Frequent Questions

HHS’ Fatherhood Initiative

Around the Regions:
Region 3

Region 3 Home Page
Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia

Patrick J. Patterson, Region III Fatherhood Lead
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
150 S. Independence Mall West, Suite 864
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3499
Phone: 215-861-4019; ppatterson1 @ acf.hhs.gov
Fax: 215-861-4070

Regional Activity

The Regional Program Manager for CSE served on a Fatherhood Panel at a conference sponsored by Philadelphia Fatherhood Practitioners Network at Community College during Spring 2004. Participation on the panel was in concert with the agency's support of activities relevant to sustaining healthy families and the significance of fathers' involvement in the developmental processes of their children. While there were several questions about the appropriate mechanisms for assuring that arrears are negotiated and bench warrants are not executed for ex-offenders with reentry plans for their communities and families, there was demonstrative expressions of emotions which suggested that many issues about familial relationships remain unresolved and require a private professionally staffed arena for exploration.

State Activity

Delaware

Access and Visitation. Delaware established five family visitation centers that serve the State's three counties. These centers are available for supervised visits between parents and children six days a week, including holidays. Family visitation centers facilitate opportunities for children to have safe and conflict-free access to both parents. They help to address custody and visitation issues in families with a history of domestic violence, child abuse, high conflict, etc. The centers offer a neutral drop-off and pick-up for off-site visitation with a non-custodial parent when the relationship between parents is too acrimonious for a cooperative pick-up/drop-off. Contact Jane Rattenni at (302) 255-9687; e-mail: jane.rattenni @ state.de.us.

District of Columbia

Access and Visitation. The Child Support Services Division of the D.C. Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (CSSD) uses Access and Visitation funding to support a Supervised Visitation Center that the D.C. Superior Court operates. This Center provides supervised visitation services to families in cases involving domestic violence. In conjunction with this project, CSSD also provides funding to the Children's Rights Council to supply similar services in the community to divorced, separated, and unwed parents, and to operate a hotline for parents with access and visitation problems. The hotline provides parents with information and service referrals to help them overcome obstacles to successful parenting.

CSE: Services to Incarcerated Parents — The Child Support Services Division of the D.C. Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia ("CSSD") is working to establish a program for noncustodial parents to request a suspension of their child support obligations after being sentenced to a period of incarceration. The arrears that incarcerated parents accumulate are often significant and difficult to collect. In addition, the debt accumulated during a period of incarceration can impede the parent's ability to re-enter society and gain lawful employment after being released. However, if the noncustodial parent does not request a reduction at the time of incarceration, there is no retroactive modification. By working with the D.C. Superior Court and the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), the probation agency for the District, CSSD has developed a process by which parents subject to child support obligations who are sentenced to more than 30 days in jail are informed of the need to file a motion to suspend the support order and provided with the tools to do so.

TANF: The DC Fatherhood Initiative (DCFI) is currently in its third year of operation. The first year was used as a planning year, garnering support for the Initiative by bringing together the relevant District programs and agencies that offer supports and programs for male (fathers) residents. Program implementation commenced the second year and resulted in over 800 fathers receiving services from one (1) of the seven (7) non-profit, community-based agencies receiving D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) sub-grants in TANF dollars. Service areas included job readiness training and placement assistance, life- and parenting-skills development, substance abuse intervention and treatment, housing assistance referrals, return offender guidance, and educational enhancements.

Outreach
The DCFI program implements a three-part strategy to meet the needs of limited/non-English proficient clients. First, through bilingual staff working at one (1) of our seven (7) DCFI service provider sub grantees; second, through a partnership with bilingual case management staff working at the DHS Strong Families Program; and third, externally, through access to the DC Language Line, which has speakers available to serve residents in over 200 languages.

Additionally, District residents can access fatherhood/parenting services through contacting 'Answers, Please!,' the Department of Human Services' information and referral hotline that features user-friendly searches by name, location, address, operating hours, telephone numbers and/or eligibility criteria for over 1800 social service programs. This service can be accessed via the internet or by phone and operates seven (7) days a week, 24 hours a day.

