Hung above social worker Patrick Duganz’s desk in the Gallatin County Health Department is a quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead, to the effect of how teaching men to be good fathers represents “the supreme test of any civilization.”
By that standard, his job — as the department’s “dad liaison,” or, technically, “father engagement specialist” — is among the most important in town.
“We know we get the best outcomes if everybody is doing well in the family,” he said. “We help the parents so that the child succeeds.”
To that end, his job is all about working to support dads, especially new fathers or those stepping into an active caregiver role for the first time, helping provide them with the skills to be the sort of parent their kids deserve.
An Anaconda native, Duganz studied journalism at the University of Montana and found his way to the Gallatin County Health Department’s home visitation team a year-and-a-half ago after stints in media and other social work jobs.
He also spent a few months as a housekeeper at the Yellowstone Club, wryly noting that “You can only clean Ben Affleck’s bathroom so many times before you’re like, ‘You know, Batman?’”
[For more of this story, written by Eric Dietrich, go to http://www.bozemandailychronic...ca-d11d32ab443e.html]
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