Fathers on the Edge: Factors Inhibiting and Promoting Father's Voluntary Use of Welfare Services

The importance of including fathers in social services intervention processes has been acknowledged for over a decade. Many scholars have observed that the inclusion of fathers in professional interventions processes can contribute to the fathers’ and children’s well-being as well as to the overall improvement of family dynamics. This potential contribution is especially important in the context of fathers and families from disadvantaged populations and low socio-economic status (low-SES). Despite this knowledge, fathers in many countries, including Israel, are seldom involved in professional interventions with their families at social services.

Over the last few decades, researchers trying to identify the motivating and restraining forces influencing the participation of fathers in social service interventions have concluded that all the parties involved—mothers, fathers, and professionals— contribute, in different ways, to this state of affairs. Despite this, research conducted to date has concentrated on mapping the difficulties faced by professionals; few studies have examined the contribution of fathers and mothers to the situation at hand. Even these few studies have focused mainly on families with children at risk of neglect and abuse.

The present study aimed to identify the factors that motivate and restrain fathers of low socioeconomic status in applying voluntarily for the help of social services. . In order to map these factors, the study examined the perspectives of fathers, those who participated in professional interventions as well as ones who did not participate in such interventions.

The study also sought the perspectives of the fathers’ partners (the mothers of their children). in order to shed light on their attitudes toward potential or existing contact between their spouses and social services departments. The decision to include the mothers in the study was based on evidence showing that mothers, as parts of the parental units and as participants in decisions about the children might influence the extent of the father's involvement in social services interventions.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 fathers and 23 mothers. To conduct the interviews, I used a manual that covered the following areas: socio-demographic characteristics; perceptions of social services and social service professionals; attitudes toward seeking and receiving help; motivating and restraining forces influencing participation in social service intervention processes; and past-experiences with social services. The study was based on a phenomenological approach, which sought to examine everyday reality from the perspective of the person experiencing it. In order to protect the privacy of the interviewees, the names and contact information of potential participants were sent to me only after they had given their consent to the social workers.

Analysis of the interviews revealed that many of the fathers assumed that social services interventions were are directed at economic-instrumental assistance. Thus, most of them stated from the outset of the interview that they did not consider it necessary for both partners to participate in social services meetings. They also tended to believe that the mothers were the persons most suitable to contact the services and to represent the needs of the family. It was only as the interviews progressed that the fathers began to explore the importance of their participation in the social services intervention. Some of the fathers interviewed considered this as a part of their parental responsibility. Others related to the contribution of their presence at the meetings to the family as well as to the spousal relationship; others still described positive changes that occurred in their functioning as fathers. However, in contrast to these observations, some of the interviewees spoke unprompted about the importance of their involvement in contacts with the social services. Some described the meetings with social workers as an opportunity to talk about their problems and to relieve some of their heavy emotional burden.

All the fathers expressed feelings of distress: for some, this was the result of their financial circumstances and difficult life conditions, while for others it was due to the emotional and mental distress that derived from their life crises. Their descriptions reflected loneliness that accompanied their distress, as well as real need to maintain contact with social workers. Yet, despite this distress, and notwithstanding the need for material and/or emotional support, the findings indicate that most of the fathers were reluctant to initiate contact with social services to seek assistance.

Analysis of the interviews with the mothers and fathers revealed a complex situation, whereby personal, spousal, and structural motives influenced the fathers' feelings about contacting the social services for financial assistance and/or emotional support.

The obstacles preventing the fathers from requesting concrete/financial assistance derive largely from the perception of social services as a system intended for populations living on the margins of society, while they did not consider themselves belonging to these margins. The factors deterring the fathers from contact with the social services included a sense of embarrassment and fear that their children might be taken away from them.

 Other prominent obstacles that made it difficult for fathers to approach social services for instrumental assistance were the perceptions of the social roles of the parents. Seeking assistance from social services would be an admission of failure in this role. Besides these obstacles, the fathers commented on their lack of knowledge about the social services system: how it works, what it is intended for, eligibility for assistance, and the kind of assistance available. Another factor that was found to have a substantial impact on the extent of the fathers' participation in contact with social services was the mothers; they sought to keep the fathers in the role of "main providers,” whereas they (the mothers) assumed responsibility for managing the family and its affairs. As part of this role, the mothers were responsible for finding solutions to the daily challenges of financial deprivation, and for contacting social services. This division of labor placed the mothers in an influential position. These attitudes made it possible for the mothers to serve as gatekeepers to the access to the social service while the fathers remained outside this realm.

One obstacle from another direction could be attributed to the social workers, whom often preferred to maintain contact with the mother alone.

All of the fathers disclosed feelings emotional and psychological distress. This was related to their difficult financial circumstances and life conditions, or as an outcome of these life crises. Their descriptions articulated the loneliness that accompanied this distress, and highlighted their need (explicit or implicit) to talk about it. Yet, due to their traditional notions of masculinity, very few of them tended to share their feelings with their partners or with social service professionals. Moreover, many of the mothers tended to reinforce the fathers’ reluctance to initiate contact with social services. They saw themselves as the ones at the forefront of the struggle for survival, with regard to raising the children and maintaining the household. Therefore, they considered the emotional assistance provided by social services as a solution intended for them.

Besides the obstacles that the fathers referenced, they also proposed measures and emphasized aspects that could help in removing these obstacles, enabling them to cross the threshold and establish contact with social services. As a first step, they called on the social workers to initiate contact with them and invite them to participate in meetings—either directly or through the mothers. Many of the fathers indicated that they did not feel able to take the lead in initiating contact with social services. Their descriptions highlighted the need for recognition by the professionals, a need to feel that they are wanted and that they can make an important contribution to the outcomes of social services processes. Their statements suggest that contact between fathers and social services creates an opportunity for both parties to establish an initial connection that could reduce apprehensions, and promote the positive aspects of a relationship and dialogue between the father and the social workers. The fathers' wish for professionals to come to their home for the initial meetings derives from the fact that a meeting at the family home, where the father feels protected, can help the fathers to feel more comfortable and would increase the chances of establishing a positive connection. From an opposite perspective, the fathers ask the social service professionals "not to close the door.” They expect the social worker to see their distress, and to acknowledge that a father who approaches social services is doing so as a last resort, a fact that should obligate the social worker to treat him with respect and sensitivity.

The research findings constitute another step in an ongoing process of mapping the dynamics that enable, block, or minimize the involvement of fathers in social services interventions. The findings shed light on the obstacles faced by men, and on the contribution of their partners to their limited use of the assistance offered by these services. The study, the first of its kind to focus on parents who voluntarily seek help from social services reveals the needs of these parents, indicating that this population should be offered professional assistance to ensure that both fathers and mothers participate in the interventions that are offered.