Current Fiscal Year
So far in this third year of operation, 140 fathers have reconnected with their children; 134 previously incarcerated fathers have received employment, housing, health and educational assistance, and over 50 fathers have obtained sustainable employment. Additionally, twenty-five (25) limited/non-English speaking clients have been served to date (Twenty-four (24) Spanish-speakers and one (1) Amharic-speaker).

Future Plans
Fiscal Year 2006 activities include the placement of the $1.3 million yearly operating costs into the Agency's base-line budget and the release of a new round of sub-grantee awards to continue and expand upon current successes in fatherhood service delivery.

DCFI Contacts:
Ms. Joi Yeldell, Grants Administrator, DHS Office of Grants Management; (202) 671-4402
Mr. David Ross, DCFI Program Manager, DHS Office of Grants Management; (202) 671-4394

Maryland

Access and Visitation Program: This program provides a mix of services through community-based organizations such as mediation, counseling, design of alternative custody arrangements, as well, as supervised and neutral drop-off and pickup sites. In some cases, these programs are used in conjunction with job services to provide comprehensive responsible fatherhood projects.

TANF/Child Welfare: Maryland's Young Fathers Responsible Fathers Programs (YFRF) is one of three father-focused initiatives in the State. The YFRP program provides services to custodial and noncustodial fathers such as parenting, education, family planning, GED instruction, job training, employment-search assistance, and self-esteem building. The program has five sites in five jurisdictions that serve young fathers, age 16 and up, who have one or more children and are at risk of becoming involved with the social service system. YFRF programs also encourage co-parenting for noncustodial fathers.

The target number of participants per year is 60. This number also includes some mothers.

The following are the outcomes of the program:

• Reduce the number of indicated and unsubstantiated abuse and neglect reports for their children;
• Decrease the incidents of out-of-home placements among their children; and
• Increase parenting skills

The data for FY 2005 will be forthcoming. They have requested assistance from DHR in obtaining the outcome data.

Frederick, Maryland
The fatherhood initiative includes a 2-hour weekly community-based group and the fathers having access to the services at the Family Support Center. Examples of discussion topics for the group include:

• child support guidelines;
• court proceedings;
• parenting schedules with children;
• job search and employment;
• being responsible and on-time;
• relationships with in-laws and other family members; and
• the child welfare system

The goal is to serve 25 fathers per year. The outcomes of the program are as follows: 85% of participants will remain free of Child Protective Services (CPS) reports while receiving services; and 90% of participants will self-report enhanced family well-being on their Family Partnership Questionnaire. In the first two quarters of FFY 2005, 83% have reported enhanced family well-being. In the first quarter of FFY 2005, 100% of the participants remained free of CPS reports while receiving services.

Absent Parent Employment Program:
This program provides workforce development services to non-custodial parents.

1. Nearly 150,000 Maryland families are headed by a single parent.
2. Yearly 7,500 Maryland children are born to mothers under the age of nineteen.
3. Approximately 138,000 families in Maryland receive Temporary Cash Assistance.
4. 49% of Maryland's child support caseload receives Temporary Cash Assistance.

Studies support a strong link between father absence and juvenile delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, violent crime, teenage pregnancy, and failure in school.

Maryland's Initiative for Fathers and Families acts as an advocate for fathers on behalf of children and families because children have a right to both the emotional and economical support of both parents. Likewise, Maryland's Initiative for Fathers and Families provides services to fathers complimentary to the State of Maryland's goal of welfare reform that promotes self-sufficiency, responsibility and accountability for all of Maryland's citizens. The programs offer fathers services in personal development, life skills, health and wellness, building relationships and employment development, all of which encourage fathers to be caregivers and nurturers to their children. This YFRF program, which is a national model for fatherhood intervention and education, has served more than 1400 men with case management and aftercare service referrals. Participants of this program have become actively involved in child rearing, have become employed, have paid child support on a regular basis, have increased their educational level and have become mentors to younger males.

Another program associated with Maryland's Initiative for Fathers and Families is the Access and Visitation Program. This program encourages non-custodial parents to have greater access to their children through programmed activities and services. The key operating philosophy in each of these programs is the greater the access a non-custodial parent has to his child, the more likely he is to support his children financially, emotionally and socially.

