Every summer we try to report on the activities of the past year.
Dad Central Ontario
Provincial Coordinator’s Report
July 2017
Dad Central Ontario (DCO) has been actively involved in promoting and discussing father involvement across Ontario and the rest of Canada this year. Here are the highlights of what we have done and where we have been.
Administration
Newsletter update: we closed the “traditional” newsletter and are now using our blog (thingsdadsdo.wordpress.com) to post The Directive, which is where we share news, resources, program highlights, and other information relevant to fatherhood. “Follow” our blog to get these automatically sent to you.
Website issues hampered our work for a couple of months. All our websites (dadcentral.ca, newdadmanual.ca) were unexpectedly deleted last fall. We have worked hard to restore the majority of the content for all sites.
A new store was created (dadcentral.ca/resource-store/) which has streamlined ordering.
Resource distribution continues to be strong, with orders coming from every region of Canada and also from many other countries.
National Survey
Dad Central Canada commissioned a national survey to hear from dads about the things that are important to them and how they view fatherhood in Canada. The results will be released sometime in fall 2017.
Professional Development
Over 400 people were trained at the following events:
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- Infant Mental Health Promotion Rounds (video conference),
- Ontario Association for Infant and Child Development annual conference
- Men in ECE Panel (George Brown College)
- Life with a Baby (Vaughn)
- Webinars with CAPC/CPNP (fathers and mental health, what moms need to know, reaching rural fathers)
- Shawanaga First Nation
- Kanesatake First Nation (Quebec)
- Young Parents No Fixed Address (Toronto)
- Infant Mental Health Promotion annual conference
- Super Dads Super Kids facilitator training, Edmonton & Calgary, AB
- OISE Summer Institute
- Kitchener-Waterloo region
Seed Funding
Dad Central Ontario has been committed to providing seed funding grants. Due to financial constraints, this year we scaled back to fund only two programs.
Projects
We have been working with The Learning Partnership (Welcome to Kindergarten Program) on a Trillium-funded program. Twelve men were trained in a peer-facilitation model for leading fathering groups. Three series of the program were run in a neighbourhood in the east end of Toronto, reaching over 25 fathers.
Dad Central Ontario continues to be part of discussions on supporting men around domestic violence through the Centres for Engaging Men in Ontario.
The Canadian Families and Corrections Network has been developing support programs and resources for incarcerated fathers. DCO has been consulting on this project.
Networking
Dad Central Ontario has been connecting with new and existing partners through:
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- CAPC/CPNP Zone meetings across Ontario
- The Lawson Foundation’s Reigniting a Pan-Canadian Conversation to Benefit Young Children
- Presenting at the Caring Dads conference
- Exhibiting at the Ontario Public Health Association conference, the Baby-friendly Initiative Expo, the Best Start Resource Centre conference, and in the Kawartha region.
Dad Central Canada
There continues to be a growing presence of father involvement networking across Canada. Dad Central Canada now has reps in almost all provinces. We are looking for people in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland/Labrador, and the territories who may be interested in representing their region.
National Father Involvement Conference
Through Dad Central Canada, the 2nd Canadian Father Involvement conference was held in Winnipeg, MB on March 2 & 3, 2017. The focus: Strategies for Working with Vulnerable Fathers. Over 170 people attended from almost every region of Canada.
Community of Father Involvement Practice
In an effort to create a stronger network of communities across Ontario, there are local FI networks that meet on a regular basis to share ideas and strategies for engaging fathers. The Dad Central Network continues to grow to include:
- Dad Central Niagara
- Dad Central Downtown Toronto East
- Dad Central Ottawa
- Dad Central Kitchener-Waterloo
- Dad Central Pembroke
- Dad Central Hastings (new!)
We are exploring new connections in Haldimand-Norfolk, Hamilton, and Toronto. Let us know if you are interested in joining the Community of FI Practice.
Tipsheets
New tip sheets on engaging fathers have been created:
Steering Committee Update
Present Steering Committee:
- Sobia Ali (Public Health Agency of Canada)
- Randy Budd (Native Child & Family Services, Toronto)
- Kim Curran (George Hull Centre, Toronto)
- Tim Eddis (Public Health Agency of Canada)
- Dave Elder (Ottawa Public Health)
- George Flagler (Gateway Community Health Centre, Tweed)
- Leigh Gibson – Administrator (Connections, Carleton Place)
- Barb Sutcliffe (Haldimand-Norfolk REACH, Simcoe)
- Zakiya Tafari (Young Potential Fathers, Toronto)
- Julie Wise (Ontario Network of CAPC/CPNP Projects, Carizon, Kitchener)
- Tim Paquette (International Liason)
- Brian Russell – Provincial Coordinator
Stepped down:
Mary Beth Zeeman has been on the committee since its inception in 2000. She acted in the vital role as Treasurer and has been a key resource of information and direction over the years.
Calvin Mackenzie had been on the committee for just over two years. He helped tremendously with some evaluation projects.
Rod Friesen had been a tremendous help with some teleconference training.
Judy Robbins had been a long-time member of the steering committee and consistent supporter of FI in her community.
We are looking for representation from Northern Ontario. Please let us know if you are interested in joining the steering committee.
Dad Directory
Agencies and individuals are able to list their programs and services on the Dad Directory. Information can be submitted to dadcentral.ca.
Social Media (how you can be connected with us)
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- Blog – thingsdadsdo.wordpress.com. We published two posts per month, the majority written by John Hoffman (approx 4000 visits in the last year).
- The Directive. This is the new format for our newsletter, published through the blog.
- Twitter: @dadcentral_ont
- Facebook: facebook.com/dadcentral
We are grateful for the leadership provided by our sponsor, The George Hull Centre, for the on-going funding support of The Public Health Agency of Canada, and for your trust in our work.
Brian Russell
Provincial Coordinator
Dad Central Ontario