Who we serve: Fathers, Mothers, Youth (ages 14-24), Fathers and Men who are incarcerated.
Goal: To break the cycle of poverty, child neglect and abuse, and welfare dependence by educating and preparing fathers to become responsible parents with the financial stability to support their children materially and the parenting skills to support them emotionally and developmentally.
Mission: to foster healthy relationships by strengthening families and communities.
Vision: Every father is a responsible father committed to a cohesive family relationship.
Our History: Fathers & Families Support Center (formerly Fathers' Support Center) began in 1997 with one employee, founder Halbert Sullivan, holding the first class in 1998. Starting as a small service agency dedicated to helping transform fathers disengaged from their children into nurturing parents, ready to support their children, FFSC has grown into a comprehensive service agency with 44 full-time employees, having reached 20,000 fathers and made a difference for 50,000 children.
Return on Investment: A current, conservative estimate shows that in 2023, Fathers & Families Support Center (FFSC) returned $13.7M to the St. Louis community on an investment of $3.4M (our 2023 expenses). Additional program outcomes in 2023 include:
- 95% of participants reported increased co-parenting relationship skills.
- 92% of participants reported increased parenting skills.
- 75% of participants report increased interaction with their children.
- 3% Recidivism rate for participants of FFSC’s Re-Entry Project. Missouri average recidivism rate is 44%.
- Average wage that FFSC participants earned in 2023 was $17.57/hour compared to the state’s minimum wage of $12.
- 233 participants agency-wide obtained or maintained employment, resulting in $8.1M reinvested back into the local economy.
In 2022, FFSC helped the State of Missouri collect $1,674,410.28 in child support - in one year - all from FFSC graduates! Support collected benefited over 300 child support cases in the state.
From 2019 through 2022, FFSC collected a combined $4.77M in child support from its program graduates!
Our Services:
•Family Formation Program, the core program of FFSC, is a year-long program beginning with a rigorous, six-week, "full immersion" instructional portion for fathers (and mothers). Participants develop parenting skills for nurturing their children's development and co-parenting tools for rebuilding relationships. Graduates receive supportive services for at least one year.
•Legal Services offers high-quality, legal counsel in family law. Participants in the Family Formation Program receive legal services in the areas of child support payment modifications, legal visitation, child custody, and more.
Employment/Mentoring is available to participants in the Family Formation Program. The focus is on developing job readiness/retention skills culminating in job placement.
• Reentry Services - FFSC provides training and employment services for reentering offenders.
•Youth Leadership & Development Program encourages high-risk youth to become responsible citizens by avoiding high-risk behaviors such as gang involvement, drug/alcohol abuse, and unhealthy relationships. Staff assist youth with setting and pursuing educational and career goals.
•Fathers' Rap meets after usual work hours and draws from the Family Formation Curriculum.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________Recognition: Mathematica Policy Research conducted a study of fatherhood programs for the US Department of Health and Human Services, the results of which show FFSC as a model program of its type. Additionally, FFSC is a United Way Member Agency and has full recognition from the National Council on Accreditation (COA), which shows adherence to the highest standards in client services, outcomes, record keeping and accountability. It is only one of 44 out of 54,000 not-for-profits in Missouri to achieve that distinction.