Since 2010 we have been meeting for a unique, court recognized parenting support group that focuses on helping fathers become more productive and happy in their roles as dads. Interestingly, the model includes the children and significant others too! Project Fatherhood was developed by Dr. Hershel Swinger of Children’s Institute, Inc. to give poor, urban, culturally diverse fathers an opportunity to connect with their children and play a meaningful role in their lives. The program continues to be recognized nationally for effectively addressing the problem of absentee fathers, a major social issue affecting the healthy development of a significant number of children. The program provides comprehensive parenting skills to culturally diverse biological fathers using an innovative support group model. Over the years, Project Fatherhood has also proved to be effective for other men in care giving roles such as stepfathers and foster parents, and relative caregivers such as grandfathers. Since its inception more than a decade ago, more than 7,000 fathers have participated in the program and the numbers continue to grow. A key component of the project is its intensive training approach that prepares professionals to lead "Men in Relationships" support groups. During the program, a broad range of issues is addressed including father’s understanding of appropriate discipline, domestic abuse, communicating needs, and traumatic experiences in fathers’ backgrounds that affect their relationships with their children and partners.