With more than 700,000 people exiting U.S. prisons each year, they often return to struggling communities where broken homes add to a person’s chances of recidivism. This program offers fathers a chance to reconnect with their family before they return to not only ensure the father can successfully return to everyday life but also continue and nurture their relationships with their children.
Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana’s expansion of its mentoring services recruits, assesses, enrolls and delivers mentoring in conjunction with comprehensive transitional services. These services emphasize parenting skills development to medium-high risk, adolescent male fathers ages 17 to 24 currently incarcerated and returning to New Orleans and surrounding Southeast Louisiana parishes.
Services provided include mentoring, case management, educational interventions, workforce services, expungement and follow-up services.
How Volunteers of America Helps Fathers Find Their Faith
The Fathers Focused on Family and Faith Program begins 180 days prior to a father’s release from incarceration. The program’s three major goals center around equipping the father with the tools needed to thrive after his release. It provides both one-on-one and group mentoring services to enhance resilience pre- and post-release. Fathers receive comprehensive transitional services to expedite their community reintegration while also receiving one-to-one mentoring and intensive case management to reduce recidivism while reintegrating into the community.
How Does This Program Ensure a Father’s Success?
Volunteers of America uses the nation's only evidence-based fatherhood program—InsideOut Dad®—which is designed specifically for incarcerated fathers. Used in over 400 facilities in all 50 states, the program helps reduce recidivism rates by reconnecting incarcerated fathers to their families, providing the motivation to get out and stay out. Combining the InsideOut Dad® curriculum with Volunteers of America’s mentoring experience increases family contact and also prepares fathers for the life-changing reentry needed to improve their lives.
Learn More
For more information about the Fathers Focused on Family and Faith Futures Program or to find out how to become a mentor, contact Program Manager Sherlyn Hughes at 504.836.8701 or shughes@voasela.org.
The production of this content was supported by grant number 2017-MU-FX-0025, awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice or grant-making component.
