Introduction
Recently, a colleague at a nearby Pregnancy Resource Clinic investigated the responses of 100 of their most recent client fathers regarding their greatest needs. With the assistance of AI, I analyzed their responses and found the following:
Based on the list, the five greatest needs of those fathers are:
- Financial Stability & Employment: Many fathers expressed a need for a better-paying job, job security, and overall financial stability to support their family. This includes saving money and having the means to provide for a growing family’s needs like housing, food, and baby supplies.
- Housing: A significant number of fathers listed housing as a critical need, mentioning the desire for a stable home, a bigger house, or simply a place they can call their own. This reflects a fundamental need for a safe and secure environment for their family.
- Parenting Knowledge & Skills: Many fathers want to learn how to be the “best dad they can be.” This includes seeking advice on fatherhood, parenting skills, and understanding their role in a child’s life.
- Partner & Child’s Health: Fathers are deeply concerned about the well-being of their partner and baby. Their needs include ensuring the mother and baby are healthy, getting regular doctor check-ups, and knowing how to support their partner during and after pregnancy.
- Personal Well-being: This category includes a desire for self-improvement and mental health support. Fathers mentioned needing to be a better version of themselves, improving their physical health, managing stress, and dealing with personal issues like sobriety and mental health.
Analysis of Needs
The responses from the 100 fathers reveal a clear hierarchy of concerns, with tangible, immediate needs at the top. The most frequently mentioned needs fall into five core categories. These needs are not isolated but are interconnected. For example, a better job (financial stability) directly impacts the ability to secure better housing. Similarly, personal well-being, such as managing stress and self-improvement, impacts a father’s ability to be a supportive partner and a good role model.
The breakdown of the needs is as follows:
- Financial Stability & Employment (38 mentions): This was the most prevalent theme. Fathers repeatedly mentioned needing a job, a better-paying job, or overall financial security. Examples include: “Finances,” “Job,” “Better paying job,” and “To make sure I’m financially stable.” This demonstrates that providing for their family is a primary concern for most fathers.
- Housing (21 mentions): Housing was the second most common need. Fathers expressed a clear desire for a stable, permanent home for their family. This includes mentions of “Housing,” “House of our own,” “Bigger House,” and “Getting a place.”
- Parenting Knowledge & Skills (17 mentions): This category highlights a strong desire to be an involved and effective parent. Fathers asked for “Parenting Advice,” “Fatherhood Counseling,” and a desire to “Learn how to be the best father I can be.”
- Partner & Child’s Health (11 mentions): A significant number of fathers were focused on the health and safety of their loved ones. Mentions included “Healthy Baby,” “Making sure my Child’s mom is healthy,” and “Knowing for sure if she is pregnant and the steps afterward.”
- Personal Well-being (8 mentions): This category, while less frequent, is still important. It reflects the internal struggles and goals of the fathers themselves, such as “Stay Sober,” “Mental Health,” “Become more motivated to work out,” and “Working Hard.”
The remaining needs, such as “Transportation,” “Legal Status,” and “Relationship Issues,” were mentioned less frequently and were often tied to the larger five categories. For instance, a lack of transportation can be a barrier to securing a job and housing. The distillation of this list into the top five “Greatest Needs” provides a clear picture of the primary challenges and concerns facing new fathers.
My next question was, how do these responses compare to national trends. Here is what I discovered:
The distilled needs from the survey of 100 fathers align very closely with the findings of national surveys and research on modern fatherhood. The core themes are remarkably consistent, showing that the challenges faced by this group of fathers are not unique but are part of a broader national trend.
Comparison to National Surveys
- Financial Stability & Employment: This was the top need in the local survey, and it is consistently highlighted as a major concern for fathers in national studies. Research from organizations like the Pew Research Center and the National Fatherhood Initiative shows that being a “breadwinner” is still a primary role that many men feel pressured to fulfill. Studies from 2024 and 2025 specifically point to the “cost of living crisis” as a significant source of financial pressure, which in turn impacts their mental health and family relationships.
- Housing: While not always listed as a standalone category in national surveys, the need for housing is an integral part of the broader themes of financial stability and providing for the family. The desire for a bigger or more stable home is a direct consequence of a father’s role as a provider, and it’s a concern that underlies many of the financial anxieties mentioned in national reports.
