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Early father involvement is important for young children’s development and learning. Most early childhood home visiting programs target mothers for enrollment, but engaging fathers in services can help families achieve desired program outcomes. For example, mothers may be more engaged in and stay enrolled in home visiting services longer when fathers participate in visits and display positive attitudes.

Fathers can also benefit. Research shows that when fathers participate in home visiting, they learn new parenting skills, are more confident in their parenting, and have stronger relationships with their children and partners.

This brief was developed for the National Home Visiting Resource Center and is available on its website. The NHVRC is led by James Bell Associates in partnership with the Urban Institute. Support is provided by the Heising-Simons Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.