Father’s Day is a special time of the year. It is a time to celebrate. It is a time to be thankful. It is an opportunity to spend time with our fathers or reflect on the memories we have of fathers no longer with us. Also, as fathers, we can think about those special times we have had with our own children. However, many children will spend this Father’s Day without a dad involved in their lives. An important initiative of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is to reconnect fathers and their children. In many of South Carolina’s poor communities, the absence of a father in the household is pervasive. Research shows that father absence leads to negative outcomes for children and bears significant social and economic consequences.
Since 1998, our Foundation has invested more than $18 million to reengage fathers and their children, and help fathers become contributing members of society. Our fatherhood programs around South Carolina support relationship building, job training, GED attainment, child support payment, health access and other important programs and resources that help fathers assimilate back into a productive family life.
Last year, more than 1,700 men were served through the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, an outgrowth of the Foundation’s Fatherhood Initiative. Of these men, 527 gained employment and an additional 261 men received a better paying job. Nearly one third of these fathers improved their relationship with their child or children.
One extremely important financial statistic is that these fathers paid $1,151,759 in child support payments in 2011 and $188,000 in arrears payments. Had fatherhood programs not existed for these men, they likely would have landed in jail at great expense to South Carolina taxpayers. This year, 2012, marks the ten-year anniversary of the Foundation’s establishment of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families. Over the past decade, thousands of men were served throughout state. Thousands of men have entered the workforce and millions of dollars were collected in child support payments. There are no quick fixes or easy answers to a lot of the problems these fathers face. Fatherhood programs through the Center are changing the lives of fathers and children and the results are measurable and successful.
This is a time in which we express gratitude for our own fathers and for our own children. South Carolinians should also be grateful for programs and services that are provided for those fathers that have very few options and are struggling to meet their parental and financial obligations. Let’s hope that this Father’s Day is special for all of South Carolina’s fathers and their children. They truly deserve it.
Since 1998, our Foundation has invested more than $18 million to reengage fathers and their children, and help fathers become contributing members of society. Our fatherhood programs around South Carolina support relationship building, job training, GED attainment, child support payment, health access and other important programs and resources that help fathers assimilate back into a productive family life.
Last year, more than 1,700 men were served through the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, an outgrowth of the Foundation’s Fatherhood Initiative. Of these men, 527 gained employment and an additional 261 men received a better paying job. Nearly one third of these fathers improved their relationship with their child or children.
One extremely important financial statistic is that these fathers paid $1,151,759 in child support payments in 2011 and $188,000 in arrears payments. Had fatherhood programs not existed for these men, they likely would have landed in jail at great expense to South Carolina taxpayers. This year, 2012, marks the ten-year anniversary of the Foundation’s establishment of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families. Over the past decade, thousands of men were served throughout state. Thousands of men have entered the workforce and millions of dollars were collected in child support payments. There are no quick fixes or easy answers to a lot of the problems these fathers face. Fatherhood programs through the Center are changing the lives of fathers and children and the results are measurable and successful.
This is a time in which we express gratitude for our own fathers and for our own children. South Carolinians should also be grateful for programs and services that are provided for those fathers that have very few options and are struggling to meet their parental and financial obligations. Let’s hope that this Father’s Day is special for all of South Carolina’s fathers and their children. They truly deserve it.
