Milwaukee Fatherhood Collaboration - FORGE Program
Family, Opportunity, Resilience, Grit, Engagement
Program Overview
The FORGE (Family, Opportunity, Resilience, Grit, Engagement) Program was established to fund fatherhood efforts designed to strengthen positive father-child engagement, improve employment and economic mobility opportunities, and improve healthy relationships (including couple and co-parenting) and marriage.
The Milwaukee Fatherhood Collaboration-FORGE Program serves fathers aged 18 and older who live in Milwaukee County, WI and have a dependent child or young adult child up to 24 years of age. “Fathers” includes biological fathers, expectant fathers, adoptive fathers, stepfathers, and father figures. Fathers of all races are welcome to participate in the program.
The FORGE Program is based on a Primary Workshop (PW) model that includes integrated curriculum-based workshops and other services.
Interested in enrolling?
To enroll in the Milwaukee Fatherhood Collaboration-FORGE program, please contact one of our thee community-based partner agencies:
Core Program Service Areas
Healthy Marriage Relationship Education
To promote healthy couple relationships and marriage enrichment, fathers participate in the Within My Reach (WMR) curriculum. WMR workshop topics and services include:
- Understanding child development and child behaviors.
- Promoting positive communication with children and other family members.
- Setting limits and using nonviolent discipline techniques.
- Showing the importance of being an involved parent.
- Developing or rebuilding trust.
- Reducing family conflict and enhancing family relationships.
- Self-regulating and co-regulating to support healthy parenting and attain shared and personal goals.
Responsible Parenting
To help develop responsible parenting and co-parenting skills, fathers participate in the 24/7 Dad PM curriculum. 24/7 Dad workshop topics and services include:
- Communication skills, including expression, discussion, and negotiation skills.
- Conflict resolution, anger management, and problem-solving skills.
- Promotion of the benefits of marriage and two-parent involvement.
- Education, counseling, or mentoring on family finances, including household management, budgeting, banking, and handling financial transactions and home maintenance.
Economic Stability
To help fathers gain and/or retain employment as they move toward economic self-sufficiency, workshop topics and services include:
- Employment assessment
- Resume development
- Soft skills training/readiness coaching
- Job search assistance
- Job/vocational training
- Job placement and retention services
Case Management
To address any unmet needs related to the core program service areas as identified above, participants are expected to receive an average of eight substantial contacts. Substantial Contacts are interactions between a staff member and a participant, focused on programming (for example, making up a missed workshop session) and/or issues related to the participant’s needs (for example, providing resources or referrals or providing coaching).
Service Delivery
Primary Workshop
The Milwaukee Fatherhood Collaboration - FORGE Primary Workshop consists of the following services:
- 11.5 hours of 24/7 Dad PM Responsible Parenting curriculum education (including a Child Support 101 presentation)
- 13.5 hours of Within My Reach Healthy Marriage Relationship curriculum education
- 3.0 hours of Economic Stability (employment education)
Additional Opportunities
In addition to the Primary Workshops, participants can participate in:
- 2.5 hours of financial education
- 0.5 hours of education on the causes of domestic violence and child abuse
"When fathers are engaged, children are more likely to succeed in school. Families experience less conflict. And most importantly, children grow up knowing they are supported, valued, and loved. That is the true benefit of this program."
- Sandra Stevens, Director of Programs & Supportive Services
Program Background and Funding
The FORGE Program was established by The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA).
In September of 2025, CSS was awarded a five-year FORGE grant by OFA to provide services to fathers living in Milwaukee County, an effort CSS is uniquely qualified to lead, as it is consistent with the CSS mission and the experience gained by providing services to thousands of fathers each year.
In April 2026, County Executive David Crowley and Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson-Bovell signed legislation to deploy the $5 million in fatherhood services.
The production of this web page was supported by Grant #90ZJ10106 from ACF. Its content is soley the responsibility of Milwaukee County DHHS-CSS and do not necessarily represent the official views of ACF.