Funding at risk for Conn. prison dads program

ENFIELD, Conn. — Seven-year-old Crystal Garvin had her arms draped around her father's neck when the guards told her the holiday party at the Carl Robinson Correctional Center was ending and her dad would have to head back to his cell.

As Christopher Garvin stood up, Crystal wrapped her legs around his waist, telling him that she loved him. It was the first time the 41-year-old inmate had been able to hug his daughter in more than two years.

"I thank God for my family, it's what helps me get through this," said Garvin, who is in the second year of an 8-year sentence for drug and weapons crimes.

The meeting was arranged through a program called InsideOut Dad that teaches incarcerated fathers how to be better parents. While prison officials say it is key to keeping released convicts on the right track, the program is at risk of losing its federal funding despite a waiting list for participants.

The 13-week course includes lessons on how to talk to children about why daddy isn't home, how to stay involved in a child's life and how to deal with family finances while behind bars.

"I can't raise a child in a proper way, without knowing what my proper role in society is," said Garvin, who has five children, ranging in age from 23 to 5.

Twice a year, near Christmas and Father's Day, fathers who have completed the program are allowed to attend a party for their children. At the gathering earlier this month, punch and cookies were served as 15 men helped make Christmas trees out of construction paper and sang carols with their children.

The program is run by Families in Crisis, a private nonprofit agency set up to help the families of Connecticut's 18,000 prison inmates. It also provides transportation for prison visits, help with legal issues, and support groups for the children of inmates.

It is funded with federal grants called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Connecticut received $5 million in grant money last year, shared by Families in Crisis and five other agencies. But the grants haven't been renewed and are scheduled to run out in September.

Michael Nagle, who coordinates the InsideOut Dad program, is hopeful that President Barack Obama will renew TANF in his next budget. But with Republicans controlling the House, he said it's not clear how much money — if any — will make it through Congress for fatherhood initiatives.