Services to Ex-Offenders. The Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration (CSEA) is working with the Department of Corrections on a computer interface, which will identify non-custodial parents in state prisons, their expected release dates and specific locations, etc. This will enable CSEA to partner with competitive grantees providing services to ex-offenders coming back into the community. The plan is to identify which of these parents qualify for WtW funding due to a connection with a TANF child so that services can be offered both pre-release and post release. CSEA and the community partners will be seeking a federal grant to help set up a special unit within CSEA to provide case management services to these parents in order to handle their cases. The goal is to contribute to their success during transition into the community and not impede it by certain enforcement activities during reintegration.

(State of) Maryland Fatherhood Initiative
Keith Snipes is Deputy Director for Programs and can be reached at 410-767-8477.
http://www.FatherhoodMD.org

Pennsylvania

(Commonwealth of) Pennsylvania Fatherhood Initiative:
The Department of Public Welfare's (DPW) Single Point of Contact/Pregnant and Parenting Youth program provides services to teen fathers. Non-custodial dads, ages 18-22, whose children are on welfare, can receive job training, parenting skills and help earn their GED. DPW is developing fatherhood programs at eight to 10 Family Centers around the State to provide non-custodial fathers with education and employment services, peer counseling, parenting and life skills training. The DPW uses its Access and Visitation grants to enhance the opportunity for personal contact between non-custodial fathers and their children. The Domestic Relations Section of the Courts administers the funds and awards funds through competitive bids to local organizations. The goals are to strengthen the relationship between non-custodial parents and their children, to increase child support payments, and to unify families. Services include mediation, counseling, education, development of parenting plans, and visitation services. Twenty-eight Private Industry Councils across the State use a portion of their Welfare-to-Work grants to offer employment, retention, advancement and training services for non-custodial parents.

The Department of Public Welfare also provides services to low-income custodial fathers in selected areas of the state. These individuals can receive job training, parenting skills and help earning their GED. Twenty-three Workforce Investment Areas across the State can opt to use a portion of their SPOC money for this purpose.

The Department of Public Welfare has established a pilot program in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to provide job training and placement services for unemployed and under-employed noncustodial parents. The program is a collaborative effort between the Department's Bureau of Employment and Training, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, local Title IV-D agencies, and a private contractor. The goal is to enhance the employability and earning potential of the noncustodial parents so they can fulfill their child support obligations.

The Department of Public Welfare has established a pilot program in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to provide job training and placement services for unemployed and under-employed non-custodial parents. The program is a collaborative effort between the Department's Bureau of Employment and Training, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, local Title IV-D agencies, and a private contractor. The goal is to enhance the employability and earning potential of the noncustodial parents so they can fulfill their child support obligations.

TANF: Pennsylvania has been providing intensive case management services, repeat pregnancy prevention, parenting and child development education, homework and tutoring assistance, and other supports that have enabled tens of thousands of expectant and parenting children to stay in school and receive their high school diploma or GED. These and other services have been offered through the Education Leading to Employment and Training (ELECT) Program.

The ELECT Program has been in existence for fifteen years. In that time, it was expanded to include:

• A fatherhood component called the ELECT Fatherhood Initiative (EFI),
• Non-assistance services to eligible students with income under 235% for the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines (FPIG) through the ELECT Family Works Initiative (EFW), and
• Services to at risk youth through an after school program called the ELECT Student Works (ESW) Program.

EFI began in January 2000 as part of the Governor's Fatherhood Initiatives. It provides services to expectant, custodial and non-custodial fathers. In addition to all services provided through the ELECT Program, this initiative provides young fathers with the opportunity to be mentored by positive male role models who assist them in becoming responsible parents and contributing members of their communities. EFI also provides services such fatherhood support groups, anger management sessions, assistance with child support and custody issues, denial skills training and support in strengthening the bond between fathers and their children. In fiscal year 2003-04, it provided services to 633 fathers.

The EFW Initiative began in April 2000. This initiative extended ELECT services to expectant, custodial and non-custodial parents whose income was under 235 % FPIG and who were not receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families cash assistance benefits. In Fiscal year 2003-04, ELECT and EFW provided services to 2041 young parents. Approximately 78.1% of the seniors, participating in these initiatives, graduated or returned to school to complete their education.

