Father reading to his son
We are honored and excited to be selected as one of only seven programs across the United States to provide reentry services to young fathers and support their families with reunification.
Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) November 02, 2015
Pathfinders of Oregon is pleased to announce that it has received funding through the Second Chance Act to support the Successful Fathers, Successful Families reentry program for young fathers returning from incarceration to their families in Multnomah County. Approximately 850 young men return to their families in Multnomah County each year.
In the words of Director of Community Programs, Alison Dunfee, “"We are honored and excited to be selected as one of only seven programs across the United States to provide reentry services to young fathers and support their families with reunification. The Successful Fathers, Successful Families program will further our mission to improve outcomes for children of justice involved parents."
The young fathers who come to Pathfinders of Oregon’s Center for Family Success often face significant reentry challenges: 65% have been arrested one or more times, 9% are involved with gangs, and 55% have had involvement with the child welfare system. All of these are risk factors for child abuse and neglect. At the Center for Family Success, fathers participate in Parenting Inside Out, Caring Dads, and healthy adult relationships classes and receive wrap around services to help them become effective parents and advocates for their children.
At the core of the Center’s services is Parenting Inside Out (PIO), a parenting skills program developed in Oregon as a joint project of the Oregon Department of Corrections, the Oregon Social Learning Center and Pathfinders of Oregon. PIO targets the specific needs of criminal justice and systems involved parents and gives them the skills to help their children lead healthy, prosocial lives. PIO has been on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) since 2012.
Parenting Inside Out is a cognitive-behavioral based program focused on building prosocial life skills through parenting skills training. The combination of cognitive-behavioral programming with parenting is powerful. Continued contact between an incarcerated parent and his or her children has been shown to reduce recidivism.
The goals of the Successful Fathers, Successful Families program are to increase young fathers’ successful transition from secure confinement to family and community and to increase their engagement in positive parenting behaviors. Through connections with community partners, fathers will also receive support to complete a GED, find stable employment, engage in substance abuse treatment and find housing.
ABOUT PATHFINDERS OF OREGON
Pathfinders of Oregon is a 501(c) 3 organization whose mission is to break the cycle of criminality. Pathfinders has taught programs within the Oregon Department of Corrections for more than 20 years. In the community it offers family strengthening programs to families impacted by the criminal justice system through its Center for Family Success.