Otis Harris Jr. saw something extraordinary when an ad for the Fathers in Focus conference popped up in his Facebook feed last year.  

“I’ve never seen that type of focus on motivating, empowering and supporting fathers, father figures and those who provide services to fathers,” said Harris, a father of 16 years, who was newly single at the time. “Fathers in Focus is important because programming for fathers is just not anywhere else.” 

Registration opened on Fathers Day for the second Fathers in Focus conference. The event, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, on the Madison College Campus, will feature 18 presenters, a keynote speaker and a panel discussion to help fathers build their parenting skills and support networks. The conference is free of cost for all attendees with sponsorship support from Madison College.  

Fathering and the way men see it has changed more quickly than the systems that support families, says Dr. Alvin Thomas, co-chair of the Fathers in Focus conference presented by UW-Madison Division of Extension, and associate professor of Human Development and Family Studies at UW-Madison. Fathers are also held back by society’s view of mothers as primary caregivers and stigma around men expressing themselves and seeking support. 

“Fathers said, ‘Where can we find a space to just come in as fathers and take off the restrictions without judgment?’” Thomas says. “‘We can’t address it in these normal spaces because they’re not prepared for us.’” 

Recent research shows men in Wisconsin are lacking a sense of community and want to learn from and support other fathers, according to the UW-Madison Division of Extension Institute of Human Development and Relationships. The research recommended finding ways to address attitudes, stigma and gender norms that challenge fathers’ ability to parent. 

Based on that research, Fathers in Focus offers six tracks: 

• Co-Parenting 
• Relationship and Parenting Skill-Building 
• Child Support and Finances 
• Custody Challenges 
• Mental Health 
• Justice-Involved Families 

Fathers need community 

Research shows the father’s role relates to positive outcomes and resilience for their children, the family and the father himself. The same spaces and resources fathers seek out are the ones that help mothers reduce depression and anxiety, normalize parenting challenges, relieve tension, refocus and drive purpose. 

But fathers who want advice on colicky babies, prepubescent children, understanding child support payments or emerging from incarceration may have nowhere to go.  

“There’s still a sense that you can’t be strong and vulnerable as a father,” Thomas says. “Boys are not being encouraged to engage in nurturing. Men are disconnected from this part of themselves, especially when they come to be fathers.” 

Fathers in Focus, curated and led by men, is a space where fathers drop their invisible armor and feel at home. “Men can relate and be vulnerable because another dude over there is being vulnerable and it’s comfortable,” Thomas says 

Service providers can listen, learn and connect at Fathers in Focus 

Harris, who has worked with a local Madison ministry for over two decades with children and families and is the founder of PushedN2Destiny Consulting, was inspired to lead a workshop at Fathers in Focus 2024. He’ll present again this year on being an emotionally present father who shapes strong families and resilient kids. 

At the conference, Harris encountered a term that resonated deeply with work he had already been doing: “mental load.” 

“I’d been doing the work—balancing appointments, practices, school events—but I didn’t know there was a name for it,” Harris says. “Learning about the concept of ‘mental load’ didn’t change what I did—it gave me language for what I’d already been carrying. And that language helped me teach it to other fathers, so they could see the full picture of what parenting really requires.” 
 

People who provide services to fathers attend the Fathers in Focus not only to listen to fathers, but to connect with other service providers so they build more father-centric programs. Attendees range from behavioral health grad students to professionals from the Madison Metropolitan School District and the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families to volunteers from community organizations throughout the state. 

“Fathers in Focus is an ideological farmer’s market where you can see who’s doing what and how it fits with your organization’s current trajectory on the fatherhood spectrum,” Thomas says. Service providers who are considering or are already pursuing fatherhood-specific programs can connect with other organizations to help them build these programs and partner to meet those needs.  

Fathers find an oasis of peace and support at the conference 

Fathers in Focus is a gathering where men can find real care and community, where they can be themselves, Harris says. Attendees laugh together, enjoy each other’s company and share contact information.  

“Some of us are doing everything right and we’re still at the end of our rope. Fathers in Focus refreshes us,” he says. “At the conference, we’re fathers trying to raise our children to be active, supportive, successful members of society. You find what you need there — peace and support.” 

Register for the free Fathers in Focus conference today. In the meantime, stay tuned for announcements, including the full schedule, and follow UW-Madison Division of Extension’s Human Development and Research Institute on Facebook. 

Interested in sponsoring Fathers in Focus? Email us at FathersInFocus@extension.wisc.edu. 

You may request an interpreter, materials in an alternative language or format, or other services to make this event more accessible, by contacting Bridget Mouchon at FathersInFocus@extension.wisc.edu by Sept. 1, 2025, There’s no added cost to you for these services.