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The DePelchin Children's Center has a new program for the area that helps dads find their way.
The 129-year-old center started its first Fatherhood Program in 2019 and the new "DADS: DelPelchin All Dads Succeed" Program is an expansion of the program for fathers in and around Houston.
DePelchin's All Dads Succeed program is open for enrollment. It's a free program to help fathers interested in better understanding how to address challenging situations such as co-parenting, child development, communication, discipline, financial involvement, parenting styles, parent-child relationships, breaking gender roles and father involvement.
"Fathers who are interested in improving their relationship with their co-parent can participate together to grow and support the changing dynamics of a family and the parenting relationship," Megan Green, DePelchin Children’s Center Program Manager for Parent Centered Services said to the Houston Daily.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in four live without a biological, step or adoptive father in the home; that equals up to 18.3 million children. Fatherless children are four times greater at being impoverished, seven times greater likelihood of teen pregnancy, greater likelihood of behavioral issues, more likely to commit crimes and being incarcerated, increase use of drugs and alcohol, face greater chance of abuse and neglect, two times greater chance of infant mortality, two times more likely to be obese and two times more at risk of not finishing high school.
"DePelchin has provided general parenting services for over 25 years. Over the last ten years, we have seen outstanding growth in father engagement in our counseling and parenting programs," Green said. "Historically these programs have been tailored to work with a primary parent or main parent contact which is often listed as 'the mother.' While the programs encourage father involvement, they have not been set up in a way to fully support, promote and engage fathers in a way that meets them where they desire to be."
Fathers and father figures ages 18 and up can participate in the program. This includes biological fathers, stepfathers, foster-fathers, adoptive fathers and anyone else who is parenting a child. They also provide a co-parenting group for fathers who would like to participate with a co-parent partner.