HERO Dads: The Power of Connection

Engaging fathers in relationship education can be exceptionally complex, especially when they face barriers like substance abuse, intergenerational trauma, or reintegration from incarceration. For the HERO Dads program at Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx, overcoming this challenge relies on a single, powerful design principle: connection.

"In a field focused on strengthening relationships, so much of our work is about how to feel connected!" says Program Director Traci Maynigo, Psy.D. "It makes sense that learning how to do that should also happen in a way where you can feel most connected with the people that you're learning from and learning with."

The HERO Dads program utilizes a unique rotational model where participants are involved in multiple forms of contact with the entire team. The in-person program consists of four weeks of traditional class workshops, a continuous weekly support group, and the opportunity to utilize eight one-on-one parent coaching sessions. The priority in all these settings is modeling skills. The program purposefully departs from passive, slide-heavy lectures. "At this point, we're delivering a self-developed curriculum... but at the end of the day, it's really less about what's on the slides and more about these bigger psychological principles," says Maynigo. The ultimate goal is helping men "feel safe to be vulnerable."

This vulnerability is nurtured through a "show, don't tell" approach to staff training. Each year, staff undergo in-person training to experience the program firsthand. This allows facilitators to better understand and replicate the participant experience. The goal is to enable staff to build a family environment with their participants. "We are not just preaching," Maynigo notes. "The best way to learn is when you feel the difference yourself... If we can show them in every single interaction what it feels like to really be seen and heard, they can do that for their child."

This priority on modeling is also built into every single workshop session. Skills practice and coaching are built in to the final 20 minutes of each of the four traditional program sessions. This allows participants to get real-time feedback before being sent home to practice throughout the week. The one-on-one coaching sessions provide individualized support for specific needs a participant may have. For example, one father used his coaching session to work through how to initiate a difficult but crucial conversation about sex with his teenage daughter.

HERO Dads pairs its emphasis on warmth with academic rigor, continually evaluating its efficacy. The program participates in national evaluations, like the TIES study, and is currently validating its own self-developed skills measure.

This commitment to evaluation directly shapes program operations. During a recent randomized control trial comparing in-person and virtual cohorts, researchers found that while basic skill acquisition was similar, fathers in the in-person cohorts showed significantly higher improvements in their co-parenting alliance. Guided by these findings and participant feedback, HERO Dads returned to a 100% in-person format.

The impact is clear. In the current grant period, which began in October 2025, participant retention has remained between 85-90%. The majority of participants are from program graduate referrals, highlighting the satisfaction of participants. The sense of community built within the program extends beyond the final class. Participants truly have built a family within the program, with one past participant rushing over to share the news of their marriage that was just solemnized at the courthouse that day! By intentionally centering on connection, HERO Dads has built a family in their community.