Wednesday, May 7, 2025
5/7/2025
HOC Fatherhood Initiative Program - Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, MD 10400 Detrick Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895 Stacy L. Spann, Executive Director: Phone: 240-627-9420 / stacy.spann@hocmc.org Jonathan Cartagena, Program Manager: Phone: 240-627-9555 Email: jonathan.cartagena@hocmc.org / Website: www.hocmc.org The working poor, low-skilled workers and unemployed, many of whom make up a large majority of residents in affordable housing, are at a distinct disadvantage in Montgomery County, MD. Of these, 3,000 families have absent dads. Furthermore, it is estimated that as many as 17,000 low-income households county-wide have children with non-custodial fathers, many of whom may be absent. Consequently, growing up in a fatherless household has a profound negative impact on children. Without their father in the home, children are 47% more likely to live in poverty - four times the rate for children living in married-couple families (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2012). Moreover, boys with absent fathers are much more likely to become absent fathers themselves, perpetuating the risk factors of fatherless households (Pougnet, E., Serbin, L.A., Stack, D.M., Ledingham, J.E., & Schwartzman, A.E. (2012). To strengthen these families and help fathers become better dads, the HOC Fatherhood Initiative Program (FIP) will continue to provide instruction, counseling, mentoring, case management and vocational training to low-income, non-custodial fathers in Montgomery County, MD, who are ages 18 years and older. This myriad of workshops, formal education and supports will produce better outcomes in healthy relationships, better parenting and improved economic stability. HOC will partner with leading experts in responsible father education, healthy marriage training, workforce development and financial literacy to propel more than 200 fathers each year to become better dads, who support their children, emotionally, developmentally, and economically. Our partners include a National Fatherhood Initiative certified instructor who will use the 24/7 Dad curriculum to teach responsible fatherhood skills. A local bank will provide financial literacy training, incorporating the financial responsibilities of parents. And the local community college will teach participants the skills needed to succeed in vocational training, to explore their aptitudes and interests, and to guide them along career paths that increase their self-sufficiency. To measure program effectiveness, HOC will contract with a local public policy research and software development firm that stands out for its innovative approaches to provide rigorous, data-driven research and technical assistance to government agencies, corporations, NGOs, and philanthropic foundations. It is a regional leader in evaluating fatherhood and healthy marriage programs for more than 15 years. Also, we are proud to be selected to participate in the Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF). During much of this second year of the grant, we will work closely with MDRC to critically analyze our program data and models in order to more effectively engage fathers and help them to improve their relationships with their children.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).