Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) for Fatherhood: An Empowerment-Based Social Work Intervention

The purpose of this study is to examine the psychological self-sufficiency (PSS) process among low-income men participating in the Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program and explore the implications of TIP as a fatherhood intervention. Sample from 324 men participating in a community-based fatherhood initiative and four local job training programs in a large Midwestern city was used to examine the group differences in PSS as it relates to economic self-sufficiency (ESS). Men in the fatherhood TIP program and those in the general TIP program had significantly greater relationships between PSS and ESS than those in the non-TIP comparison group. Results provide implications for social work practice with African American fathers in programs that address fatherhood. While traditional fatherhood programs approach mending fathers’ deficiencies, TIP allowed them to discover strengths from being broken and beaten up to authentically invest in their own lives and their children’s.