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Individual, Group, and Mixed Approaches
38
Supporting Young Fathers
youngest fathers are simply too far
apart from older fathers to bring them
together in a meaningful way.
Furthermore, evidence from TSA’s
young fathers project (Mordaunt,
2005), suggests that young fathers
have a range of needs specific to their
age and maturity which can often best
be met by a more age-related
approach. The findings showed that
for young men in the 17-19 age
groups, developing fathering skills was
not high on their agendas, particularly
during their initial engagement with
the project. However, as the presenting
concerns of employment, education,
contact with their children, child
protection, or housing were addressed,
then some gradually became more
involved in fatherhood issues.
What this suggests is that for the
youngest fathers (e.g. school-age
fathers), the ‘hooks’ used to draw them
into a project or programme, will
probably need to be different to those
used to engage older fathers. Whilst
group approaches may suit some older
fathers, less formal youth work style
approaches are likely to be more
suitable for young fathers where
outreach work can take place in their
own territory or in neutral settings.
However, Alan Seabrook (Young
Men’s and Young Fathers Worker)
from Brighton and Hove Young
Fathers Project (BHYFP) tells us that it
is important not to ‘throw the baby
out with the bath water’. He suggests
that bringing young and older fathers
together to do ‘fathers work’ can
be successful in very specific
circumstances such as ante-natal
classes. In such situations, younger and
older young fathers are likely to be
there for the same reasons (e.g.
information and advice relating to
pregnancy and birth), and if a young
fathers worker is present, then further
individual work can take place outside
of the classes to address other more
specific presenting issues if required.