Program coming to the Southeast to reform abusive fathers

There is a new program coming to Southeastern Manitoba through Agape House called Caring Dads.  

Caring Dads is an internationally recognized program for men who have either abused, neglected, or exposed their children to domestic violence.   

The program started up around 20 years ago, and has been successful with positive outcomes and wide-reaching impact.  

There are not a lot of programs available for perpetrators, so it’s a very unique program.  

Andrea Kirkwood from Agape House says men in the program are usually mandated to be there.  

“We don't generally take a lot of self-referrals. Usually, the folks in the program are mandated either by CFS or the justice system.”  

The program runs for 17 weeks, and the group is usually between 6-12 men. Kirkwood says the curriculum contains a lot of psychoeducation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and self-reflection. 

“So figuring out the link between our feelings, thoughts, and actions and finding ways to interrupt those lines that aren't working or are really negative.”   

Kirkwood says they have heard from other facilitators that the men who were very against being in the program at first, ended up learning a lot.  

"Even the men who are really resistant at first or really not interested go on to say really great things and actually put theory to action and make some really great changes in their lives and their families.”  

At its core, the goal of the program is to keep children safe. It does this by teaching fathers how to change their habits to maintain the safety and well-being of their children. 

“We focus a lot on child-centered parenting. How violence and abuse, or even witnessing violence and abuse in the home, affects children and what trauma looks like.”  

Kirkwood says that each session starts out with a group check-in to see how everyone is doing, and then they start on their homework.  

Each participant gets their own workbook, and they learn about how their parenting impacts their children. 

They have lessons and discussions about many different topics ranging from child development to how their parents raised them.  

“Examining the men's relationships with their own fathers and how they were parented and how that impacts their parenting, and whether that's you know, positive or negative or what would they change." 

By the end of the program, the men show a lot of improvement, but they still have check-ups with their case manager or some sort of authority.  

"They're still going to be followed up and monitored to ensure that their families are still safe.” 

Kirkwood hasn’t chosen the start date for the program yet since there is still space for more men. They say that being involved in any system is tough, and there’s a lot of shame around it, but there are really good supports out there.  

For more information on the programs they offer, check out Agape House on Facebook, Instagram, or email simplyoutreach@agapehouse.ca.