Reconnecting Fathers With Their Children
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Updated: 1:30 PM May 29, 2009
Reconnecting Fathers With Their Children
The Kanawha Institute for Social Research and Action has a 10-week program to help fathers reconnect with their children. The program offers classes in parenting, life management and job placement.
Posted: 6:36 PM May 26, 2009
Reporter: Will Jones
Email Address: will.jones@wsaz.com
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WEST DUNBAR, W. Va. (WSAZ) -- Twenty-four million children in this country have no contact with their biological father. Those children are more likely to be poor, to drop out of school and to find themselves in trouble with the law.

The Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action has a 10-week program to help fathers reconnect with their children. The program offers classes in parenting, life management and job placement.

"Everybody is familiar with the 'dead-beat dad,' but very few are familiar with the dead-broke dad," said Carl Chadband, a fatherhood specialist for KISRA. "The dead-broke dad is the guy that wants to be involved with his kids and wants to pay child support and just wants to make enough money to support his child."

Studies show children pay the price when they don't have a father figure in their life.

"You can donate the seed, but almost any man can do that," said Jonathan Spurlin, a graduate of the program. "It takes a real man to be a daddy."

Spurlin is one the of the success stories of the fatherhood program. He was out of work. He didn't have any contact with his two children. Now, Spurlin is working his way back into their lives as a better father and role model. He's even enrolled in college.

"It's OK to get on the floor with my daughter and play dolls with her," he said. "She loves that. She wants to be a school teacher. We play school. She's my buddy now."

But for every story of success, there are countless disappointments for the fatherhood specialists. They say some fathers give up.

"I don't like them to say they give up," said LaTwane Pugh, a fatherhood specialist. "That's an excuse that they have been using for most of their life."

Demetrius Thompson is a student in the program. The father of four said he knows the hurdles in his way, but he refuses to go back to the streets.

"(Fathers) have been shying away from (their) responsibilities for much too long, and the end result is devastating," he said.

Thompson, like so many men in the fatherhood program, knows his children are counting on him to keep going.


Latest Comments

Posted by: gary carter on Jun 9, 2009 at 09:42 PM

my email address is gary_loves_amanda@yahoo.com
Posted by: amanda on Jun 9, 2009 at 09:11 PM

hey i dont no if u can help me or not but i have a set of twins i lost them when they were 3 weeks old and now there 5 now and there mom's family has them in s.c and wont let me see them or anything wont let me rite them letters or nothing and it hurts but i would give anything to get to see them at least once and get some pictures of them i am willing to do almost anything to see them and let them no there daddy loves them but i tryed to rite them a letter and let them no that i love them and i miss them and stuff like that but there mommy was on drugs and i never was and she gets to see them but i dont i just need to no if there is any hope but ill never give up hope but i just need some closeure on something sorry for the long message but i need some kinda help please let me no something my e-mail address is gary_loves_amanda@yahoo.com this is for my husband
Posted by: gary on Jun 9, 2009 at 08:31 PM

i would like some help with seeing my kids again its been over 4 and a half years sence i've seen them
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