This program is for fathers who are incarcerated and have children who are 18 years old and younger and is intended to impact fathers and their children.

InsideOut Dad®, a community-based parenting program developed by the National Fatherhood Initiative, is designed to help fathers strengthen their relationship with their children by enhancing fathers' parenting confidence, developing their knowledge of and positive attitudes toward responsible parenting, and improving their contact with their children.

One quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest measures found that participants in the experimental group experienced significant increases in fathering confidence, knowledge, and phone contact with their children during the 6-week program compared with the control group. Posttest results from one uncontrolled study indicated significant decreases in destructive partner conflict and psychological distress and increases in perceived social support. There were no changes in father-child relationships.

InsideOut Dad intends to help connect fathers to their families; help fathers improve parenting behaviors while still incarcerated; and help prevent fathers’ recidivism rates by fostering healthy fathering attitudes, knowledge, and skills. The program may be delivered in a group setting or one-on-one. Topics include the following:

• Being A Man - Explore the roles of father and husband;
• Co-Parenting and Communication - Understand different ways of parenting and communicating;
• Feelings - Learn to express and manage emotions, including grief and loss;
• Men's Health - Examine topics, including stress, anger, physical health, and body image;
• Children's Growth and Discipline - Review key issues for raising children, including goals, self-worth, communicating with children, morals, values, and rewards and punishments;
• The Father's Role - Discuss competitive versus non-competitive fathering and the benefits of marriage;
• Fathering from the Inside - Develop a fathering plan;
• Optional Spirituality Session - Examine spirituality, faith, and fatherhood; and
• Optional Reentry Sessions - Fathering on the Outside, Responsibilities and Child Support, Visits Upon Release, Communication Patterns, Safe Communication, and Money Management.

During the sessions, fathers engage in facilitated discussions, in groups of 8 to 12 fathers, in which they are encouraged to share their personal experiences. In addition, fathers are given a handbook that includes reflection activities and information on child development from birth through adolescence to reinforce their learning and understanding. These sessions can also be implemented in a one-on-one format and is available in Spanish.

This program was developed in 2005 and is currently implemented in more than 380 facilities in 49 states.

There are no specific educational requirements for facilitators, but they must have a complete program kit and a facilitator’s manual available during training. A 5.5-hour webinar training is mandatory and costs start at $249 per person. One to two days of custom training are also available on site or via webinar. Please visit https://store.fatherhood.org/trainings/, or use details in the Contact section for more information.

Considerations for implementing the InsideOut Dad program include obtaining institution’s administrative approval, recruiting and retaining participants and quality facilitators, locating a room large enough for up to 12 participants plus facilitator(s), and making training available for facilitators.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing InsideOut Dad, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

The InsideOut Dad program consists of 12 core sessions that can be delivered in a 2-hour group format once a week for 12 weeks or twice per week for 6 weeks. Six optional reentry sessions are also available.

The program kit is required for implementation and costs $699. This kit includes a facilitator’s manual for core sessions; a facilitator’s manual for optional reentry sessions; fathering handbooks; and a USB flash drive that contains supporting videos, handouts, an optional introductory session, certificates of completion, and marketing materials. Please visit https://store.fatherhood.org/insideout-dad-programs/ for more information.

To move InsideOut Dad to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed in a representative sample and with modest attrition that demonstrates positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact FatherSOURCE™ Resource Center c/o National Fatherhood Initiative by mail PO Box 37635, PMB 84123, Philadelphia, PA 19101-0635, phone 1-240-912-1263, fax 1-301-948-6776, email fathersource@fatherhood.org, or visit http://store.fatherhood.org/contact-us/

http://store.fatherhood.org/insideout-dad-programs/

Block, S., Brown, C. A., Barretti, L. M., Walker, E., Yudt, M., & Fretz, R. (2014). A mixed-method assessment of a parenting program for incarcerated fathers. Journal of Correctional Education, 65(1), 50-67.

Turner, J. J., Bradford, K., Higginbotham, B. J., & Coppin, A. (2021). Examining the outcomes of the InsideOut Dad fatherhood education program for incarcerated minority fathers. The Family Journal, 29(3), 305-315. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480720978541