Father Focus: South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families helps a dad get a job and raise his children

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Tags: South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families , Outreach

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Zachary Walker was court ordered to participate in the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition (MFC) program in November 2016, which is a program of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families. He had custody of his oldest two daughters, but the mother of his son and younger daughter denied him visitation because he wasn’t paying child support. His criminal background made it difficult for him to find a job. He also faced other barriers to employment including a DUI and a suspended license.

Once enrolled into the fatherhood program, Zachary worked with his intervention specialist to develop his One Man Plan. His three main goals were to increase visitation with his two youngest children, find employment with the chance to learn new job skills, and to pay his child support regularly and decrease his arrearage. 

With the help of the employment developer at MFC, Zachary obtained a job at a tire manufacturing plant. He quickly excelled and when given the opportunity to apply for other positions within the company, he used the program’s Kuder Career Assessment tool to update his resume and submitted his application. Zachary was promoted to the new position and received an increase in salary, which allowed him to reduce his child support arrearage and make scheduled payments. He also began paying his DMV fines so that his driver’s license could be reinstated.

Through co-parenting classes and guidance from his intervention specialist, Zachary has made progress in working with the mother of his other two children and received increased visitation. Even though he has graduated from the program, he continues to attend peer group sessions. Recently, Zachary received another promotion at work and has purchased a house where he and his girlfriend are raising his oldest daughters. His new goal is to gain custody of his younger children and raise them all together.

About the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families
The South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, which is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, supports six fatherhood programs in 12 communities across the state while promoting father-friendly policies and practices, and helping to erase society's negative stereotype of unwed, low-income dads.