Fathers Advancing Community Together (FACT)
Program overview
Supporting low- to moderate-income parents: Fathers Advancing Community Together (FACT) is a multi-component support program that serves low- to moderate-income custodial or noncustodial parents (including mothers and fathers). The program offers case management and three workshops: Foundations Workshop, Back to Family, and Couples Enhancement. These workshops are designed to support families in enhancing their economic stability, responsible parenting skills, and relationship building skills.
Supporting economic stability for families: The Foundations Workshop series consists of 17 sessions facilitated by impact coaches. These sessions aim to equip participants with the tools to achieve economic stability. This workshop series spans two weeks with 50 total hours of instruction. These sessions cover issues within five key areas: financial literacy, pathways to employment, wellness, legal services, and community connections..
Promoting responsible parenting: The Back to Family workshop series covers parenting skills, discipline and child behavior, and parent-child communication. This workshop consists of 12 sessions across three weeks, for a total of 24 hours of coursework.
Encouraging healthy relationships: FACT program participants also attend the Couples Enhancement workshop, which covers topics like healthy relationships, communication, and conflict resolution. This workshop is delivered by coaches as 45-minute add-on sessions to Back to Family classes, representing a total of 9 additional hours of instruction.
Offering long-term case management to participants: While in FACT, participants receive case management services from a central case manager. The case manager connects participants to support services that will increase the likelihood that participants will be successful in the program. After completing FACT, participants may continue receiving case management services for up to three years. Throughout, the FACT model emphasizes case management that employs three techniques: transformational relationships, coaching, and trauma-informed care.
A single study with a rigorous design suggests that the FACT program is a promising strategy for helping low- to moderate- income parents attain employment, receive a child support modification, and receive public benefits.
- A 2020 quasi-experimental program evaluation found that, within six months of enrollment, FACT participants were more likely than a comparison group to be employed (51.6 percent versus 39.1 percent), have received a child support payment modification (5.1 percent versus 1.4 percent), or be enrolled in a public assistance program (11.2 percent versus 5.6 percent).
Providing extended case management: Rather than focusing only on short-term results, the FACT program employed case managers for up to three years after the program to ensure their participants had access to long-term support. Participants, through their case managers, were connected to a wide array of resources, from public benefits to housing support, making their long-term success more achievable.
Leveraging multiple partners to provide support services: As implemented in Contra Costa County, California, FACT was administered by Rubicon Programs in partnership with Centerforce, two community-based organizations. This partnership allowed the program to provide a broader range of services to participants than a single agency would typically be able to provide. Replications of the program should consider enlisting the help of community-based organizations specializing in parental support, relationship counseling, or financial services.