Intervention(s)
NWOFC utilizes three evidence-based practices: (1) Nurturing Fathers Program (NFP), the Marriage and Parenting Program (MA & PA), and EMPATH Mobility Mentoring and vocational services and supports. NFP is a 13 session/32.5 hour training course designed to teach parenting and nurturing skills to men. NFP is the primary workshop curriculum of focus in this study. Mobility Mentoring is a coaching model grounded in brain science that recognizes that partnering/coaching with a client is essential to gain the skills needed to preserve economic independence. Mobility Mentoring provides coaching across the five domains of family stability, health and well-being, education and training, financial management, and employment and career bring a comprehensive focus to the complexity of economic stability. Finally, NWOFC includes job-driven vocational services that are designed to improve participants’ knowledge, understanding, skills, and employability. This component of the program is focused at assisting the participants in improving their income levels by empowering the fathers to develop higher level job skills that lead to higher paying jobs. Typically, these services include workforce and job training services that assist individuals in entering and advancing in fields of manufacturing, transportation, distribution, healthcare, business services, and construction trades. This study employs random assignment to compare differences between individuals who receive vocational services as usual and those who complete a short-term job training program in a high-demand occupation as identified by labor market information from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS, 2019).