Family Impact Seminar: Fatherhood Initiatives in Tennessee

May 14, 2025 | 193 Polk Avenue, Nashville, TN 37210 Hosted by the UT Institute for Public Service SMART Initiative and the UT Knoxville College of Social Work

Tennessee is home to approximately 412,000 children living in fatherless households. While research consistently shows that involved fathers improve children’s educational, emotional, and economic outcomes, the programs and policies designed to support fathers in Tennessee remain fragmented and unevenly distributed across the state. This is especially critical given the overlap between substance use disorder, the criminal justice system, and fatherless households due to either overdose, incarceration, or ongoing substance use. This Lunch & Learn seminar brought together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to examine the current landscape of fatherhood initiatives in Tennessee, with a particular focus on the intersection of fatherhood and substance use disorder.

Researchers showed that there are meaningful programs across the state and a growing body of research on fatherhood interventions, and they share many commonalities, such as a focus on economic mobility, co-parenting, and community collaboration, as well as an integration of evidence-informed training models. However, only some offer fully integrated services, such as job placement. Additionally, persistent gaps remain such as systemic lack of legal supports, peer supports, mental health and substance use treatment programs, and a fatherhood focus across state agencies. Further, access is almost nonexistent in rural areas, programs often operate in isolation, evaluation quality varies widely, and too little attention is paid to the fathers who are hardest to reach — including those who are justice-involved, non-resident, or struggling with substance use.

From a policy perspective, there is a notable tradeoff along the parameters of cost vs delivery vs scale, wherein in-person groups reach the fewest, cost the most per family, but have the most significant and long-lasting impacts, compared to digital-only interventions at the opposite end of the scale, which reach exponentially more and cost a fraction per family, though the effects of the intervention tend to be smaller. This means that policy level support for fatherhood and family focused programs can be tailored depending on the funding amount, extent of the need, or specifics of a target population.

The seminar also showcased the work of the Tennessee Child Support Employment & Parenting Program (TSCEPP), who partners with non-custodial parents to help them overcome barriers to become stable, self-sufficient, and as involved parents as possible. TSCEPP specializes in a 2-Gen Approach, addressing the needs of parents and their children concurrently, emphasizing education, economic supports, social capital, and health and well-being. The majority of participants show stronger relationships between parents and children at six and 12-month follow ups, and this program has been in existence for about two decades with a consistent track record.

Featured Speakers

Dr. Monty Burks — Special Guest Speaker Deputy Director, Tennessee Governor’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative

Presentation pdf: Fatherhood and the Governor’s Faith-Based & Community Initiative

Dr. Ruben Parra-Cardona — Roger and Carol Nooe Endowed Chair, UT College of Social Work

Presentation pdf: The Critical Importance of Promoting Involved and Responsible Fatherhood: Lessons Learned and New Horizons

Dr. Jeff Vomund, Sara Borden, Debbie Abrams-Cohen, and Christopher Moulden — SWORPS, UT College of Social Work

Presentation pdf: Fatherhood Research, the Tennessee Landscape, and the Tennessee Child Support Employment & Parenting Program (TCSEPP)