The legacy of father absence impacts the functioning and well-being of adult children in various ways. One fundamental pathway through which father absence affects adult children is through establishing and enacting their families. Studies on family formation emphasise that the family of origin is an important factor that influences adult children’s construction of family.  The goals of this study were to develop an in-depth understanding of how adult children raised in families with absent fathers construct their families, determine social work services they require, explore services offered to children affected by father absence and provide guidelines for practice. Strategies in qualitative research applied to accomplish set goals are phenomenology, exploratory, descriptive and contextual. A combination of face-to-face and remote data collection methods were used to gather data from 18 adult children and 15 social workers. Suitable participants were identified through purposive and snowball sampling methods. Thematic analysis of data was employed. Furthermore, Creswell’s (2014:197) six steps were followed during data analysis.  The findings suggest that growing up without a father may result in multifaceted challenges underscoring lack of trust and anger. These effects may persist into adulthood and manifest in intimate relationships, construction of families and parenting. Despite the scourge of father absence in South Africa, social work services offer non-effective general reactionary services to addressing the problem. Suggested guidelines for social work practice focus on early intervention and intervention strategies and psychosocial support at adolescence, young adulthood and adulthood. Successful intervention is dependent upon services based on integrated approaches and strategies. Thus, facilitation of collaborative efforts among community key stakeholders is paramount during early intervention and provision of comprehensive services to those affected by father absence. 

KEY TERMS - Adult children, father absence, family construction, family, guidelines, social worker, social work services.