CASTLE’s "Strong Fathers/Strong Families" Project Receives High Rating from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

FORT PIERCE, FL: CASTLE, the premier organization for the prevention of child abuse on the Treasure Coast and in Okeechobee County, had its Strong Fathers/Strong Families program selected as a "promising practice" by the Department of Health and Human Services, in Washington D.C., based on the program's ability to demonstrate a positive impact on families.

The CASTLE joins an elite group of 16 programs chosen for this distinction out of 226 programs reviewed nationally. The review process included a thorough evaluation of the success of the program during its first two years of operation, and a site visit from a consulting team wherein program practices and outcomes were scrutinized.

Strong Fathers/Strong Families works with fathers who are incarcerated in the local county jails. The goal is to teach these fathers about the responsibilities of being a father, and the importance to children of having a responsible father in their lives.

Projected to serve 150 fathers each year, the program is seeing almost three times that number of fathers. There is a lot of interest in this program from the men in jail. The response has been overwhelming," said Doug Borrie, Ph.D., who helps to oversee the project. "We also work concurrently with the families of these incarcerated men, so that as parents, mothers and fathers are on the same page." said Dr. Borrie. "When these men are released, we want them to be ready to fully assume their role as fathers."

Harriet Ostertag, MA, manages the program. She sees the changes in the men first hand as a co-leader of the training groups. "As the program progresses, fathers begin to understand their roles better. We’ve had a dramatic increase in the number of contacts these men have with their children, as they reach out to try and establish a bond. We have men who, for the first time, are working cooperatively with the mothers of their children to provide consistency as parents."

While CASTLE takes the lead in the operation of the program, it is the partnerships with the Sheriffs’ Offices and the Public Defender’s Office that make the program work. "Getting access to the jails and getting time set aside to work with these men is key to the program’s success," said Ms. Ostertag.

CASTLE is a United Way partner organization and is supported by the area Children's Services Councils as well as UFF. CASTLE facilities are located in St. Lucie County (772-465-6011), Martin County (772-781-4510), Okeechobee (863-467-7771) and Indian River County (772-567-5700). For further information, call Gundula Hargraves @ 772-567-5700.