Exploring Fathers’ Engagement With Home Visiting: The Tennessee Dad Project

Abstract

This study explores fathers’ engagement with home visiting in the “Tennessee Dad” project, a cluster randomized-controlled trial of an in-home parenting education program for fathers delivered alongside a primary home visiting curriculum. Results from three mixed models using data from 2,916 visits with treatment ( n = 113) and control ( n = 117) condition families indicated that visits to treatment condition families were more likely to have a father present than visits to control condition families, but there were no differences between conditions on participation minutes or level of interest. Nonresidential fathers did not differ from married and cohabiting fathers on presence at home visit, controlling for covariates. Implications are discussed, including the need for father-specific materials and father-inclusive funding.