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White House Fatherhood Conference

Released on 12/15/2009 12:00:00 AM

[Atlanta] THE CENTER FOR WORKING FAMILIES FATHERHOOD PROGRAM SHOWCASED DURING WHITE HOUSE ROUNDTABLE HELD AT MOREHOUSE COLLEGE ATLANTA, Dec. 15, 2009 – The Center For Working Families’ Fatherhood Program, which has helped dozens of fathers in Atlanta’s NPU-V neighborhoods learn responsible parenting skills as a means of stabilizing their families, was a featured topic last week during the White House Roundtable and Community Forum on Responsible Fatherhood and Strong Communities held at Morehouse College. The day-long event featured senior White House staff, US Attorney General Eric Holder and community leaders. It was part of a national conversation President Barack Obama initiated in June, aimed at exploring how individuals, families, community organizations and governments can work together to strengthen families and address the challenge of father absence in America. CWF was represented twice during the day-long conference – first by President and CEO David A. Jackson, who participated in a Policy and Programming Roundtable with other community leaders, and later by Roddy “Gino” Longino, a CWF participant who spoke at a town-hall-style Community Forum focused on fatherhood issues. In his remarks, Longino described coming to The Center For Working Families after losing a job and struggling to support his four children. He said becoming active in the Fatherhood Program helped him secure part-time, temporary employment until, with guidance from the center’s staff and his Fatherhood mentor, he was able to enroll in entrepreneurship classes and ultimately attain a business license. In April 2008, he opened Top Priority Cleaning LLC, a company that now employs four CWF participants. “For me, it all started with learning how to be a good father. From there, everything else followed,” he said. During the Policy Roundtable, Jackson emphasized that many fathers simply lack the financial resources to be good fathers. “We realize that our father are not ‘dead beat’; they are ‘dead broke’,” he said. “Our role is to provide them with the tools and resources they need so they can apply themselves and achieve economic independence. At The Center for Working Families, Inc we are committed to helping fathers identify and address the core challenges they face so they can achieve family economic success,” he added. “Our program focuses on core areas that can build father’s employment skills set, mitigate systemic barriers and promote responsible parenting.” The event was co sponsored by the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. About The Center For Working Families The Center for Working Families, Inc. (TCWFI) is a private not for profit agency centrally located within inner City of Atlanta at the Dunbar Center, a City of Atlanta community center. We provide a combination of economic stimulus, employment, job development, work supports and asset building programs to meet the needs of families living within the six neighborhoods clustered around Atlanta’s Turner Field (also known as Neighborhood Planning Unit V or NPU-V).