In January 2001, the ELECT Program was again expanded to provide after school programming for at risk students in grades 4 through 12. This initiative, called ESW, is being piloted in four Local Education Agencies across the state. It provides after school programming, which assists children in reducing and eliminating risky behaviors, and in improving their school attendance and performance. It also provides homework assistance, recreation and sports activities, and age appropriate pregnancy prevention and denial skills training

In addition to helping young parents to remain in school and obtain their high school diploma, the ELECT Initiatives have been instrumental in assisting Pennsylvania in reducing out of wedlock pregnancies, strengthening the parent/child bond and promoting the formation of two-parent families.

CSE: Philadelphia County. The Networking for Jobs Program (NJP) is a Family Court initiative designed to provide access to job training and employment opportunities for those least able to obtain these services on their own. The main focus of NJP is to link unemployed, noncustodial parents (NCPs) with at least one child with an active TANF case with the resources they need to enable the NCP to become self-sufficient and better able to pay their support obligations. Although primarily aimed at NCPs with children on welfare, NJP also has limited resources available to non-welfare custodial and non-custodial parents. The Networking for Jobs Program provides parents with: coordinated, comprehensive job training; identification of jobs resources; job banks and information referral systems; assistance in job application and resume preparation; mentoring and support services; alternatives to criminal and delinquent behavior.

The objectives of the Networking for Jobs Program: Change Attitudes; Develop Marketable Jobs Skills; Enable Employment; Increase Amount and Regularity of Child Support Payments.

Pennsylvania Parenting Program Grant: The Pennsylvania Fatherhood Initiative is part of Pennsylvania's project of community building, which includes a number of initiatives aimed at empowering individuals and building communities at the grassroots level. The Pennsylvania Parenting Program (PPP) is a key component of the Pennsylvania Fatherhood Initiative. The goal of the PPP grant is threefold: 1) to strengthen the relationship between noncustodial parents and their children; 2) to increase child support payments; and 3) to unify families. The PPP Grant solicits organizations and agencies to propose projects designed to foster responsible parenting by developing and administering community-based parenting projects to support noncustodial parents. In the search for these types of organizations, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania focuses on programs that will be administered at the local level where there is a wealth of knowledge regarding the community and those that reside in or in close proximity of it. Eligible activities under the PPP Grant include, but are not limited to: visitation services (both monitored, supervised, therapeutic, and neutral drop-off and pickup); mediation (both voluntary and mandatory); counseling; education; enhancement of employment opportunities; development of parenting plans; life-skills training; peer mentoring; and development of guidelines for visitation and alternative custody arrangements.

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) has participated in the Federal Access and Visitation Grant Program since the program's inception in September of 1997. The focus and administration of the Pennsylvania Access and Visitation Grant Program will continue unchanged for the distribution of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2003 funding. The grant funds are available through county Domestic Relations Sections (DRSs) to courts, local public agencies, or nonprofit private entities. The local Title IV-D agencies (county Domestic Relations Sections) are encouraged to sponsor a joint initiative with the Access and Visitation Service providers.

The Access and Visitation Grant Program, with projects currently operating throughout the State, offers services to support, counsel, educate, and challenge noncustodial parents to assist them to become a strong and positive force in the lives of their children. Rather than focusing solely on the fact that children are dependent on their parents for financial and medical support, the programs acknowledge the important contributions that parents make to the emotional and psychological health of their children. Eligible activities include: mediation (both voluntary and mandatory), counseling, education, development of parenting plans, visitation enforcement (including monitoring, supervision, and neutral drop-off and pickup), and development of guidelines for visitation and alternative custody arrangements.

In September 2004, the DPW, Office of Income Maintenance, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, renewed access and visitation grants to seven community-based initiatives. The renewal funding of $333,852 was the FFY 2003 award to Pennsylvania. The seven projects were selected in September 2003 through a competitive request for proposal process. The following agencies will provide services through September 30, 2005:

PA Head/Fatherhood Activities:
Scranton-Lackawanna Human Development Agency
200 Adams Avenue
Scranton, PA 18503
Head Director: Sam Ceccacci
Telephone Number: 570-963-6633
E-mail: sceccacci @ headstartslhada.org

The grantee is implementing a three step system for involving families.

