UPSTATE FATHER HOOD COALITION
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to engage fathers in the positive support of their children, and to enhance community support for fatherhood throughout the Upstate. We know engaged fathers are the best way to get to the root of problems that affect all of us—so that we can make real progress toward ending poverty, reducing crime and improving outcomes for all of our children. When fathers are engaged, children are 1) More likely to graduate from high school; 2) Less likely to go to jail; and 3) Better positioned to be good parents themselves. We strive to help fathers better themselves, their relationships and their understanding of how important a responsible, active father is in a child’s life. Building stronger families creates a better South Carolina for every citizen. Here's How we can help. 1) We provide community-based programs and support groups for fathers, free of charge; 2) We help fathers connect to other services they need so they can meet their responsibilities and secure their parental rights; 3) We offer job coaching and employment connections that benefit fathers, their families and employers in our communities; and, 4) We’re a resource for local organizations that want to provide family support and father-friendly services. We always look for community partners who want to collaborate with us—from local law enforcement and family court judges to health clinics and businesses who, like us, want to help fathers succeed.
About This Cause
The mission of Upstate Fatherhood Coalition (UFC) is to engage fathers in the positive support of their children and enhance community support for fatherhood throughout the Upstate. We offer education and services uniquely tailored for fathers trying to rebuild their lives and their families. We are devoted to helping men heal broken spirits and family relations, practice healthy parenting and gain productive stable employment. For we know that when fathers succeed in their fathering role, their children thrive. We accomplish this by addressing the root causes of poverty and reconnecting low-income, noncustodial fathers to their children financially, spiritually and emotionally. UFC is the only non-profit with more than 20 years of experience in the Upstate whose sole mission is to help fathers overcome the barriers to being a responsible and involved father. UFC has locations in Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg Counties, South Carolina. The program is designed for parents to advance their education, acquire life skills, achieve gainful employment, shoulder more responsibility, understand men’s health and ultimately become better fathers/parents. Unemployment and non-payment of child support are two of the biggest contributors to poverty in South Carolina. Most fathers entering UFC identify employment as their number one barrier to be a responsible father. Helping fathers find and retain a job that pays a living wage is an important step in rebuilding men’s lives and reestablishing relationships with their children. The impact of UFC goes far beyond direct benefits to participants; benefits extend to families, employers, and SC taxpayers. Because of our close partnership with Family Courts, men can be ‘sentenced’ to us instead of going to jail. We save taxpayers incarceration costs AND help our participants get jobs AND set them up to pay child support. Everyone wins, especially the children. We organized in 1999 to tackle the community issues of absent fathers and men becoming men. In 2000 we received a grant from the Sisters of Charity Foundation (Foundation) to address poverty issues in the greater Greenville Metropolitan area. The Foundation launched the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families (Center) in 2002 as a state-wide network and resource for fatherhood initiatives. In 2003 we merged with the Spartanburg Fatherhood Program and became Upstate Fatherhood Coalition. We work throughout the Upstate and have offices in Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg Counties. Upstate Fatherhood Coalition is one of six regional organizations (each with its own 501c3 status) under the umbrella of the Center. The Center provides funding and technical assistance with program quality, data collection and analysis, and partnership development. Since 2014, when our tracking database was established, UFC has served more than 4,500 participants throughout the Upstate of South Carolina. Here is how the program works. Men enroll in the program voluntarily or are referred to our Alternative to Incarceration component that allows Family Court Judges to order men behind in child support into the program instead of being jailed. ATI participants must secure employment, pay child support consistently for 6 months, and attend fatherhood classes for 6 months. Access to our program is available without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, or religious or political persuasion. Although the majority of our participants are men, we also will work with women who are Non-Custodial Parents (NCP) seeking to be involved in their children’s lives. During the first meeting at the fatherhood program site, program staff conducts an assessment and learns about the issues the NCP is facing. The top three usually are: 1) cannot pay child support; 2) don’t have a job; and 3) cannot see my child. Staff and fathers develop a One-Man Plan to overcome the barriers preventing him from working, providing for his children, and being an engaged father. All participants attend weekly peer support groups where the curriculum is delivered. Weekly peer groups address topics from the program’s major core areas: Parenting, Healthy Relationships, Economic Stability and Men’s Health. Self-Development and