
3 Simple Steps to Get Started
1. Find Your Training Needs
We'll help identify gaps and opportunities in your approach.
2. Schedule Your Training
Choose in-person, live virtual, on-demand or custom options.
3. Complete Training and Reach Dads
Put your training into action and watch families and staff benefit.
Our Training Programs
NOTE – Training fees recover costs and support resource development.
Our Keystone Training
My Dad Matters Certification Training Program
a) Live Virtual Training runs 4-4.5 hours.
b) On-demand training is self-directed. Typical completion time ranges from 2.5-3.5 hours.
My Dad Matters is for new and experienced practitioners who want to engage dads in their communities. The reality is that dads have different needs than moms, and you may be lacking the know-how to engage them.
Our step-by-step approach will systematically guide you in your planning and delivery of inclusive services. After completing this training you’ll know:
A) The importance of engaging dads
B) The steps to build a strong engagement action plan
C) How to assess your organization’s strengths and deal with barriers to reaching dads
D) How to develop effective community partners and networks
E) Effective ways to recruit and maintain participation from dads
F) How to develop, train and recruit staff to support dads
G) Where to find resources to support your efforts to engage dads
Learn more about My Dad Matters Certification Training here.
Facilitator Training for Super Dads Super Kids (SDSK)
Are you looking for an evidence based, simple to run, and low resource program that significantly supports dads engagement with their children? Then Think of SDSK as your plug and play solution for engaging dads. All you need to run an in-person or virtual program is included.
The Facilitator Training provides the research background, fatherhood insights, and key facilitation practices that will bring the eight modules to life for all facilitators. Whether a seasoned facilitator, or brand new to working with dads, this training gives you the confidence, knowledge, and support needed to run SDSK effectively.
Learn more about the Super Dads Super Kids Facilitator Training program here
Custom and Special Populations Training
Believe in Me: A Guide to Work Effectively With Young Dads
Does your centre work with teen and young parents? We often hear organizations say they just don’t know how to engage and connect with young dads. This training will help your staff know and understand how to engage with young and teen fathers.
You will learn:
- What influences young dads
- The sterotypes young dads face
- Key research findings relating to young fathers and their impact on mother and child outcomes
- The barriers young fathers face and how to support them
Contact us via the form below for more details.
Into the Circle for Indigenous Fathers
This training helps family service professionals understand how to support bringing Indigenous fathers into the circle of raising children.
Specific topics covered include:
A) Influences on fatherhood
B) Barriers to involvement
C) How the community can support fathers
Contact us via the form below for more details.
Working With Immigrant Fathers
Depending on your specific needs and population, working with fathers new to Canada can present various challenges. This training will distill best practices for working with, and supporting fathers who are new to the country.
Topics include:
- Pre-arrival experiences and the impact on fathering
- Culture shock implications
- Risks newcomer fathers face
- Insight into what fathers new to the country are looking for
- Best practices for programming or other support
Contact us via the form below for more details.
Custom Fatherhood Training
Whatever your needs, we can build a custom training or facilitation program that supports your work.
Contact us by submitting the form below to get started engaging dads and supporting families.
Contact us about Training
Contact
DAD CENTRAL ONTARIO
30 Bennett Street
Carleton Place, ON K7C 4J9
613-257-2779 ext. 3108
info@dadcentral.ca
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