In the past decade, the nature of fathers' involvement with their children and families has become an important topic, with government agencies and nonprofit groups developing programs to help men manage the challenges of fatherhood. This report presents the first set of findings from the Bay Area Fathering Indicators Data System (BAyFIDS) Project, designed to track and analyze the operation and impact of fathering programs and describe the nature of local and county policy efforts around fatherhood in the San Francisco Bay Area. The report provides a baseline on participant needs, program and agency guidelines and effort, and the attitudes and values that stakeholders (program directors and staff, program participants, and county/municipal policymakers) bring to the issue of responsible fathering and family support. Following an introduction describing the emerging field of fatherhood and families, the report is presented in six chapters. Chapter 1 describes the municipal and regional context for the study, noting that a key concept in the focus on father involvement is responsible fathering. Chapter 2 describes the methodology of the study: site visits and focus groups with program staff and selected participants; and semi-structured telephone interviews with county-level staff and social and family services, public educational institutions, and the court system. Chapter 3 presents findings on the characteristics and needs of program participants. Chapter 4 provides a profile of fatherhood initiatives in the Bay Area, discussing their primary objectives, the services they provide, and the resources they possess. Chapter 5 discusses the findings on the role of county and government agencies in emerging fatherhood initiatives across the nine counties in the study. Chapter 6 contains a general conclusion that includes recommendations for programs, county agencies, and funding agencies. Three appendices include the survey instruments and national resources on fathers and families. (Contains 22 references.) (KB)