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"Heartfelt, open discussion from presenters, panelists and participants"
"Loved the way it was set up, extremely well organized. More of the same please!"
"Next time let’s work to bring answers to some of the many questions brought to mind today."

The Hudson Valley Fatherhood Forum provided an opportunity for about 60 service providers to share a day exploring the issues that confront fathers, the services available, and the challenges and gaps in services. The day provided a starting point for our assessment of the need for a fatherhood alliance. A summary of the evaluations is here.

This page includes recordings of the morning session and links to the reports from the afternoon work groups. Note: if you get only 30 seconds of the recording, look for the link that says "Play full song."

The morning kicked off with Man Up, a documentary-in-the-works that explores many of the facets of fatherlessness to show the magnitude of this social epidemic - Tonia Grady, Executive Producer/Director.

Opening Speaker Ken Braswell	Keynote Speaker and Panel Moderator Shawn Dove
Kenny Braswell is the Director of the NYS Strengthening Families through Stronger Fathers Initiative located in the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. In 2003, he created Fathers Incorporated (FI). The organization provided the platform necessary to explore the work of responsible fatherhood on a local and national level. Kenneth is the author of "When The Tear Won't Fall" published this month.	"Shawn Dove was beyond excellent." -participant evaluation Shawn Dove manages the Open Society Institute's Campaign for Black Male Achievement. In 2006, Dove founded Proud Poppa, a publication for African American fathers and is a co-founder of Harlem Men Stand Up. He initiated a strategic response to the lack of African American and Latino male mentors for NYC boys by creating a public awareness and recruitment initiative called The Male Mentoring Project.

The Panel
Alicia M. Crowe, Esq. is a rising voice and face for responsible fatherhood in America. Her book, “Real Dads Stand Up! What Every Single Father Should Know about Child Support Rights and Custody," is widely respected in the legal and fatherhood/family community. Her approach has been adopted by the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance and the NYS Office of Child Support Enforcement as well as many other agencies, organizations and service providers who work with fathers.	Gus Ramirez is chief executive officer of Horizon Center, a re-entry facility for ex-offenders in Albany, NY. Gus previously was Director of the Veritas Therapeutic Communiity in NYC and the Stay N Out program in Amarillo, Texas. He is currently also a Board Member at Centre Civico of Amsterdam, NY and of Mediation Matters of the Capital Region.	Ed Lawson is mediator and case manager with Child Find of America’s Parent Help-NY program providing free, confidential problem-solving telephone assistance to fragile and broken families. Mr. Lawson previously was a Bergen County law guardian, representing children in parental termination proceedings and a criminal public defender in Hudson County. He has been involved with Fathers, Inc. which focuses on re-energizing the participation of fathers in the lives of their children.	Ken Braswell - see above for biography

The task of the afternoon workgroups was to identify the existing resources and gaps in services, the challenges and the stories service providers deal with in their daily work. This was the first step in our assessment of whether their is a need for a Hudson Valley Fatherhood Alliance and what its role might be. The workgroups have posted their discussions - just follow the links and add your comments.

• Supporting fathers in finding their place in complex family relationships
• The impact of workforce development and the economy on positive fathering
• Untangling Child Support, Custody, and Visitation
• Criminal Justice, Re-entry, Parole – the challenges of fathering in the criminal justice system
• The challenge of working with teens as fathers
• Understanding and working with cultural issues in fathering