After InsideOut Dad, the reunion comes after release.

We assume our reunion sessions run after release, mainly because a father still inside isn't available for one. You already have six optional Reentry sessions for the weeks after release. Ours are for the months after those, when the handbook is in a drawer and nothing brings him back to it.

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From NFI's own logic model

Incarcerated fathers use the Fathering Handbook during the program and refer to it after they complete the program.

A reunion session is a time he does, and he leaves with one more line for it.

Repeats from InsideOut Dad0Of its 12 core sessions

Nearest a Reentry session5 of 9Rather than a core one

New shape to learnNoneWelcome, middle and close

Who comesYour graduatesThe same men, one step past the gate

How our reunion course connects back to InsideOut Dad

1 After release, not inside A reunion session needs a program that can bring its graduates back. Inside, the facility decides that, not the program. NFI's own logic model adds that the facility also governs his contact with his kids.

2 The same session shape Welcome and Warm-up, content activities, then Closing, Comments, and Evaluation. A facilitator trained on InsideOut Dad isn't learning a new shape to run this.

3 The handbook, picked back up NFI's logic model says a man refers to his Fathering Handbook after the program ends. A reunion session is a time he does, and he leaves with one more line for it: one thing he'll start doing, in his words, and the day he'll begin.

Content continuity

Nine sessions, and the ground each one is nearest.

Where a man will recognize the territory, so a facilitator can say so out loud, and a director can see what's new. Five of the nine land nearest a Reentry session rather than a core one.

Our session	Lane	Nearest ground in InsideOut Dad
Half the Time, Twice the Parent	Responsible parenting	Session 6, Fathering from the Inside, and its Ways to Connect appendix. Reentry 3, Visits Upon Release.
They're Always Watching	Responsible parenting	Session 8, The Father's Role.
Do It Again	Responsible parenting	Session 6 Appendix, Ways to Connect. Reentry 3, Visits Upon Release.
Have We Met?	Personal development	Session 2, Family History and The InsideOut Dad.
Just Say No	Personal development	Reentry 4, Communication Patterns, and its Prepare, Pause, Think, Choose.
The Empty House	Personal development	Reentry 1, Fathering on the Outside.
Say the Good Thing	Healthy relationships	Session 7, Communication. Reentry 5, Safe Communication.
Stop Keeping Score	Healthy relationships	Session 11, Working with Mom and Co-Parenting. Reentry 1, Gatekeepers and Father Figures.
The End of Mind-Reading	Healthy relationships	Reentry 3, Visits Upon Release, on the logistics side. Session 11, Working with Mom and Co-Parenting.

And the ground we don't go near

What It Means to Be a Man Showing and Handling Feelings Men's Health Children's Growth Discipline Change and Impact Responsibilities and Child Support Money Management

Eight topics InsideOut Dad covers and our reunion course doesn't. A reunion session is one idea in one sitting. It isn't a shorter version of the thing he already finished.

Session structure

Your facilitator already runs this shape.

InsideOut Dad: Welcome and Warm-upWelcome5

InsideOut Dad: Content activitiesTeach, Write, Talk65

InsideOut Dad: Split out of its closeCommit15The graft point

InsideOut Dad: Closing, Comments, and EvaluationClose5

The difference that matters is sequence. InsideOut Dad is 12 sessions that build on each other, plus six optional ones. Every reunion session stands on its own, so a cohort that has already dispersed can come back for one session, and after release a dispersed cohort is the only kind there is.

Anticipated outcome

One indicator, where NFI's model already points.

InsideOut Dad measures with a pre- and post-assessment. A reunion session doesn't claim what that measures, and it isn't reentry success, reunification or recidivism. It produces one figure: the men who leave with one thing they want to start doing, in their own words, and the day they'll begin, out of the men in the room.

The one figure, during the session

6 in 10 Our target floor: men who leave with one thing to start doing and the day they'll begin. Nothing quoted above it until pilots report.

Get the full InsideOut Dad alignment guide.

Four axes: content, the men in the room, session structure and the outcome we measure. Sent to program directors on request.

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