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David Cozart - Father engagement · Look Who's Talking

0:14
You are listening to Look Who's Talking. I'm
0:18
Cameron Minter. I am your co -host and our wonderful
0:22
Head Start director, Jessica Coffie is our host.
0:26
I feel like that was off. You didn't. What? Because
0:30
I didn't say great or wonderful? You know, you
0:33
got to. I mean, at least I didn't say executive
0:36
director. I mean, when I do it right. Yeah, you
0:37
usually do say that. When I do it right, you
0:39
still got something to say. I do. I don't understand.
0:41
What's wrong? However, like, you don't sound
0:43
excited to see me. I am just tickled pink. You
0:46
know, just, just, just, I'm just happy. You literally
0:50
are almost pink. Okay. Don't start. Don't start.
0:54
Do not start. What's going on with you? Nothing.
0:57
Cam, guess what? What? I went to Mardi Gras.
1:00
I just came back. Oh, yeah. I seen you out there.
1:03
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was an experience. You know,
1:07
I go to New Orleans all the time, but this was
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my first real Mardi Gras. Uh -huh. And. And.
1:14
I got hit in the head with beads so much. But
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it's days of parades. When I throw beads at you,
1:24
you're supposed to respond. What are you supposed
1:26
to do? I lose track of what you're supposed to
1:29
do. I caught 40 % of them. The other 60 % was
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across my head. Wow. Wow. That was out there
1:36
like that. So did you have a good time or not?
1:39
Was it something you'll do again or not? It's
1:42
definitely something I would do again. Okay.
1:44
To just see the parades. Like, it was so fun.
1:48
Like, you know, our parades are maybe kick some
1:52
candy. I'm thinking carnival. That's different.
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Okay, I'm sorry. Yeah, that's different. I'll
1:57
go to carnival, too. I bet you will. I bet you
2:00
will. So, you had a good time. Yes. And, you
2:04
know, like, the food there is so amazing. Yeah.
2:07
Yeah. Wow. That's good. What you been up to?
2:10
I'm ready for, oh, I'm just praying don't nothing
2:13
mess up my tournament this year. I'm ready for
2:17
some March Madness. I'm ready for some March
2:21
Madness in the greatest way possible. I mean,
2:24
shameless plug, are you ready for March Dadness?
2:27
Yes, yes, we are ready for March Dadness, and
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I hope. We'll have a great response. I've been
2:33
working hard over here. When you get back, ask
2:36
Lawrence about, you know. We'll see. Check about
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them numbers because them numbers is popping
2:40
over here. Did you hear what I said? They popping
2:43
over here. Well, pop at least 50 dads. That's
2:46
what I want. Well, I'm going to do my part. Okay.
2:49
I'm going to do my part. But who, I mean, are
2:52
you going for Louisville? Come on. Come on. Don't
2:58
start like this. You already know. You already
3:01
know who I'm down with. You know who I'm representing.
3:04
Them cards. Read till I'm dead. It's going to
3:08
end pretty soon, right? Okay. Okay. We see what
3:13
y 'all been doing lately. Okay. We'll see what
3:17
happens. We'll see what happens. But, yeah, I'm
3:20
really looking forward to the tournament. We
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haven't been in it in forever, so it's going
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to be great. No COVID year, no nothing that crap.
3:28
We've had some, I guess, trauma with the snow,
3:33
and yesterday it started spitting snow again.
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What did you think about that? I watch the meteorologists
3:43
religiously, so I wasn't too concerned about
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it. I wasn't expecting it, but I wasn't expecting
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it to, you know, stick or anything, and it didn't.
3:52
except on my car. And I can deal with that. Cause
3:54
you know, it'd be 50 today and then, or 40 today.
3:58
You know, in like two days, it's supposed to
4:00
two or three days, like 60. It's crazy. This
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is that, as our parents used to say, this is
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that pneumonia weather. True. That is. My wife
4:10
had Nico wrap, you know, I went to go heat up
4:13
the car. My wife had Nico wrapped up in the hat,
4:16
the hood, everything. with 10 minutes to go.
4:20
I said, no. He gonna die in his hoodie and his
4:25
coat and all this in here. He's in the house.
4:28
But yeah. I know. He gotta be wrapped up tight.
4:34
He probably looks like what was Raffy's little
4:37
brother on Christmas Story. Exactly. That's exactly
4:40
what I think about when they wrap him up to get
4:43
up out of here. But it's all good. It's all good.
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I'm ready. For some warm weather. Yeah. So when
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I was in New Orleans, you know, it was like 73.
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Really? But it didn't feel like 73. It felt like.
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It depends on what you had on. I still needed
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a jacket. No. Like it was like windy. There was
5:06
a breeze. I said, oh, yeah, I didn't come here
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for not to be able to walk around without short
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sleeves. Yeah, that water weather. That water
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weather gets you every time. It did. In two ways.
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So, so, so I'm just excited for what's coming
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up. And this is probably one of the first times
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we haven't started negatively. How about that?
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Can we never start negative? We always start
5:33
negatively and need the encouraging word to get
5:36
us back on point. But today we're not doing that.
5:41
We are starting off correctly. That's because
5:44
your energy was off. Oh, so it's my fault. Oh,
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clear. Your energy was off. Here we go negative.
