Data Shows California Fatherhood Program Is A Gift For The Whole Family

SAN DIEGO, June 13, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Father's Day approaches, children across the country are choosing gifts to show their dads love and appreciation. Patty Howell, president of the Relationship Education non-profit organization Healthy Relationships California (HRC), suggests an important gift that California fathers can give their children: participating in HRC's R3 Academy to strengthen their relationships with their kids.

"Over the past two years, more than 600 fathers have participated in the 24-hour R3 Academy we offer in locations throughout California, and we now have impressive data showing the program's benefits to father-child relationships, as well as to overall family health," Ms. Howell reports.

The first look at these data shows highly significant positive impact across five important areas: 1) parenting skills; 2) cooperation with co-parent; 3) communication with co-parent/romantic partner; 4) skills relating to finances; and 5) skills relating to employment.

Specifically, after participating in the R3 Academy, researchers examining data from pre- and post-tests found:

• Significant increases in the amount of time fathers spend with their children;
• Significant increases in the use of healthy discipline skills;
• Significant increases in healthy communication with romantic partners;
• Significant increases in the quality of co-parenting with the mother of their child;
• Significant increases in fathers' ability to apply for a job and be able to pay their bills.

"We are very excited by these preliminary findings, and by the reports we hear from participants on the improvements they see in their families," continues Ms. Howell. "A typical response is like this one from a dad who wrote: 'The R3 Academy has helped me learn how to listen and communicate better with my children and [their mom]. I haven't been having the difficult conflicts that there used to be after trying to resolve problems with homework and chores.' It's results like this that show what a gift a Fatherhood class can be for the entire family."

A Federal grant allows HRC to offer the R3 Academy free, in English and Spanish, to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or religion.

Healthy Relationships California offers the R3 Academy (R3Academy.org) through local Partnering Organizations along the West Coast, and has served over 200,000 individuals in evidence-based RE curricula over the past 13 years. Funding for this project was provided by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant # 90FK0108.

SOURCE Healthy Relationships California

Related Links

https://r3academy.org