Legal Services are also included in peer group discussions. Our job readiness curriculum improves participants’ decision making, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Employment and job readiness include an intensive one-week 20-hour Employability Boot Camp targeted to unemployed participants, as well as an Economic Stability curriculum that focuses on budgets, child support and job retention and growth. AFP staff members assist in the Employability Boot Camp, deliver job readiness instruction and locate potential employers, and are critical to the program's success. They provide direct services such as individualized job mentoring, job readiness, and retention curriculum within the overall fatherhood program. Soft skills training includes resume preparation, completing job applications, and interview tips and preparation. Job retention includes learning to build a positive employer/employee relationship, employer expectations, and resolving conflict appropriately. Additionally, job developers function as the liaison between the fatherhood program, the workforce investment system case managers, and the local training providers. Job developers have a significant role in selecting training tracks that meet the time constraints of the fatherhood participants, are cost effective, and significantly improve the employability of the participants upon completion of the training. Job recruiters also coordinate transportation of defendants to and from skills training, employment interviews, and assist participants with coordination of transportation to and from work once employment is secured. In addition to weekly group sessions and core curriculum, services are tailored for each father through an individualized one-man plan that helps him set and reach goals. We help fathers focus on long-term-life-changes, not quick fixes to problems-of-the-day. Thus, UFC helps fathers address all aspects of fatherhood, confront thoughts, and change behaviors that lead to repeated problems. Because many fathers mistrust formal institutions, our staff often “walk with fathers” through bureaucracies and provide connections to resources where their problems can be solved. Our group and one-on-one services make the difference for these men. One on one and supportive services include: • Career assessments; • Recruitment of employers willing to hire harder-to employ individuals and match with fathers and assist fathers in job search; • Follow up with new hires and employers; • Criminal background checks on participants to assist fathers with record expungement and to prepare for employment; • Help with accessing and navigating SC Works to become WIOA eligible and to access services when possible; • Connecting with additional education or training; • Accompanying fathers to Family Court; • Transportation • Assistance with understanding and navigating the child support system, the pro se modification process for child support modification and visitation and establishing paternity; • Mediation with the non-custodial mother; • Father/child activities; • Participation in family group meetings when Child Protective Services is trying to engage a father in a crisis situation and serve as a liaison and facilitator between the father and CPS; Upstate Fatherhood Coalition uses the Apricot database case-management system to capture demographical and statistical data. Statistical data includes program services rendered to each client throughout the month including peer support, session attendance, establishment of visitation, job readiness, enrollment in GED, and acquired life skills. Our most viable tool for evaluation is the monthly tracking form, which records a client’s progress or lack of progress by monitoring milestone and outcome completion. A tracking from is completed each month on each participant for a minimum of 6 months. Monthly tracking forms are completed in the following 6 categories: A. Job readiness milestones and outcomes: Measures activities related to job readiness such as completing 20 hours of job readiness, completing Kuder career assessment, enrolling in WIOA services, etc. B. Parenting & relationship status milestones and outcomes: Measures activities related to parenting activities and improving the relationship with participant’s child/children. C. Stable living milestones and outcomes: Measures activities related to becoming a better parent such as establishing a bank account, obtaining a driver’s license, paying child support, etc. D. Employment milestones and outcomes: Measures activities related to employment such as obtaining a job, retaining a job, obtaining a better paying job, etc. E. Child support status milestones and outcomes: Measures activities related to paying to child support as ordered including the amount of child support paid. Our newest program is called Ready 4 Life and uses the Reality Check curriculum. Geared for young men ages 14-22, these interactive life-skills lessons help participants think about and plan for a bright future. Our participants: • Learn the benefits of responsible decision-making • Learn the importance of education, training, and career planning • Take a skills test to determine career skills and interests • Gain knowledge on budgeting, the cost of living, and financial literacy • Learn about the effects of father absence and the importance of father presence • Understand the importance of establishing and maintaining healthy relationships Ready 4 Life is a flexible model adapted to many settings. We offer the classes in community centers and afterschool settings; as an elective in regular school settings; and as a two-week summer camp experience. We host the summer camps on college campuses to help these students dream some bigger dreams about their potential and their future.