- Parenting Knowledge & Skills: My analysis of the local PRC survey’s finding that fathers want to “learn how to be the best father I can be” is strongly supported by national data. Research indicates that modern fathers are increasingly involved in hands-on care and desire information on parenting skills, child development, and how to be a supportive partner. This reflects a shift away from the traditional role of just being a provider to being a nurturing and emotionally present parent.
- Partner & Child’s Health: This need is also a significant point of comparison. National reports, such as a 2025 study on “Expectant and new fathers,” show that fathers are deeply concerned with their baby’s development and their partner’s physical and mental well-being. This concern is so prevalent that some public health initiatives are now developing tools like the “Pregnancy Risk Assessment System for Dads” (PRAMS for Dads) to better monitor and support fathers’ health during this transition.
- Personal Well-being: Our finding on fathers’ needs for mental and physical health is a critical and growing area of focus in national research. Surveys from 2024 and 2025 reveal that a significant number of dads are struggling with their mental health, often due to work-life balance issues and financial stress. The prevalence of paternal postpartum depression and anxiety is gaining recognition, with a key challenge being the stigma that prevents many men from seeking help. The need for personal improvement and self-care is a direct response to these stressors.
In summary, the needs of the 100 local fathers surveyed are not outliers. They reflect the major anxieties and aspirations of fathers across the United States. The desire to provide, the need for a stable home, the yearning for effective parenting skills, and the quiet struggle with personal well-being are all consistent and widely documented challenges for modern fatherhood.
Meeting The Needs of Fathers
It is important to point out that the stated hierarchy of needs of these fathers are unselfishly focused on the needs of their families, and not on their personal well-being only. They accept responsibility for their child and the mother and are looking for help to fulfill those duties. It is only right that everything possible is done to support them.
The survey findings affirm the importance of the work of professional Fatherhood Practitioners and their agencies as they strive to identify the needs of the fathers they serve. But they cannot do it alone. It must be “all hands on deck.” The wellbeing of children is at stake.
Nearly 60% of the fathers surveyed have financial stability/employment concerns, and housing needs. Almost 20% have family and personal health needs. To address those anxieties, partnerships, collaborations, and referral relationships with government agencies, private social service entities, healthcare services and other programs in the community are required. Unless it is part of a very large community agency that has most of those services in-house, partnerships are crucial to enabling fatherhood specialists to adequately serve fathers and families by connecting them to resources in their communities.
It is as those basic needs are being addressed that father-focused parent education and skill development programs can be most effective. The mobilization of multiple sectors in the community is recommended to address the needs of fathers and families. Housing, finance/banking, social/human service, healthcare, education, philanthropy, judicial, legal, and other sectors are needed at the table to meet the needs of fathers of school aged children and their parenting partners. I will devote a future blog posts to community mobilization, and the special needs of noncustodial fathers.
Inspiration from the Holy Scriptures
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. – 1 Timothy 5:8 NKJV
It is expected of a father to provide for his family. God has put the instinct within us to want to make sure that our children and wives are safe, and have their needs met. Beyond our immediate families, Christians are also required to also provide for relatives who are vulnerable or unable to provide for themselves, such as elderly or widowed family members. Failure to do so demonstrates a denial of Christian love and care, making one “worse than an unbeliever” because it contradicts the core principles of faith and love that even non-believers often practice.
The community helps itself when struggling fathers are supported as they endeavor to live up to their God-given role of being POPS (protector, order keeper, provider, and stabilizer).
For more on the topic of fatherhood, read my book Father Love: The Powerful Resource Every Child Needs. https://www.amazon.com/Father-Love-Eli-Williams/dp/1498471188
Very soon, I will be announcing the second edition of this 2016 publication. In it, the research on fatherhood and fatherlessness is updated. I have added a chapter (26) on what churches can do to help fathers strengthen their spiritual leadership in their homes, congregations and communities.
Another new resource for fathers is the book Fathering Strong – God’s Blueprint for Leading Your Family by Bruce Stapleton. Learn about it here: https://www.amazon.com/Fathering-Strong-Blueprint-Leading-Family/dp/B0F52HN91R
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Fathering Strong is powered by Urban Light Ministries, Inc., a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 in Springfield, Ohio. Our mission is to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to the Heavenly Father. Go to www.fatheringstrong.com to donate. To learn more about Urban Light Ministries’ history, work, and mission, explore www.urbanlight.org.