A Fatherhood Forum held on 1 May in Invercargill drew more than 60 attendees from non-profit and governmental agencies. The event was organised by the Families Commission and hosted by Our Way Southland, a collaboration of the four Southland-based Councils.

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English told an audience of 50 ‘Key Thinkers’ at a forum in Wellington yesterday that he wants people involved in social community initiatives to ‘run down our doors’ with new ideas. He and Social Welfare minister Paula Bennett said that the government is committed to social services that strengthen communities and […]

The government has positioned the Families Commission as a ‘centre of excellence for knowledge about families and whanau’. Providing ‘advice on effective, accessible, and appropriately targeted services’ is one of the Commissions key future roles. The Commission is inviting 50 ‘key thinkers’ from outside government to a forum in May to develop a ‘knowledge base’ […]

Recent research shows that dads need to be more included in family services says Families Commissioner Gregory Fortuin.

Father & Child was involved in some of the most prominent media coverage about the Families Commission’s proposal for four weeks paid paternity leave.

Families Commission research released today Heart and Head, showed that 60% of fathers think the media portrayed them in a poor light, and half thought that society overall does not recognise their importance.

The Families Commission is calling for four weeks paid leave for fathers with today’s release of their father research report. The report showed that fathers are asking for more time with their children.

A new study by Nelson researchers David Mitchell and Philip Chapman on experiences of separated non-resident fathers found that research participants were either unaware of existing services or considered them unfriendly towards men.

The Families Commission has contracted Christchurch researchers Research First led by Carl Davidson to undertake a literature review of fathers research and a representative survey on Kiwi dads. This will be the first study on any aspect of fatherhood since 1999 involving more than a handful of respondents. The Commission wants to base the new […]

Most respondents to the Families Commission’s internet-based ‘Couch Poll’ on fathers said ‘better attitudes towards fathers from society’ was the single most important thing that could be done to support fathers. Of the 142 predominantly male respondents, 46% agreed with this, followed by flexible working hours, paid paternity leave and father-specific parenting courses with 30-35% […]