Page Title

Responsible Men, Responsible Fathers

Situation:

The teen pregnancy rate across America is declining: however, in Butler County it has remained the same or gone up in the past few years. Despite the continued rate of teen pregnancy, the number of fathers becoming more engaged and nurturing parents has increased and children are benefiting from that type of parenting. Unfortunately, there are Butler County men who still refuse to accept the responsibilities of being a parent and children are still going to bed without a father in their lives.

There are countless resources available on fathering skills, but new teen parents may not be aware of them, or how to access them. Many men are more than willing to attend parenting skills classes to break the cycle of poor fathering that has been passed from generation to the next.

What Extension Did:

A program was developed titled, "Responsible Men, Responsible Fathers." The program is now being taught based on the needs of the men from several curricula that have been aquired by Extension Educator James L. Jordan. His program includes 8-one hour sessions for teen fathers and 12-one hour sessions for young and mature fathers. Each participant is required to keep a journal and homework is required. Those that meet the criteria established receive a graduation certificate.

Impact:

Last year, more than 318 fathers participated in the program. Here are some of the comments provided by participants:

• Mr. Jordan does an excellent job of teaching men to be dads because of his passion for the subject and us!
• I will stop calling my daughter her childhood nickname because she is too old and it hurts her feelings.
• I really liked the classes he helped me be a better parent and understand my kids.
• I have full custody of my children because of his classes and keeping my journal.
• I'm glad to be a part of his classes. The budgeting is a great deal if you plan to live on your own.
• Mr. Jordan was very organized and very well informed in every area that he was teaching. He helped me understand a lot of areas that were unfamiliar to me.
• The classes helped me a great deal to help me understand about life on its terms, about being a parent, representing myself.
• I can actually understand my kids and actually I was able to talk to my kids for the first time in a long time.
• As a teen dad, I am able to diaper my child and now I understand his different cries and what they mean. My child and I have bonded!
• I got custody of my three little boys because I took his 12 weeks of classes and showing the court my journal showed I had learned important parenting skills.

Information about the Educator:

James L. Jordan is an Extension Educator in 4-H Youth Development for Butler County. He serves on the countywide GRADS advisory committee, Family Relations Court Advisory committee and the Lakota School FCS Advisory Board. He has established a relationship with Catholic Social Services, Childrens' Services, and the Department of Living Skills. These relationships have been used to enhance his work with fathers. Several of his program participants were referred to him from these agencies.

Mr. Jordan has been teaching fathering skills since 1995 and has taken extensive graduate course work at OSU in the School of Human Ecology, focusing on parenting (especially fathering) skills.

For more information about the "Responsible Men, Responsible Fathers" program, contact:

James L. Jordan
Extension Educator
4-H Youth Development
Butler County
jordan.247@cfaes.osu.edu

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Created: 2008-04-11, Updated: 2008-04-30