BraveHearts Program Provides Support to Dads

Healthy Families Counseling and Support, a nonprofit agency that serves families in Clay and Platte Counties, is having success reaching dads through the BraveHearts Program.  The free support program for fathers with children ages birth to 6 began two years ago with funding from the Missouri Children's Trust Fund and the Kauffman Foundation.  Using a curriculum from the Center for Successful Parenting, a BraveHearts' facilitator takes fathers through parenting and child development education, fatherhood development, case management services, mentoring, and job training. Referrals for the program are received from local courts, attorneys, high schools and Head Start. Some fathers refer themselves.  Most volunteer to attend, though some are court-ordered. Free childcare is provided while the dads are in session, and one portion of the meeting is committed to play time which helps to strengthen the bond between fathers and their children.
[KC Community News]