1. Hire a part-time father involvement coordinator. This person will hold an in-service with staff to increase their awareness of father involvement. This person will develop a program to be presented at each center; train facilitators and market the program in each center; and develop a comprehensive survey of our fathers that will enhance program planning.
2. Staff from each center will recruit an interested male figure to help organize and promote a "Guys Night Out" at each individual center. The Fatherhood Coordinator will then hold a group training of all the men interested in helping to facilitate this night out.
3. During the event, the parents who were trained will facilitate the program and help recruit others.

Community Action Southwest
150 West Beau Street, Suite 304
Washington, PA 15301
Head Start Director: Douglas Kovach
Telephone Number: (724) 222-9100 x-451
E-mail: dkovach @ caswg.org

The grantee will be using federal funds to supplement three specific fatherhood activities:

1. A Fatherhood Retreat
2. Staff training that will specifically address how the project goals can be incorporated into program-wide plans and activities.
3. Program incentives (for example, fathers participating in a planned Library/Story Hour activity will each receive age-appropriate books that their child can take home).

Danville Area School District
600 Walnut Street
Danville, PA 17821
Head Start Director: Susan Blake
Telephone Number: (570) 271-3268
E-mail: sblake @ danville.k12.pa.us

The grantee will provide training for HS staff in communicating, working with, and relating to fathers on a more mutually comfortable level; provide informational workshops for all HS parents; provide a workshop for fathers on reading, storytelling, and oral family history, using a professional storyteller; print new brochures geared to males; purchase books, magazine subscription, and training materials to be used for the activities stated; develop a lending library for fathers; and promote healthy relationships by providing for opportunities for couples to spend quality time together.

The grantee will ensure that all activities will educate, enhance, and empower fathers to have healthy relationships with their HS children and families. The HS and staff training will assist and enable staff and parents to further the program's commitment to father involvement.

Community Services for Children, Inc.
1520 Hanover Avenue, Allentown, PA 18109
Head Start Director/Executive Director: Ms. Patricia Levin
Telephone Number: (610) 437-6000
E-mail: Plevin @ cscinc.org

This grantee was one of the Early Head Start National Fatherhood Demonstration projects from 2000-2004. Over the three+ years of the Project, the program changed the orientation of the program to be fully inclusive of all fathers and as a result father participation in the program has significantly increased. All communications and record keeping systems were redesigned to include fathers. Policy Council implemented a Male Involvement Task Group. They created Father-Child Literacy building activities in the Family Library and also implemented them in the home.

The program currently works with their outreach and recruitment efforts to reach all fathers. A description of Head Start/Early Head Start on flyers, door hangers and posters includes language about fathers specifically. They are also doing Father-Friendly Environmental Assessments in each of the 28 classrooms, to assure that the materials, activities, and linguistic landscape in the classrooms is father friendly. Staff are receiving training in skills needed to allow them to comfortably reach out and communicate with men.

Huntingdon County Head Start
Head Start Director/Executive Director: Louise Ketner
Phone Number: 814.643.6800 x111.
E-mail: lketner @ hccadc.org

Huntingdon County Head Start Men's Group: Also known as M.U.S.C.L.E. (Men United in Support of Children's Lives and Education) the name was chosen by the men during the 02-03 program year. "Dads" refers to dads, step dads, grand dads, uncles or any male role model in a child's life. During the 2004-2005 program year, the agency held nine events and had a total attendance of 296 fathers with their children. The agency serves 242 families through Head Start and Early Head Start.

Columbia Sullivan Development Head Start Program
215 East 5th Street, P.O. Box 412
Head Start Director: Gail Menapace
Phone Number: (570) 784-8618
E-mail: ccdp @ epix.net

In an effort to involve more fathers and "father figures" in the lives of young children, the Columbia Sullivan Head Start program conducted and/or will be implementing the following activities:

1. An "Evening with Dr. Midkiff" and a spaghetti dinner. The theme for the evening dinner discussion will center on the importance of male involvement in children's lives and helping young children gain self-control.
2. "Saturday for Dads" will be the planning stage for Columbia Sullivan staff in conjunction with surrounding Head Start programs to plan and coordinate male involvement activities which will consist of a building project provided by Home Depot which "dads" can take home to complete with children. They will be provided with a book about cooking and the ingredients for making a dish with their children.
3. Two fathers attended the Pennsylvania Head Start Association meetings and participated in workshops devoted to "fatherhood involvement".
4. A community resource fair will be held with a focus on male involvement. Items of interest will be provided to families centering on male involvement in the lives of children and the community.

