Male involvement: Facilitating father and other men's contributions to child and youth development

Jon Gilgoff, with special guest presenter Chris Gibson from Alameda Country’s Fatherhood Initiative

Training Description

Involving fathers, male caretakers, and other positive, consistent men in the lives of youth has many proven benefits, yet it can sometimes be challenging. Though these obstacles can be magnified for systems involved clients, it is vitally important for providers to engage these adult male figures and leverage the many ways they can aid in their children’s development. Join us at this engaging workshop where we will explore the great need for male involvement along with rewards for doing so, as well as best practice strategies for working with these men, even those that are hard to reach or may seem inaccessible. At the training, we will also highlight numerous local resources to aid you in your efforts to train other staff on this issue and continue building up your program’s male involvement work. Besides the trainer Jon Gilgoff, you will also enjoy the benefit of having Chris Gibson as a special guest presenter. Chris does is a Family Support Case Manager/Café Dad Coordinator within Alameda County’s Fatherhood Initiative.

Learning Objectives

·  To explore the need for male involvement through an identification of at least 5 benefits of engagement and an acknowledgment of at least 5 costs of father absence and lack of positive and consistent adult male presence

·  To learn 5-10 strategies to increase male involvement in working with youth and families, including clients from the child welfare system

· To plan 3-5 ways of utilizing information gained at the workshop to deepen male involvement in the lives of their children through the work you are doing

· Participants will utilize new knowledge on male involvement to guide understanding of clients so they may better assess their needs as it relates to engaging dads and other men.

Participants will integrate skills learned to provide more effective programs and services for youth and families, including those involved with the child welfare system

Agenda

9:00am-9:45am - Welcome, overview, intros, opening circle including collaborative problem solving

9:45-10:30am: Identifying need for male involvement including benefits of engagements

10:30-10:45am: MORNING BREAK

10:45am-12:15pm: Strategies for male involvement, part I

12:15-1:15pm LUNCH BREAK

1:15-1:30pm Post-lunch reflections and topic related team builder

1:30-2:30pm: Strategies for male involvement, part II

2:30—2:45pm AFTERNOON BREAK

2:45-3:45pm Focus on local organizations doing this work, final questions, and resource share

3:45-4pm: Closing circle and evaluations

Meet Our Trainers

Jon Gilgoff is a bilingual Spanish speaking Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over twenty-five years working alongside diverse communities as a provider, trainer, consultant, supervisor and administrator within the fields of counseling. conflict resolution, youth development and anti-bias work. He is founder and former Executive Director of the award-winning Oakland-based nonprofit Brothers on the Rise (BOTR), which continues to empower boys and young men of color, their adult allies and the institutions which serve them. Jon was a male involvement consultant through the 4Cs of San Mateo, and successfully facilitated male engagement at BOTR and for other agencies. He is a certified mediator, published writer, and recipient of a Jefferson Award for Public Service. He has held fellowships with Progressive Jewish Alliance (now Bend the Arc), LeaderSpring and Lead East Bay. Jon received his B.A. from Tufts University, his Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University, and is currently entering a PhD program at University of Maryland, Baltimore.

This course meets the qualifications for (5.5) BBS CEUs for LCSWs and MFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.