Strong Fathers/Strong Families Named “Promising Practice”

CASTLE (Child Abuse Services, Training, & Life Enrichment), an organization for the prevention of child abuse, operates the Strong Fathers/Strong Families program in the four Florida county jails of Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee and Indian River.

Based on the program's ability to demonstrate a positive impact on families, the Strong Fathers/Strong Families program was selected as a "Promising Practice" by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CASTLE program joins an elite group of 16 chosen for this distinction out of 226 programs reviewed nationally. The review process included a thorough evaluation of the success of the program during its first two years of operation, and a site visit from a consulting team wherein program practices and outcomes were scrutinized.

The Strong Fathers/Strong Families program is designed to teach these fathers about the responsibilities of being a father and the importance to children of having a responsible father in their lives. There is no cost to the family. The program has four main components which involve the entire family:
• Fathers' Group – Incarcerated fathers participate in twelve weekly group sessions learning about the importance of their roles as fathers in the lives of their children. The skills of being a responsible father are taught and practiced.
• Mothers' Group – Mothers participate (before the release of the father) in twelve weekly group sessions learning about responsible parenting and separation/reunification issues. Parenting skills are taught and practiced.
• Children's Group – Children participate in a support group that helps them deal with separation and reunification issues that arise due to their fathers’ incarceration. Children are encouraged to
learn about and express their feelings as well as learn about self esteem, problem solving, and anger/frustration management.
• In-Home Parenting – Upon the release of the fathers, families wanting to reunify receive a home based continuation of the program’s services with the addition of case management services to help the family gain and keep stability.

Projected to serve 150 fathers each year, the program is seeing almost three times that number of fathers. “There is a lot of interest in this program from the men in jail. The response has been overwhelming," said Doug Borrie, Ph.D., who helps to oversee the project. "We also work concurrently with the families of these incarcerated men, so that as parents, mothers and fathers are on the same page. When these men are released, we want them to be ready to fully assume their role as fathers."

Harriet Ostertag, MA, manages the program. She sees the changes in the men first hand as a co-leader of the training groups. "As the program progresses, fathers begin to understand their roles better. We’ve had a dramatic increase in the number of contacts these men have with their children, as they reach out to try and establish a bond. We have men who, for the first time, are working cooperatively with the mothers of their children to provide consistency as parents."

While CASTLE takes the lead in the operation of the program, it is the partnerships with the Sheriffs’ Offices and the Public Defender’s Office that make the program work. "Getting access to the jails and getting time set aside to work with these men is key to the program’s success," said Ms. Ostertag.

For more information on the Strong Fathers/Strong Families program contact Doug Borrie at dborrie@castle.org.