Horizon Eagle Fatherhood Program

Horizon Outreach has developed the Horizon Eagle Fatherhood Program (HEFP). HEFP includes a program/services aspect, but also includes a rigorous evaluation component, featuring a randomized control trial (RCT) research design. The evaluation will determine the effect of the Horizon Eagle Fatherhood Program with fathers aged 18 and up in Houston, Texas. Specifically, the research is examining the effects of the program relative to: (1) improvement in healthy relationship and marriage skills, (2) improvement in parenting skills, (3) improvement in conflict resolution and anger management skills, and (4) improvement in financial management skills and progress toward greater economic stability.

The intervention includes 40 hours of classroom instruction. This instruction addresses topics such as Fatherhood Development, Relationship Enhancement, and Financial Literacy, and features the 24/7 Dad curriculum as part of the instruction. All participants will have the opportunity to participate in enhanced case management, and workforce training. Thus, the evaluation will determine whether the classroom instruction component makes a difference in outcome variables, over and above any difference that may be made bu the case management and workforce training.

Program participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. Participants assigned to the intervention group will receive the program now. Participants assigned to the control group will have an opportunity to receive the program later. All participants (intervention and control) will complete a pretest questionnaire. Intervention participants will then participate in the Horizon Eagle Fatherhood program. This is an intensive 40-hour classroom-based program taught by project staff. Both intervention and control participants will receive case management services. Following completion of the program by the intervention participants, all participants will complete a posttest questionnaire. After completion of the posttest, all participants will have an opportunity to participate in a workforce training program. Six months following posttest, all participants will complete a third questionnaire. In addition, a selected number of participants will participate in focus groups. After completing the six-month follow-up questionnaire, participants from the control group may participate in the 40 hours of classroom instruction, should they choose to do so.

There are four primary research questions. Does the Horizon Eagle intervention produce improvement in (1) Healthy relationship and marriage skills? (2) Parenting skills? (3) Conflict resolution and anger management skills? (4) Financial management and progress toward economic stability? Participants will be randomly assigned, in a 3:1 ratio, to treatment or control conditions. All control participants who complete a pretest questionnaire, posttest questionnaire, and/or a follow-up questionnaire will be included in the data analysis. For participants in the intervention group, those who complete at least a portion of the intervention, will be included in the analysis. The analysis will determine whether those participants who the investigators assigned to the intervention group, and who completed at least a portion of the intervention, improved in self-reported attitudes and behaviors, when compared to participants in the control condition.

The program requires that written participant consent be obtained before participation in the program and prior to the collection of any data. Participants will be informed of the study the first time they meet with the intake coordinator. Prior to beginning the intake process, participants will be provided with a detailed informed consent form explaining the aims of the program, benefits, and any potential risk of the program (see Appendix). Risk within this project is identified as minimal. Participants may feel uncomfortable responding to some of the questions in the questionnaire, as it may bring up topics of conversation related to relationships and family communication. Participants will be informed that responses to questions are voluntary. Participants will be informed of the benefits of the program, including strengthening family relationships and bonding, and improvement in communication skills. Participants who have provided written consent to participate in the project (and who are at least 18) will complete the pre-test questionnaire (baseline) in an appropriate setting, at the intake. The pre-test questionnaire will be completed before the implementation of the intervention curricula.