Successful Fathers, Successful Families: Mentoring Young Fathers

The FY 2015 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 needs that support their successful reentry.

Pathfinders of Oregon will operate the Successful Fathers, Successful Families program that will serve justice involved young men who are fathers under the age of 25 at program enrollment and have been assessed as medium to high risk. Pathfinders of Oregon will partner with the Oregon Department of Corrections, Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, and the Oregon Youth Authority. The Successful Fathers, Successful Families program will help young fathers improve their reentry outcomes by increasing family support and involvement by conducting individual assessments designed specifically for this population and providing pre-release services and transition planning that includes mentoring and family engagement activities.

CA/NCF