System-involved fathers face barriers that limit their ability to cultivate healthy relationships with their children. This study examines how fathers describe institutional intersectionality or the hybridity of multiple-system involvement. Focus groups with system-involved fathers ( N = 17) were conducted between 2021 and 2022, following completion of the 24-7 Dad® parenting program. Data were analyzed drawing upon a thematic analysis of hybridity. Findings show that the cyclical nature of involvement across child welfare, child support, and criminal justice forms a hybrid cycle of penalization or injustice due to mother-centricity, cultural mistrust, and societal devaluation. Racism and poverty further intensify penalization. A conceptual model outlining pathways of penalization is proposed. Interventions must center father-inclusive practices and promote a cultural reframing of fathers’ value. Future research should validate the model in other contexts.
Cook et al. (2026) studied this question.