In an effort to improve the well-being of children through the promotion of responsible fatherhood, The Ohio State University at Mansfield (OSU-Mansfield) is partnering with the Community Action Commission of Erie, Huron, and Richland Counties (CACEHR) to launch a county-wide initiative that will address fatherhood/parenting needs.
Community leaders, including Gary Feagin, State Farm Insurance Agent; Renee Thompson, Family Engagement and Outreach (FEO) Coordinator at OSU-Mansfield; and Brad Callender, Mansfield Senior High Principal met with Jennifer Jennette of CACEHR and Monica Mahoney of the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood to develop a strategic plan that will impact those within Richland County.
As a result, it was decided that several community leaders, including those within school systems, faith-based organizations, businesses, among other spheres of influence, will receive six months of training on how to conduct a needs and assets assessment to determine how to best impact the community in regards to fatherhood needs.
Training will be provided at no cost to Richland County and it will be conducted by the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood staff, fatherhood practitioners and leaders from other counties who have already completed the training. It will begin in January and will consist of webinars, workshops, and technical assistance.
Thompson explained that the FEO Initiative Program Specialist, Ashley Foust, had contacted Deanna West-Torrence with the North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC), who then referred Foust to Jennifer Jennette of CACEHR. Jennette played an integral role in establishing the Fatherhood Initiative within the Central Ohio area.
“Our program [CACEHR] has kept building and growing, and we have since realized that we needed partners and a county-wide initiative so that we could bring in as many people as possible to be on board on with addressing fatherhood needs in Richland County,” said Jennette.
Thus, an invaluable partnership was formed between CACEHR and OSU-Mansfield’s Family Engagement and Outreach program.
To help kick-start the initiative, Richland County will receive a $10,000 seed grant.
While the hope is that several sectors of the community will be impacted, the fatherhood effort will initially focus on the needs of children within the Mansfield City School District.
Principal Callender stated, “For some of the kids coming to school, I end up being a surrogate father…I’m one person and I need people in the community to step up and wrap their arms around these kids figuratively and literally, which is going to statistically help with improvements in behavior, college attendance, and long-term goals, along with a lot more stability in the lives of these children.”
Thompson added, “Our emphasis is about the children. Fatherhood will be the vehicle of how we’re going to impact our children in a meaningful and healthy way.”
From a business perspective, Feagin discussed the benefits of addressing fatherhood needs in the community, stating that prospective businesses typically look at the schools before making the decision to move into the county. “If our city schools are engaged, then why wouldn’t I bring my business in?” he asked.
He further commented on the value of having business leaders undergo training for this initiative. “I had a client call me years ago who told me that his wife left him. He had two kids and didn’t know what to, and I didn’t know what to tell him. He wanted to be a good father but just didn’t know what to do,” Feagin stated. With training, he said that he would have been able to point the client in the right direction to learn and acquire the skills to be a healthy parent.
Specific fatherhood needs within Richland County have yet to be determined. However, one common need that Jennette identified is healthy communication skills. “We served nearly 200 men in the last two years and from our perspective, we offer several different topics, and one that is key is communication,” she said.
“Until we start getting into training and look at the data, then we can better understand what the community needs are,” she added.
For further information, visit fatherhood.ohio.gov, or http://www.fatherhood.ohio.gov/Programs/OhioCountyFatherhoodInitiative.aspx.
“For some of the kids coming to school, I end up being a surrogate father…I’m one person and I need people in the community to step up and wrap their arms around these kids figuratively and literally,” said Principal Brad Callender.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, in 2009 approximately 44 percent of the children born in Ohio were born to non-married mothers. In addition, children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to live in poverty, two times more likely to abuse drugs, two times more likely to be involved in crime, and three times more likely to commit suicide, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
