The National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute is a collaborative effort of Bienvenidos Family Services, The National Compadres Network and Behavioral Assessment, INC. Under the guidance of Jerry Tello, an internationally recognized expert on issues of cultural identity, family strengthening and male responsibility/fatherhood issues, the Institute brings together an integrated team of nationally recognized leaders in the field of Latino health, education, social services and community mobilization to address an extremely important area: Latino Fathers and Families.

The overall goal of the Institute is to address the multifaceted needs of the Latino males as it relates to their positive involvement in their families and community. Through research, training and direct service, the institute will look at the development of fathers as active positive partners in nurturing, guidance, and education of their children; while at the same time, addressing the very painful aspects of child abuse, domestic violence, gang violence, school failure, illiteracy, teen pregnancy and other related issues.

The Institute will accomplish this goal by:

• Building on Bienvenidos nationally recognized male/father involvement programs and developing a model Latino Fatherhood Center where culturally appropriate family strengthening, intervention and prevention services are provided.
• Having a leading team of national consultative advisors and experts in the area of Latino Fatherhood and healthy family development. this team of experts will serve as trainers and advisors in the strategic planning, program development, research and evaluation
• Developing a clearing-house of bilingual/biculturally appropriate materials and resources that can be made available to programs and organizations locally and nationally.
• Developing a National Fatherhood Research and Evaluation Center to conduct comprehensive research and evaluation studies in order to provide reliable information related to current data and the effectiveness of specific program methodologies.
• Establishing a comprehensive Communication Center that will develop media campaigns that promote positive Latino Father involvement and reduce the incidence of family violence, school failure and poor health outcomes for Latino Children and Families.
• Establishing a local East Los Angeles Chapter of the National Compadres Network, that can serve as a model to develop other "Compadres Network" chapters throughout the nation.

	Con Los Padres Con Los Padres is a nationally recognized young fatherhood mentoring and education program. The program provides fatherhood parenting classes, counseling, tutoring, job training and mentoring to assist young fathers to develop positive, nurturing relationships with their children and families. Through collaborative efforts of Bienvenidos Family Services with the District Attorney's office, Montebello Unified School District and Rio Hondo Community College, a comprehensive array of services are provided.
	Hombres Jovenes Con Palabra Hombres Jovenes Con Palabra bases it's lessons on the indigenous rooted concept of maintaining one's palabra, or credible word. Through interactive educational workshops and presentations, the program addresses the issues of teen pregnancy, relationship violence, community violence, and positive identity development as a responsible young man. The program has been acknowledged by the Urban Institute as one of the outstanding pregnancy prevention programs in the nation.
	El Joven Noble El Joven Noble is a Chicano/Latino Male rites of passage, mentoring program based on the indigenous culturally-rooted concept of El Hombre Noble (the noble man). This interactive like skills developmental program uses the values of the traditional teachings of the ancestors of the Chicano/Latino people to guide young men through their manhood preparation process. The program also assists participants to deal with the difficult issues of substance abuse, family violence, teen pregnancy, gang violence, identity development, job/school preparation and other issues that young men face daily.

Padres Con Cara V Corazon Padres Con Cara V Corazon is a fatherhood, family strengthening and parent education program. The program assists fathers and adult men of all ages to develop positive relationship skills with their children and their family while strengthening their ability to be an active, responsible participant in their lives. The project is a culturally rooted interactive program that attempts to build on the positive strengths of the traditional Latino family structure and reinforce the male role as a caring, responsible, respectful partner in the healthy development of the children, family and community.

Compadres Network Compadres Network is an extended kinship network of volunteers that serve the capacity of Compadres to support each other and assist the youth of the community as guides, leaders, teachers and mentors as they cross the rites of passage bridge. This network provides guidance and resources that will assure the healthy development of youth in the various programs.

The NLFF Institute is a collaborative effort of the following:

• Bienvenidos Family Services
  Bienvenidos Family Services was established in 1986 and is a nationally recognized family support center dedicated to enriching and strengthening the lives of children and families. It has received acknowledgements locally and nationally for it's comprehensive culturally sensitive services and the openness and unconditional support it extends to families. Bienvenidos Family Services' staff are dedicated to the protection, development and strengthening of children, families and communities.

• The National Compadres Network
  The National Compadres Network is a national effort whose focus is the reinforcement of the positive involvement of Latino males in the lives of their children and families. In November of 1988, a group of Latino Hombres gathered to establish the Circulo de Hombres; a group focused at strengthening and rebalancing the role and responsibility of Hombres in their family and community. Based on the principles of Un Hombre Noble (A Noble Man), several men from the Circulo launched the National Compadres Network whose mission is to strengthen, rebalance, and/or redevelop the traditional Compadre extended family system. In 1995, NCN held the 1st National Hombres Conference on Fatherhood to promote Latino fatherhood responsibility.

• Behavioral Assessment, Inc.
  Behavioral Assessment, Inc. is a nationally recognized center that specializes in the culturally competent Latino based research and evaluation. the center is lead by a team of experts; Richard Cervantes, Ph.D., Juana More, Ph.D., and Tony Rey, Ph.D.