Focus on Fathers is a Philadelphia-based parenting program that teaches dads how to be better engaged in their kids’ lives, writes Courtenay Harris Bond for PhillyVoice.
The program tries to help dads develop and maintain positive involvement in the lives of their children. It is part of a broader movement to promote men’s emotional development, which leads to reduced domestic violence and absentee fatherhood.
Focus on Fathers is an affiliate of the nonprofit Public Health Management Corporation, as well as part of a criminal justice effort to bring down recidivism rates through resource-based sentencing and supervision.
Judge Stephanie Sawyer in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas, realized that “judges are set up to be the executioner,” and that “they’re not set up to be helpful at all,” is a proponent of resource-based sentencing and supervision.
So she founded The Sentencing Foundation nonprofit, which engages defendants with judges in comprehensive plans that include community programs like Focus on Fathers to try and address behaviors that lead to court involvement.
Focus on Fathers serves over 250 people a year. It uses the 24/7 Dad curriculum that focuses on topics, such as how to show and handle feelings and what it means to be a father.
Read more about Focus on Fathers in PhillyVoice.
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