Lycoming/Clinton Head Start Program
2138 Boyd Street
Williamsport, PA 177901
Head Start Director: Anne Doerr
Phone Number: (570) 326-0587
E-mail: amdoerr @ stepcorp.org

1. Lycoming/Clinton Head Start's Fatherhood initiative consisted of purchasing of new "fatherhood" books which would be added to classroom libraries and incorporated into teacher/home visitor lesson planning and classroom Literacy Backpacks. Literacy Backpacks go home with children for joint parent-child activities on a rotating basis throughout the program year. The books will also be integrated into ongoing quality early education activities in each of the program's 32 Head Start or partnering classrooms.
2. The program also established a "Mr. Head Start" Task Force composed of Policy Council representatives, fathers and men important to Head Start children and program staff. The task force will explore opportunities for men to become more involved in program activities and enhance staff-parent interactions related to men.
3. All staff received a pre-service training in August 2004 to alert staff regarding the high priority of involving men in the program. The program used information and materials from the National Head Start Fatherhood Institute, including the Fatherhood Building Blocks. The fatherhood Tool Kit and other web based curricular materials will also be used to assist in implementing the fatherhood initiative.

School District of Philadelphia Prekindergarten Head Start Program
2120 Winter Street, Room 402
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Head Start Director: Jennifer Plumer-Davis
Phone Number: (215) 351-7060
E-mail: pludavis @ phila.k12.pa.us

The School District of Philadelphia Prekindergarten Head Start (PKHS) Program long recognized the importance of involving fathers and other male caregivers in the educational and emotional development of children and has worked aggressively to foster the active and meaningful participation of adult males in all aspects of program planning, design, implementation and management.

In 1992 the PKHS established the Fathers Advocating male Involvement in Lives of Youth (FAMILY) which encourages fathers and other male figures to participate in a broad array of program activities on a regular basis. PKHS FAMILY is lined with regional chapters of major youth development organizations, (e.g. Bid Brothers/Sisters, boys Scouts of America) and local institutions of higher learning within the city of Philadelphia. Recently, national fraternities have played an active role with PKHS in developing and conducting activities that have helped and will continue to enhance the role of fathers in their child's education and their family's prosperity and self-sufficiency.

Virginia

Access and Visitation: Using a competitive process, Virginia awards sub-grants to non-profit and governmental organizations which provide services including mediation, parent education, development of parenting plans, neutral drop-off and pick up centers, and monitored/supervised visitation. These organizations serve never-married, separated and divorced parents in nearly all geographical areas of the state. Contact Bob Owen at 804-726-7434 or email: bob.owen @ dss.virginia.gov.

CSE: Virginia's Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) promotes the fatherhood movement through its 21 district offices largely as an information clearinghouse and referral source, and occasionally through community partnerships and cooperative agreements. DCSE staff make referrals to community resources, provide workshops at local fatherhood conferences and speak to targeted groups (e.g., incarcerated men, young fathers and fragile families). DCSE provides technical support and materials to fatherhood groups and service providers through joint projects that might include community campaigns and training.

For the latest information concerning Virginia DCSE's fatherhood initiatives, please visit: http://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/dcse/fatherhood.html

Virginia DCSE Contact: Peter Berinato, Fatherhood Coordinator, Management Services Unit. Phone: 804-726-7426 E-mail: peter.berinato @ dss.virginia.gov

West Virginia

Access and Visitation. West Virginia commissioned a statewide survey of noncustodial parents as a way to ascertain the barriers to child access and visitation. Summary results of the survey indicated that visitation might be easier to expedite if there were more educational resources available to noncustodial and custodial parents regarding visitation rights, in addition, to the opportunity for voluntarily negotiating a parenting agreement as an alternative to court. The need for supervised visitation and neutral drop-off and pick-up sites were also reported. Contact Susan Perry at (304) 558-0909.

