Caring Dads — Toronto-Developed Group Programme for Fathers Who Use Abusive Behaviour, Run Through Child Protection

Caring Dads was developed by Katreena Scott at the University of Toronto (manual published 2006). It is a 17-session programme (15 group sessions and 2 individual sessions, two hours weekly, groups of 8-12 fathers) combining motivation enhancement, parenting education and cognitive-behavioural work, with active contact with mothers and child-protection workers to keep women's and children's safety central.
A quasi-experimental study of child-protection outcomes over two years (Scott et al., 2021; 85 fathers who completed the group vs 100 on a waitlist) found significantly more contact between child-protection workers and fathers and significantly lower verified re-referral rates among completers. An Australian evaluation (Hine et al., 2022) reported positive outcomes for mothers' experiences of violence, wellbeing and safety, but had no comparison group.
Caution: the CEBC child-welfare clearinghouse lists the programme as 'Not Rated' on its scientific scale, and no randomised controlled trial was identified; outcomes rest on quasi-experimental and uncontrolled evidence.

Read the full analysis: https://www.cebc4cw.org/program/caring-dads-helping-fathers-value-their-children/