UPNEXT is dedicated to transforming noncustodial
fathers into active, financially supportive parents. Our services are not
limited, however, only to fathers that walk into our offices. We have extended
our services to include fathers incarcerated at Edgecombe and Queensboro Correctional
Facilities. Incarceration inevitably decreases engagement with loved ones and
frequently strains relationships between father and child(ren). By connecting
with incarcerated fathers, we can prepare them for the difficult process of
reintegrating into their children’s lives.
In partnership
with Edgecombe and Queensboro Correctional Facilities, UPNEXT staff facilitates
a weekly transitional curriculum that encourages positive decision-making regarding
family planning, parenting, and employment. The curriculum challenges negative,
consequential thinking, and empowers fathers to make positive decisions in the
interest of their children. The goal of these sessions is to encourage
incarcerated fathers to recognize reckless thinking and decision-making by
drawing connections between past actions and consequences. This is a crucial
first step in helping fathers take responsibility, be accountable, and change
how they think in order to make improvements in both their lives and their
families’ lives.
Many fathers
continue to refer to the lessons learned at through the UPNEXT curriculum even
after their release. UPNEXT staff remains in contact with them, inviting them
to join the 6-week program cycle or, if employed, commit to our individual work
track. Several fathers have joined the program and subsequently have
rehabilitated relationships with their children and other family members. One
father accredited the sessions at Edgecombe as the reason for the bond he made
with his son and co-parent, a task that he admitted he could not accomplish
before enrolling at UPNEXT. His story, and other similar ones, inspire our work
in these facilities.