Child Support and TANF: The West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE), WV Bureau for Children and Families (TANF), WV Bureau for Employment Programs (BEP), the Human Resource Development Foundation, and the Domestic Violence Coalition have formed a partnership to fund and support an initiative called Parents Work/Families Win. Parents Work/Families Win Program is operated by Human Resource Development Foundation and is designed to assist unemployed and/or under-employed individuals to obtain employment that will enable them to meet their child support obligations and develop strong, positive relationships with their children.

In September 2000, the West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) entered into a cooperative agreement with BEP and HRDF. This agreement allows the BCSE to provide a list of non-custodial parents who may be eligible for the program. Non-custodial parents must have a child who is eligible for TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Social Security or Children's Health Insurance Program, and owe $500.00 or more in arrears to be eligible for the program. Eligible participants are offered assistance with employment, transportation, special needs, car repairs and insurance, professional licenses, counseling and relocation services if necessary. Parents Work/ Families Win actually kicked off in January 2001 and is now Statewide.

The initial goal was to serve fifty non-custodial parents. As of March 8, 2002, fifty-seven non-custodial parents were actually served. Ten of the fifty-seven exited (refused to participate) the program, one requested an extension due to extenuating circumstances, twenty-six are in training/seeking employment, twenty have obtained employment, and twenty-one paid child support averaging $129.92.

In addition to PWFW, BSCE is also working with New Connections, a local non-profit group, to provide paternity and child support education to young fathers in a friendly, non-threatening environment. These consultations are provided upon request. West Virginia has conducted sessions with young fathers, approximately once a quarter.

The WV Bureau for Child Support Enforcement signed a cooperative agreement with Northern Panhandle Workforce Investment Board, Inc. for Welfare to Work for non-custodial parents. This agreement covers Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler Counties. Right now, there are very limited restrictions on the non-custodial parents to be eligible for this program. BSCE is the referral agency, much in the same way that WV Works is the referral agency for TANF Welfare to Work candidates.

For more information regarding West Virginia's Fatherhood Initiatives, please contact Sue Buster, TANF Program Manger, at (304) 558-3796, or Elizabeth Jordon, Outreach Coordinator, at (304) 558-3780.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention: The West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement recently developed a video and curriculum "Get More", which was funded by an 1115 Demonstration Grant from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement. The video and curriculum is targeted for students in grades 7 -12 to reduce the number of adolescents who become parents before they are physically, emotionally and financially ready. The overall goal of the project is to join forces with numerous public and private entities to reduce the number of out of wedlock births to teens by 1/3 by 2010. Other goals of the project are: (l) provide education about paternity, child support, adolescent pregnancy prevention and other realities of teen parenting; and (2) to expose 1,000 adolescents to paternity establishment and adolescent pregnancy prevention education annually. The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) collaborated with teen parents, Kanawha and Cabell County high schools, the State Department of Education's Office of Healthy Schools, and the Bureau for Public Health's Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiative and Abstinence Only Education Programs in an attempt to produce a well-rounded program. Educators were able to implement the curricula in the 2003-2004 school year. The videos were also distributed to more than fifty health education and physical education teachers at their annual convention in July 2004. As part of the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement's Hospital Paternity Affidavit Program, Get More was given to each of the 33 birthing centers in West Virginia. In addition, BSCE participated with Get More in the interdepartmental Conference on Healthy Marriages, led by the West Virginia IV-A agency, the Bureau for Families and Children and the WV University and WV State University extension services. Contact Elizabeth Jordon, Outreach Coordinator, Bureau for Child Support Enforcement at (304) 558-3780, for further information.

Fatherhood Day: A proclamation was signed by the Governor designating June 16, 2004 as Fatherhood Day in West Virginia. Each Bureau of Child Support Office around the State made banners to be displayed in Department of Health and Human Services offices during that week. Child support staff also set up booths at various locations in the community during the week to answer questions concerning establishment of paternity and support obligations. Notaries also were present at these sites to facilitate the signing of paternity affidavits. Contact Elizabeth Jordon, Outreach Coordinator, Bureau for Child Support Enforcement at (304) 558-3780.

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