Muscogee County Jail in Columbus, Georgia has created a "Fatherhood Dorm" program for its inmates. According to this NBC article, this six-week program offered at Muscogee County Jail allows incarcerated men to become better fathers, connect with their children, and become better human beings through the process.
The program’s main goal is to teach fathers how to teach their own children to read, which puts education in the forefront. The program is teaming up with Columbus Public Library. Data shows that 62 percent of children who have not been exposed to reading by the age of four will later be incarcerated. By instilling reading skills and a crucial connection with their fathers, this program hopes to deter children of incarcerated fathers from going down the same path. At some point during the program, the children are allowed to meet up with their incarcerated parent and have a one on one first reading session.
Not only will "Fatherhood Dorm" be beneficial to the children, but also to the inmates. The number of incarcerated individuals who go back to jail are cut down to nearly half when they are well connected with their families and children. Muscogee County Jail wants to keep the number of inmates low and prevent any previous inmates from getting arrested again.
By showing fathers who have succumbed to crime a method of connection with their children, the program gives these individuals a much bigger and better goal to pursue. They see the value of education, and can play a guiding role in the lives of their children who need a guiding figure in their lives. Hats off to Muscogee County Jail for trying to tackle crime at the root cause- a lack of guidance and a flawed upbringing. Hopefully, more programs like "Fatherhood Dorm" will open up in jails all around the country, which gives children and their fathers the reconnection they truly need.
