Families Need Fathers


Families Need Fathers, founded in 1974, is a registered charitable social care organization in the United Kingdom that provides information, advice and support to parents whose children's relationship with them is under threat during or after divorce or separation, or who have become alienated or estranged from their children. FNF also advocates for shared parenting, more time for children with their non-custodial parent, and stronger court actions when a custodial parent defies court orders requiring them to allow their children a relationship with the other parent. The organizations goal is that children of divorce or separation should not lose the love and care of one of their parents.

Mission

In the United Kingdom, roughly one third of children from separated parents have no contact with their father, and the organization is chiefly concerned with maintaining a child's relationship with both parents during and after family breakdown.
The majority of the work of the charity is in providing relief, assistance, guidance and support to parents and other close family members hoping to stay in touch with their children after divorce or separation. It aims to further the emotional development of children whose parents have separated by encouraging shared parenting arrangements which enable such children to have continuing and meaningful relationships with both parents. The organization also seek to study problems associated with children who are deprived of a parent, and to promote an understanding of these problems among family and legal professionals and policy makers.

Parental support work

In 2016, Families Need Fathers received around 25,000 calls to its Helpline, around 5,000 visitors to local meetings, a similar number of posts to its online Forum, and 185,000 unique page views to its website.

Shared parenting advocacy

The organization advocates for shared parenting, whereby the children live substantial amounts of time with both of their divorced or separated parents. They base their advocacy on scientific studies showing that shared parenting is in the best interest of children, citing research by Malin Bergström, Robert Bauserman, Richard Layard, Judith Dunn, Rebekah Levine Coley and Bethany L. Medeiros, among others.

History and Organization

Families Need Fathers was founded in May 1974 by child psychiatrist Alick Elithorn and financial consultant Keith Parkin as an organization to campaign for equal parenting time after divorce, and for increased contact between a child and its non-custodial parent. The organization became a registered charity in 1979, and was able to hire staff in 1992. As the organization grew and started to receive government funding, some members left in the 1990s and several new organizations was founded such as Parents Forever Scotland, the Association of Shared Parenting, Dads After Divorce, and Fathers4Justice. In 1994, the Cheltenham Group was formed by FNF, Dads After Divorce and Parents Forever Scotland in an attempt to form a coalition of parenting organizations.
In 2008, FNF ran projects under the umbrella of "Both Parents Matter" and this strapline was added to the charity's logo in 2013 to clearly articulate the emphasis the charity placed on the importance of both parents in a child's life. By 2010, the organization had 51 branches across the United Kingdom and a network of 300 volunteers. It has since continued to advocate for shared parenting with the media, the House of Commons and the family justice establishment, while continuing its work as a social care organization.
Jon Davies was the chief executive from 2006 to 2010. The current chair is Jerry Karlin, and Michael Lewkowicz is the company secretary.

Criticism

In 1994, Labour Party MP Glenda Jackson claimed that Families Need Fathers advised fathers to kidnap their children if they were not allowed access to them, and if that did not work, to murder the mother. In a subsequent letter regarding the organizations draft mission statement, she reiterated the kidnapping assertion and found the mission statement to be an attack on women rather than an argument for keeping children and parents in contact. In neither instance did the MP provide a source for the kidnapping claim. In 2007, journalist Jenni Murray argued that at its foundation, FNF cast itself outside the frame of respectability as they were said to advocate for the abduction of children whose custody was awarded to the mother. More recently in 2017, Legal Action for Women protested at an FNF conference. They cited Jackson's 1994 kidnapping comment in parliament and protested that the organization has consistently attacked women and that they deny the existence of domestic violence.

FNF-BPM Cymru

Families Need Fathers Both Parents Matter Cymru
is a separately registered charity that was set up to respond to changes affecting parents going through separation that may result from Welsh devolution. For example, Wales has Cymru, while England has.
The National Manager of the charity is Paul Apreda who amongst other things coordinates support meetings across Wales and seeks to develop the infrastructure of the charity to provide assistance to increasing numbers of people.
In 2011 FNFBPM Cymru ran a competition in South Wales looking for a "superdad", with a £500 prize for the winner. It was followed the next year by the "Inspirational Wales Dad of the Year Award" at Ty Hywel in Cardiff Bay.

In 2013 the Charity held a Dinner to celebrate fathers with Louis de Bernieres as the guest speaker. In the last year, the Charity has hosted lectures on Parental Alienation with Karen Woodall one of the world experts in the subject in Cardiff and in Llandudno Junction for professionals working in the family law arena to attend.
Following funding from Cardiff City Council the charity has produced a booklet "A guide for school professionals... working with fathers and other non resident parents"
There are support groups that meet once a month in Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Blackwood, Bridgend, Merthyr, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham. A new group is due to start in St Clares this year. In Cardiff there is also a once monthly emotional support group led by a professional counselor. It also provides a telephone helpline and emotional support for parents and other family members dealing with issues relating to separation from their children.
Support meetings include a wide range of people - not just fathers. Increasingly volunteers are supporting grandparents and mothers who are seeking assistance in dealing with emotional and legal support.