The purpose of this publication is to review policies and programs that promote or facilitate the involvement of fathers and father-figures from the pre-natal period through the first eight years of their children’s lives, and to establish evidence of these programs’ potential to impact family violence, child abuse, and children’s health and learning outcomes. Twenty case studies are presented, along with a catalogue of additional projects and discussion of key issues. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research, policy and program design, and evaluation. It also draws attention to ways in which best practice in program areas in the Global South that have successfully addressed men and fathers (e.g. HIV prevention, women’s economic empowerment, and maternal and child health) may be transferred to interventions more directly related to parenting.
