As part of our Responsible Fatherhood Program, we are launching a new class! Quenching the Father Thirst (QFT), a course designed just for dads is now ongoing. QFT is a series of 12 classes that takes a father on a journey to understand why they are so important to their child.

Classes in The Responsible Fatherhood Program are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m.,
but REQUIRE ADVANCE INTAKE APPOINTMENT.
Mondays: Together We Can, a cooperative parenting course, 8 wks.
Tuesdays:  Quenching the Father Thirst, a new ”dads are important” course for dads, 12 wks.
Thursdays:  Controlling Ourselves Stress/Anger Management training, 4 wks.

Call 251-479-5700 for more information. RFP classes require intake appt. IN ADVANCE. All classes are free and offer free childcare WITH 24-HR RESERVATION. Night class includes supper and giftcards. All held at 601 Bel Air Blvd, Suite 100, Mobile.
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The Responsible Fatherhood Program is operated at The Family Center and is made possible through the Children’s Trust Fund, Grant #90FK0042-01-00, Office of Family Assistance, United States Department of Health & Human Services, Administration of Children & Families. Available to all eligible persons regardless of race, gender, age, disability or religion.

Does your anger cause you to lose control with your children?

Does your anger prevent you from enjoying quality time with your children?

Do you have outbursts or conflicts at work?

Are you angry about lack of work?

Does your anger prevent you from cooperating and/or communicating with your co-parent or other family members?

Do you experience bad feelings after acting out? Guilt? Shame? Hopelessness?

Come learn how to develop an understanding of your own anger/stress patterns and responses, and develop skills that can help you gain better control of yourself and minimize violent behavior. Classes are offered on Thursdays from 6pm to 8pm. Call Beth Mead at 251-479-5700 to register and start gaining skills and incentives.

*Dinner and child care are provided at each class when you have made reservations in advance.

This could be the most beneficial class you will ever take according to past graduates.  Sign up now to start on June 6.

Together We Can is a wonderful curriculum designed to foster in parents the awareness they need to make the best of life as it is for the best interests of their child/ren.

Learn about: intentional and strong families, a child's needs, building friendships and step-families.

Our 8-week series is taken from a program developed by psychologists at Auburn University and Michigan State University, and goes along with the Tuesday fathering classes and Thursday anger management classes offered at The Family Center.

This class is free and is offered Monday evenings from 6-8 p.m. Registration is required. Child care is available w/24-hour notice. Please call 479-5700 to register and for more information about incentives.

Many parents are court ordered to have supervised visitation with their children. Our centers provide welcoming and home-like atmospheres where parents and children can visit each other with a supervisor present to document interactions. Reports and court testimony are available for nominal fees.

Two play rooms are available and designed for different age children with a myriad of entertaining activities and equipment. Each family has a room to itself.  The center offers a sliding fee scale of $10 – $55 an hour when parents enroll in our free positive parenting classes. Visits are available seven days a week in Mobile and Daphne as well as weekends in Chatom with adequate notification. Visit supervisors will prevent parents from having any contact unless they wish to. Family Time is funded by the Children’s Trust Fund.

In 2006 we began offering a service formerly performed by the Mobile Police Department. When exchanging children for weekend or holiday visitations, parents can now come to the Family Center and avoid contact per restraining orders. Regular exchange hours are 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Friday and Sunday evenings and as needed for holidays and summer visitation. Other times can be arranged when necessary. Staff will prevent contact between parents and document all exchanges. Staff can also arrange for exchanges between parents who have restraining orders or PFAs, making any phone contact unnecessary.

Court orders are optional to use this service if both parties agree. The program is funded by the City of Mobile. Parents must attend orientation and complete paperwork before coming for the first exchange.

This prevention program deals directly with one of the most serious forms of child abuse in children: Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). The Family Center was asked by the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Child Death Review Team to develop a hospital-based prevention program in 2002. That program has been funded by ADPH since then and is now offered at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital. The program has been adopted by other hospitals in Mobile and Baldwin County.

The program’s main focus is the stress of a new baby and teaching parents how to calm a crying infant using Dr. Harvey Karp’s 5S method. Almost all babies are shaken because of uncontrollable crying. The program is offered in the patient’s room and she and her family are encouraged to take the 30-minute class in preparation for going home with their new child. The class ends with the 8-minute video “Portrait of Promise” which details the devastating effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome in three infants. Parents are asked to sign an affidavit stating that they have had the class and understand the dangers of shaking their child. They also promise to share the material with their infant’s caregivers.

New parents are also invited to take advantage of the other programs offered by the Family Center such as home visitors and parenting classes. Each parent leaves with our magnet and written materials to remind them of what they have learned. Follow up calls are made to parents 30 and 60 days after they have the class.

Speakers are available to visit your group and discuss parenting or child abuse issues.

All programs provided by the Family Center are offered free of charge to the public upon meeting certain conditions. Parents may opt to pay for some services if they prefer not to meet these conditions.

Join us for the Luck of the Irish