Supporting Responsible Fatherhood Program (Fatherhood FIRE)

NCT05311592 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2021-12757
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 496
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Montefiore Medical Center (in partnership with BronxWorks) is implementing a large-scope program to promote responsible fatherhood in the Bronx among low-income adult (18 years or older) fathers with non-custodial children (under the age of 24). The program, called HERO Dads (Healthy, Empowered, Resilient, Open Dads), will promote responsible fatherhood by enhancing relationship and anger-management skills and providing marriage education; providing skills-based parenting education, disseminating information about good parenting practices, and encouraging child support payments (in partnership with our local OCSE); and fostering economic stability by providing employment-related supports inclusive of job search, vocational skills training, job referrals, and job retention.

Conditions

Parenting; Family Relations; Father-Child Relations

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Fatherhood Involvement

  Fatherhood Involvement will be assessed using the Inventory of Fatherhood Involvement short form (IFI) questionnaire. The IFI is a 26-item self-report instrument that assesses indirect and direct father involvement using a 7- point Likert scale ranging from 0 (very poor) to 6 (excellent). This measure addresses the 3 main domains of father involvement: engagement, accessibility, and responsibility. Overall scores can therefore range from 0 to 156. Higher scores represent increased levels of engagement. Scores will be summarized by study arm using basic descriptive statistics. 2-sample t-test will be used to compare the changes in the IFI scores from Baseline to 6-month follow-up between the study arms.

  Change from Baseline to 6 months after intervention

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Emotional Intelligence

  Baseline

• Quality of Co-Parenting Relationships

  Baseline

• Parent-Child Relationship Quality

  Baseline

• Skills/Knowledge Assessment (Skills/Knowledge Acquisition)

  Change from Baseline to 6 months after intervention

• Childhood Trauma

  Baseline

Other Outcomes (3)

• Information, Family Outcomes, Reporting, and Management (nFORM) Applicant Characteristics

  Baseline

• Information, Family Outcomes, Reporting, and Management (nFORM) Pre-Program Survey

  At start of intervention (Week 1 of 4)

• Information, Family Outcomes, Reporting, and Management (nFORM) Post-Program Survey

  Immediately post intervention (Week 4 of 4 weeks)

Study Arms (2)

In Person

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive all services in person, including participating in the initial intake process, and attending all workshops.

Behavioral: HERO Dads Program

Virtual (Zoom)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will complete their intake process in person, but will complete all workshops virtually through Zoom.

Behavioral: HERO Dads Program

Interventions

HERO Dads Program BEHAVIORAL

The HERO Dads Program is a 4-week series of workshops for non-custodial fathers that focuses on improving parenting, offering job support, and financial counseling.

In Person; Virtual (Zoom)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Non-custodial fathers who are 18 years or older
• Have non-custodial children (biological, foster, adopted) under the age of 24
• Income below 200% poverty line

You may not qualify if:

• Active intimate partner violence and increased risk of intimate partner violence

Sponsors & Collaborators

• BronxWorks: collaborator
• Montefiore Medical Center: lead
• Children's Bureau - Administration for Children and Families: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Montefiore Medical Center

The Bronx, New York, 10451, United States

Location

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Related Links

• Married and poor: Basic characteristics of economically disadvantaged married couples in the US. Working Paper SHM-01, Supporting Healthy Marriage Project, New York: MDRC
• Implementing an innovative parenting program for fathers: Findings from the B3 study OPRE Report 2019-111.

Study Officials

• Scott Wetzler, PhD

  Montefiore Medical Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: The investigator will run workshops virtually, through Zoom, and in person. Participants will be randomized either to the virtual condition, or to the in person condition. Update: Effective 1/1/2025 randomization ceased and from that date onward data participants were able to choose which arm they partook in.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 28, 2022
• First Posted: April 5, 2022
• Study Start: April 1, 2021
• Primary Completion: June 10, 2025
• Study Completion: June 10, 2025
• Last Updated: January 12, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)