Fathers Make A Difference - A Reentry Mentoring Project

The FY 2014 Second Chance Act Strengthening Relationships Between Young Fathers and Their Children: A Reentry Mentoring Project helps ensure that the transition young fathers make from secure confinement facilities back to their families and their communities is successful and promotes public safety. This program will fund mentoring and comprehensive transitional services, emphasizing developing parenting skills, to offenders who are young fathers. The goals of the program are to reduce recidivism among young fathers; improve outcomes for young fathers, their children, and family members; and promote responsible fatherhood. The objectives of this program are to provide young fathers with supportive mentoring and transitional services in both confinement and in the community based on and matched to their assessed risks and parenting needsthat support their successful reentry.

Fathers' Support Center (FSC) will utilize an approach that includes personalized career plans, education, employment development, therapy and other supportive services. The target population is young fathers, ages 17 to 25, being released from the St. Louis City Division of Corrections who are not involved with their child and/or do not provide financial support for their children. The FSC intends to deliver reentry services that include one-to-one, group, and peer mentoring and responsible fatherhood and transitional services with the aim of increasing employment opportunities and decreasing recidivism.
CA/NCF