A father in a black hat and gray coat stands to the left of his daughter with his hand on her back, helping her ride a pink and blue bicycle down a dirt road into a sunset. The young girl is wearing a yellow coat with a hood. — OSU Extension will offer 24:7 Dad curriculum in nine counties to help fathers improve parenting skills, economic stability and other aspects of fatherhood. (Photo by Shutterstock)

OSU Extension to launch fatherhood enrichment curriculum this fall

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Media Contact: Gail Ellis | Editorial Communications Coordinator | 405-744-9152 | gail.ellis@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University Extension is teaming up with Oklahoma Human Services to implement fatherhood-specific services across the state.

The agency announced this past spring a $9 million investment of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding to increase men’s involvement in family life.

The TANF funding will support programming for OSU Extension Fatherhood programs in nine counties as well as the University of Oklahoma’s University Outreach Center for Public Management “Forge Your Trail” Fatherhood Program.

OSU Extension’s Co-Parenting for Resilience and Fatherhood initiatives are housed in the OSU College of Education and Human Sciences. The two principal investigators of the project are Ron Cox, professor and Extension specialist in child and family resilience, and Matt Brosi, professor in human development and family science.

The new programming opportunities through OSU and OU will increase fathers’ parenting knowledge and skills, enhance relationship skills and co-parenting relationship quality and improve economic stability for fathers and families.

“Supporting fathers to take active roles in their children’s lives and reducing community-level barriers that may keep them from doing so creates stronger families, healthier communities and a more hopeful state,” said Justin Brown, secretary of Oklahoma Human Services.

OSU Extension will conduct weekly classes through the National Fatherhood Initiative’s 24:7 Dad program on topics such as life skills, parenting knowledge, relationship skills, economic stability, positive community networks, knowledge of the family court system, co-parenting relationship quality and the importance of child support to fathers. Two employees will be hired to facilitate the curriculum in each of these Oklahoma counties:

Carter
Creek
Garfield
Kay
Muskogee
Oklahoma
Payne
Rogers
Tulsa

Katey Masri, OSU Extension Co-Parenting for Resilience and Fatherhood Initiative project manager, said OSU hopes to hire program coordinators by July to begin the first round of classes this fall.

“Each cohort of 12 to 20 dads will meet for 12 weeks for two hours a week,” Masri said. “We’ll run cohorts in both English and Spanish. Our bid was to reach 240 economically disadvantaged fathers with the 24:7 Dad program in each of the nine counties over three years.”

OSU Extension family and consumer sciences county educators will assist in recruiting 24:7 Dad participants through their established networks with WIC offices, health departments, community centers, churches, workforce development offices, family law practices, youth services, YMCA centers and schools.

Learn more about applying for a 24:7 Dad coordinator position through OSU Extension or how to participate in the program by contacting fatherhood@okstate.edu.