Family & Corrections Network
The
Second North American Conference on
Fathers Behind Bars and on the Street
November 6-8, 2002 St. Louis, MO
Overview
The 2nd North American Conference on Fathers Behind Bars and on the Street was about fathers coming home to their children, families and communities. Conference topics included prisoner re-entry, responsible fatherhood, parenting skills, fragile families, work readiness, child support, program research and policy development.
Presented jointly by the National Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families (NPNFF) and Family and Corrections Network (FCN), the conference was supported by a generous grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation. Additional support came from the conference co-sponsors: Long Distance Dads, the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents and MELD/Even Start, Inc.
The conference was held November 6-8, 2002 in St. Louis, Missouri at the Sheraton Westport Hotel-Lakeside Chalet. The 240 participants included fatherhood program practitioners, providers of in-prison and community-based services to fathers and families, community corrections and prison staff, former prisoners, prison family members, human services workers, educators, religious organizations, child support compliance workers, responsible fatherhood agency officials, advocates, researchers and policy experts. The conference brought together individuals representing a variety of organizations from throughout the United States, as well as the United Kingdom and Israel.
The conference featured presentations by Dr. John Jeffries, VERA Institute of Justice; Liz Gaynes, executive director, the Osborne Association; Emani Davis, daughter of an incarcerated father; Dr. Kirk Harris, Family Support America; Tom Lagana, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Prisoner’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Volunteer’s Soul; Gary Kempker, Secretary of Missouri Department of Corrections; Kathy Martin, Secretary of the Missouri Department of Social Services; and Dr. Ann Nurse, author of Fatherhood Arrested.
Conference participants were highly enthusiastic about this conference in St. Louis. As one participant said, “This conference was fantastic. All the folks who put it on and attended were wonderful to meet. The meals were wonderful, very tasty. Overall, it was a total pleasure to attend and present at your conference. I’m looking forward to 2004.”
See Proceedings for a selection of materials from conference presentations and participants, including a 28 page FCN REPORT. See Agenda and Bios for an Adobe PDF version of the conference program's detailed agenda and presenter biographies. See Resources for related materials important to working with fathers behind bars and on the street.