News & Media
The Dads Matter Too Conference was held on Friday, August 14, 2015, 9am – 4pm at Central Connecticut State University in Memorial Hall. This 1St Annual event was a collaborative effort sponsored by Central Connecticut State University, Department of Children and Families and Department of Social Services, Fatherhood Initiative of CT. The event focused on sharing information and gaining knowledge about the significant role fathers play in raising healthy, happy children. Doug Edwards, Program Director at Real Dads Forever in Manchester, Connecticut was the event’s keynote speaker, also featured was Massachusetts native Michael Griswold, who shared his compelling story of drug addiction, homelessness, his ordeal with the child welfare system, to becoming the sole legal guardian of his young son, Jameal.
On February 28, 2015, the National Fatherhood Initiative’s Father Factor Blog featured a story that highlighted yet another DSS certified fatherhood program, Family Strides in Torrington, CT and a case manager named Emil Renzullo who is making a difference in the lives of fathers in his community.
Tony Judkins, Program Manager of the John S. Martinez Fatherhood Initiative of Connecticut participated as a subject matter expert panelist at the Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven fatherhood event on June 7th. The panel discussion theme was “Reconnecting Families and Dads”. The goal of the event was to promote the importance of fatherhood and provide an opportunity for males to learn about resources in their community in areas such as Health, Financial Literacy, Employment and much more. The occasion had approximately 75 participants in attendance (municipal and state officials, community based organizations, media, concerned citizens and fathers) and featured remarks by New Haven Mayor Toni Harp and WYBC General Manager Juan Castillo. The event was also in conjunction with HUD’s national efforts to raise awareness and engage fathers in our community. (see attached panel discussion questions and Save the date flyer) Please see link below for the event story in the New Haven Register.
Tony Judkins, Program Manager of the John S. Martinez Fatherhood Initiative of Connecticut participated in an interview with Connecticut Magazine in April 2014 on fatherhood in CT that would be a featured story in its June edition in celebration of Father’s Day. The article was titled “The Changing Face of Fatherhood in Connecticut” and highlighted one certified fatherhood programs, Madonna Place and the impact these programs make in the lives of fathers and their children.
Tony Judkins, Program Manager of the John S. Martinez Fatherhood Initiative of Connecticut was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Rhode Island Fatherhood Summit on May 16th at Rhode Island College’s Child Welfare Institute. The event focused on promoting father inclusive practices and services in Rhode Island. There were over 100 people in attendance and participants included representatives from federal, state and community based agencies, as well as fathers. The keynote presentation focused on Connecticut’s fatherhood model, including but not limited to: legislation, partners, certification process, fatherhood advisory council, goals and objectives, program profile, national milestones, state agency MOU, lessons learned, network structure, father friendliness, marketing strategies and challenges.
On Wednesday, April 16 the men of Epsilon Iota Iota Chapter and its Que Academy students participated in Delta Day at City Hall in New Haven. The event, sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc New Haven Alumnae Chapter, included a meeting and discussion with Toni Harp, the mayor of New Haven.
The theme of the conference was “Dispelling the Myths” of disparaging commentary that degrades the image of the African American community and men.
June 10, 2014 by John M Clapp, Executive Committee Member, National Parents Organization of Connecticut; and Chair, Shared Parenting Council of Connecticut
The Connecticut Child Support Guidelines Commission has split on the issue of unreasonably high child support guidelines and its implications for parental involvement with their children. This split is particularly relevant in light of the Massachusetts shared parenting guidelines adopted in 2013. Massachusetts had data showing that a large percentage of couples agree to amounts far below Guidelines. This raises the issue of why any state adopts Guidelines that many consider unreasonable.
The Connecticut Child Support Guidelines Commission has split on the issue of unreasonably high child support guidelines and its implications for parental involvement with their children. This split is particularly relevant in light of the Massachusetts shared parenting guidelines adopted in 2013. Massachusetts had data showing that a large percentage of couples agree to amounts far below Guidelines. This raises the issue of why any state adopts Guidelines that many consider unreasonable.