NewDay Services’ Fatherhood Programs exist to help fathers connect with their children in meaningful ways while dealing proactively with life issues which threaten father/child relationships and child well-being.

FOCUS (Fathers Offering Children Unfailing Support) Class for Fathers is a court-ordered class for men who have been placed on probation for failure to meet child support requirements; and it is a volunteer class for non-resident fathers of children in child welfare placements.  FOCUS is a child-centered, masculine-based shared experience which provokes participants to reflect upon their desires to be strong, positive influences in their children’s lives while equipping them with tools to grow as a men and fathers.  The FOCUS curriculum consists of 10 sessions totaling 20 hours and designed to be completed in successive order over ten weeks.

In 2002, FOCUS began in partnership with Tarrant County IV-D Courts (child support) and Domestic Relations Office (DRO) Community Supervision Unit under an Access and Visitation Grant from the Texas Office of Attorney General.  Since then, FOCUS has enjoyed uninterrupted partnership with these agencies.  To date, over 1500 fathers have attended the classes.

In 2010, and evaluation and field study of the FOCUS program was conducted by Dr. Rycraft, PhD, Professor of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. The most notable findings were:  validation of the importance of the male model template for class facilitation, the curriculum designed having an positive influence on the relationship between father and the child, and the long-term effects on both the child and the father. A copy of the field study can be accessed through the resource tab on this page.