Caring Dads

About the Book

The Caring Dads program is one of the first group intervention manuals designed specifically for men who have maltreated their children and / or exposed them to domestic violence. Developed and piloted over five years, this 17-session program draws from best practices in the fields of batterer intervention, parenting, child maltreatment, behavior change, and working with resistant clients. The Caring Dads manual provides clear, easy-to-follow guidelines and activities for the implementation of the program and is a useful tool for both experienced and relatively novice service providers. Intervention strategies are adapted from motivational interviewing, psycho-educational, cognitive-behavioral and emotion-focused approaches. The program is organized around four therapeutic goals: engaging men; building positive parenting; recognizing and countering abuse; and rebuilding trust with children. Each goal is presented with a rationale and general overview followed by detailed session plans. In addition to providing specific group activities, session plans include process notes, client worksheets and homework assignments. Materials are further annotated with icons to draw attention to challenging issues and special considerations for clients who have perpetrated abuse towards their children’s mothers. In addition, the manual includes introductory chapters that provide a roadmap for community planning in the delivery of service to this group of fathers. The formation of a community advisory committee is outlined, with specific issues for the committee to address to ensure that the program is implemented in a way that provides accountable service to children, women, men, and the larger community. Practical considerations such as facilitator selection and service agreements with clients are also addressed in the introductory chapters. The manual is written for a range of professionals who may be working in batterer intervention, children’s mental health, or child protection agencies. The Caring Dads manual fills a significant gap in the provision of services to maximize the well-being and safety of children in every community.

About the Author

Katreena Scott, Ph.D. C. Psych.

Katreena Scott, Ph.D. C. Psych. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology at the University of Toronto. She is currently engaged in multiple and interrelated research initiatives addressing better recognition of abuse by professionals, targeted and empirically validated assessment of parents’ risk of maltreating their children, innovation in program development and evaluation of interventions for perpetrators of abuse within families. Dr. Scott has been an invited presenter at national and international conferences and training seminars and a grant reviewer for NIH. She has co-organized two conferences on family violence and has written many articles and book chapters about trauma and violence in families and relationships.

Karen Francis, Ph.D. Candidate

Karen Francis, Ph.D. Candidate, has focused her research and clinical interests on family violence and violent offenders. Currently, she is conducting research to examine the characteristics of physically abusive fathers. In her professional work, Dr. Francis provides consultation and training to agencies regarding intervention with high-risk populations including adults and youth with emotional and behavioural problems, and youth in conflict with the law. She has worked with both victims and perpetrators of violence, and co-facilitates groups for children of divorcing parents.

Claire Crooks, Ph.D. C. Psych.

Dr. Crooks is the Associate Director of the CAMH Centre for Prevention Science and an Assistant Professor at the University of Western Ontario Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children. Dr. Crooks is co-author of numerous articles and chapters on children’s exposure to domestic violence, custody and access, adolescent dating violence, and intervening with fathers who maltreat their children. Along with Drs. David Wolfe and Peter Jaffe she has written a book about adolescent health promotion and risk reduction. Her clinical work includes high conflict custody assessments and victim impact assessments. She conducts training on custody and access and family violence issues for judges, custody evaluators, and other court-related personnel. In February 2005 she testified before the Senate Committee on Human Rights on the issue of family violence and parenting arrangements.

Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly has worked with abusive men since 1986 and is currently the Executive Director of Changing Ways, a program for men who abuse women in Ontario, Canada. He has spoken nationally and internationally on issues related to violence against women and children and community collaborations. He has focused much of his efforts in organizing campaigns, challenging men to take responsibility for men’s violence against women and children. His interest has recently turned in two directions; the first is to expanding the scope of community collaboration to support neighborhood associations in providing information about woman abuse and the second is to working with maltreating fathers. He has conducted numerous presentations and training seminars in both of these areas.