“I’ve never met this brother before, and it’s like he is telling my story.”
During a focus group meeting for a research project, low-income and noncustodial fathers in Milwaukee told their positive and negative stories of co-parenting during the pandemic. But this research generated much more than just data or statistics; focus groups provided a healing space for fathers to share their issues and connect with others who could relate.
Many participants shared similar stories of difficulties co-parenting during the pandemic: struggle to keep up with child support payments; struggle to find a job with the flexibility to help care for their child when schools and daycares closed; struggle to maintain adequate income and housing.
Tova Walsh, an assistant professor with the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, collaborated with the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative (MFI) to learn about the experiences of low-income and noncustodial fathers. Her research was supported by the Child Support Research Agreement between the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and the College of Letters & Science's Institute for Research on Poverty. Between October 2021 and January 2022, Walsh researched the profound challenges faced by a group of 38 fathers early in the pandemic. Through a survey, focus groups and interviews, Walsh researched how organizations like the MFI can maximize their reach to support these fathers.
“Fathers talked about their experiences during the pandemic, but also talked a lot about what it meant to be in conversation with other fathers who can relate to their experiences and challenges,” says Walsh. “It informed ideas that the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative has about the kind of support these fathers need.”
The MFI unites a variety of organizations and agencies, such as the Mayor’s Office, Housing Authority of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Community Services, to support primarily Black and low-income fathers. Collaborating with other local organizations brings the MFI one step closer to their goal: meeting the social, emotional and financial needs of fathers, children and families. Barriers like insufficient employment and unmanageable child support payments make it difficult for fathers to show up not only for their children, but for the mothers, as well.
The MFI looks to help fathers navigate those barriers by making services to address fathers’ needs more accessible. The organization hosts a variety of events and programs for men, including the Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit. This event, known as one of the largest annual gatherings of men in the state, offers connections to legal, health and education services for fathers. Walsh’s work has informed how the MFI works with the community and fathers.
“We recognize the fragile balance between the highly prioritized desires of the low-income fathers with competing demands in an unstable work environment,” says MFI Director Darryl Davidson. “The MFI has increased connections to community organizations that align their service resources with strengthening fathers and families.”
According to Walsh, deeply passionate fathers who participated in focus groups overwhelmingly wanted to show up for their families, but one issue stood in the way: a lack of work-family balance. Walsh’s research found these fathers wanted to prioritize being both a caregiver and financial provider. The fathers said that workplace flexibility allows them to fulfill both roles and is their number one priority when looking for jobs. The MFI honed in on this issue and is working to assist fathers on their mission to be present for their child while financially supporting them.
“The Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative is doing some really interesting work in collaboration with workforce development agencies in Milwaukee,” says Walsh. “Fathers are looking for jobs that allow them to support their families, but also show up for their families.”
Helping fathers better themselves has a domino effect on the whole family. When COVID shut down schools across the nation, the responsibility of caretaker and teacher frequently fell on mothers. Providing low-income and noncustodial fathers the resources to be present for their children reduces the burden on mothers and allows children to experience the care of both parents.
Although the pandemic brought isolation to most people, Walsh found that some fathers felt closer to their children during that time—the opposite of what was expected. Fathers changed work schedules and made sacrifices to be home with their children, especially to assist with online schooling.
“Zoom school is really challenging, but fathers got to learn some things about their child as a learner and see what it was like when their child was in the classroom,” says Walsh. “Supporting them with their schooling was a meaningful experience. So, we heard a lot about how impactful that was for fathers, how it shapes what they want and the role they see for themselves going forward.”
Focus groups used to contextualize survey findings became a very impactful aspect of the project. Fathers shared personal stories of struggle with the group and found that other fathers faced similar challenges and turned to one another for advice and support.
“These were focus groups for research purposes, not set up to be an intervention or therapeutic group,” says Walsh. “But fathers said it time and time again, how much it meant to be in one space with other people who get it.”
Walsh is now shifting her focus to look at the collaboration between the MFI and County Child Support Services. With both organizations moving into the same building, there’s a huge opportunity to streamline processes for connecting fathers to needed resources.
“At the Fatherhood Summit, the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative brings resources together under one roof, but now in an ongoing way, they've just moved into a new building with the County Child Support Services,” says Walsh. “One of the things that they're hoping will come out of it, and that we're going to look at together, is trying to understand if that increases the support available to fathers.”
A father may go into the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative for a parenting class and discuss his difficulties in paying child support. Going across the hall to see what recommendations the County Child Support Services may have will hopefully help fathers get questions answered fast.
And Walsh says that is what this research is all about: strengthening and supporting fathers and families.
“In my partnership with the MFI, we really hope to support fathers and families in Milwaukee to thrive,” says Walsh. “Even when fathers face various challenges in their lives, they are an important person in the lives of their children. Supporting strong relationships is in everybody's best interest. It's good for fathers, it's good for kids and it's good for families.”