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“It is exciting to think that these young men that we see
come before the court will be able to develop their skills
to help them become good fathers,” said Cubbon during the
press conference Monday afternoon. “A program like this
enables fathers to engage with their children at the
earliest possibility.”
The initiative is designed for non-custodial fathers who are
18 to 24 years of age and are in arrears with child support.
The program will positively engage fathers in the care and
support of their children while increasing child support
compliance by providing the fathers with comprehensive
services such as assessments, individualized case plans and
case management, employment assistance and linkage to legal
and other services.
Other groups partnering with Lucas County to provide
services for the program are Center of Hope and Network.
Those two agencies will be providers for the
nationally-evaluated Nurturing Fathers Program.
“There are a number of complementary services [fathers] can
get through this program,” said Skeldon Wozniak. “We want to
help fathers build their dreams.”
It is estimated that there are approximately 1,800 fathers
in the 18 to 24 age range in Lucas County, noted
Ortiz-Flores who has spent seven months working on the
program that will service 50 to 75 fathers during the first
year.
Most of the fathers served will be those referred by
Juvenile Court who are in violation of a support order. The
magistrate presiding over the court's docket will have the
option of suspending sentence as long as the father agrees
to participate in the program.
But as time goes on, fathers will also have the opportunity
to actively seek the assistance of the initiative.
“We need for fathers to step up and say 'I'd like to be part
of this program,'” said Ortiz-Flores
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