Maryville

The purpose of Maryville’s Fatherhood Initiative Program is to establish, restore, and build healthy relationships between fathers and their children, thus helping teen mothers and fathers to build positive attitudes in the sharing of parenting responsibilities.

The program teaches practical child care skills, including: child safety tips; CPR; first aid; how to hold, feed and bathe an infant; and appropriate interactions with a child. Information is provided concerning: the development of job skills; finding employment; substance abuse treatment; domestic violence prevention; child support obligations; fathers’ rights; reasons for establishing paternity; and DNA testing

The goal of the Fatherhood Initiative Program is to encourage fathers to be come more aware, more involved, more consistent, and more nurturing to their children, and to help single mothers and fathers understand the importance of having both parents involved in their child’s life.

Classes are available to Maryville teen fathers; adult fathers of Maryville youth; young men who are dating someone who is a parent; non-residents who have fathered a child by a Maryville resident; and young men who have expressed a desire to attend the classes for personal reasons. Single fathers from the community and from other agencies are also encouraged to attend the seminar.

The leaders/presenters of the Maryville Academy Fatherhood Initiative are full time Maryville employees with years of experience in conducting the program as well as personal experience in child care and involvement with their own children – responding to their children’s needs and interests. Both are active members of their communities and their churches.

Don Pettway is Maryville’s Director of Administrative Services and an employee of Maryville for 25 years. He has a B.S. from Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Alabama, and an M.A. from Fist University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fred Smith is Program Director of Maryville’s St. Margaret of Scotland Specialty Shelter and a Maryville employee for more than 10 years. He has a B.A. from Northeastern University in Chicago, Illinois, and a Certificate of Health Benefits & Managed Care from Saint Xavier University, Chicago, Illinois.

The Fatherhood Initiative Program Promotes:

AWARENESS of the child’s need for a father, a role model, and a loving parent

INVOLVEMENT with the child – in play, in school and as a presence in the child’s life

RESPONSIBILITY for the child’s requirements – food, shelter, clothing, and most of all, love