5:50
It's time for a Coffie Break. Okay, guys. So
6:01
for today's Coffie Break, I want to say you never
6:04
know how strong you are until being strong is
6:08
the only choice you have. What you got to say
6:11
about that? That's that back against the wall.
6:14
That's that no other option. No other option.
6:17
Yeah, that's a good. Think back to when, you
6:21
know, your strength, you know, really outshined
6:26
what your mental was saying. You know, a lot
6:29
of people have not grown up and struggled. So
6:34
when struggle comes, you know, they freak out,
6:36
they, they lose their mind. You know what I'm
6:38
saying? But if you are familiar with that, then,
6:41
then, you know, there's no other choice. You
6:44
know, we've got to go forward. We've got to press
6:46
forward. So that resilience pops up in you, you
6:50
know what I'm saying? So yeah, just, uh, sometimes
6:54
we're pressed to our knees so that we can see
6:58
up. And I love it when, uh, You know, when you
7:05
work out, you're breaking down muscle, right?
7:09
You're breaking down to build it up. And that's
7:11
sometimes where we have to go to. We have to
7:13
be broken so that we can see exactly who we are
7:16
and see exactly how we can shine. You know, I
7:20
know, you know, I love the Lord, but the Lord
7:23
will bring me up out of that mess. Okay. I think
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about when, you know, sometimes. You have mental
7:31
struggles. Like, I know that I could be my own
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worst critic. I could be hard on myself. But
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you said the key word was your mind. It's a mind.
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And if you keep your mind. That's right. In perfect
7:47
peace. Come on. Okay. We'll just stop it right
7:50
there. But you know what I'm saying. I am excited
7:56
today. Got a good old friend that's in the house
8:00
today. What are we talking about today? So today
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we are talking about father engagement with Mr.
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I'd call him the king of father engagement. Please
8:11
don't. Let's not start early. Let him let him
8:14
warm up. He's going to do all that to himself.
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The king of father engagement. When you hear
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father engagement, the first name you hear is
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David Koza. Welcome to the show, D .C. Glad to
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be here. What is going on? You know, ain't nowhere
8:33
to go but down from here. Y 'all have brought
8:37
it way up. Listen, listen. Every time someone
8:43
says anything about father engagement, your name
8:47
is the first name that usually comes up. Picture
8:53
right there. Look up Father Engagement. David's
8:56
smiling. I don't know. You can look up some other
8:58
words that might be there as well. It's good
9:02
to know it's in that place. So, David, we have
9:05
made a... Like some big moves this year within
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our Head Start program in making sure that we're
9:14
getting fathers involved. Because one thing that
9:17
I identified as the director of Head Start is
9:20
we had mothers involved and fathers wanted to
9:24
get involved. But we we saw like, oh. The mother
9:29
is the contact person. How can we, you know,
9:32
bridge that gap? But we want to talk about, one,
9:35
your experience with father engagement and how
9:40
you help, you know, fathers get involved and
9:44
not feel like they're that secondary parent.
9:46
How long you been doing this? Yeah, so that king
9:50
moniker that you put has less to do with my stature
9:54
and more to do with my age and time. I've been
9:59
doing this work right around three decades. And
10:02
so that's why folks would associate fatherhood
10:06
with me, not because I'm the greatest father,
10:09
not because I've done the greatest work, but
10:11
probably just the longevity that I've been doing
10:15
this for about 30 years. Started doing the work
10:21
with an event up in West End, Douglas Park, in
10:24
many ways. It's the impetus of anything that
10:28
we've accomplished to this point. Good to hear.
10:31
That's good. So just in case the audience don't
10:35
know, you are a proud father. Is that correct?
10:37
Absolutely proud father. I'm a proud father of
10:40
three. Father to Zachary and Destiny, who are
10:43
26 now, and Daylon, who's 21. Oh, you done told
10:47
your age now. Yeah, ain't nothing wrong with
10:49
it. I'm still here and glad about it. I'm G -Daddy.
10:52
Come on. G -Daddy to Kalani and Legend. That
10:57
is all right. That is all right. That is all
11:00
right. That's been a one wife, Nakisha Cozart,
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and they've been on this journey with me. Absolutely,
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absolutely. So I got one quick question. It's
11:10
probably just a little bit off, but you have
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a softer spot in that heart for them G -babies,
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don't you? Oh, man. Of course I do. That's why
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they call me G -dad. I know your kids are looking
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at you like, for real? You going to let them
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get away with that? Hey, I still shake my finger
11:27
at them, but yeah, for sure they bring out another
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part. Absolutely. Chance to get it right. Absolutely,
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absolutely, absolutely. Chance to get it right.
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So what got you into this? I know you said that
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there was an event, but dealing with this population
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and dealing with this has to be rooted beyond
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an event. What sparked this interest and this
11:54
pursuit? Yeah. So since you talked about this
11:58
year, I started accentuating fathers because
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you realize that mothers were the point of contact.
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And I call that an epiphany. Many people have
12:10
this epiphany about fatherhood, but I call it
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the conundrum of the epiphany. Because quite
12:16
frankly, the fact that Head Start is needed and
12:19
that you have hundreds of children upstairs.
12:24
We should know, if we know anything about the
12:27
birds and the bees, that daddies have been around.
12:29
Absolutely. Because babies don't be here if fathers
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are not here and mothers are here. It's just
12:36
that the way we've approached things and the
12:39
way circumstances often are in the populations
12:42
we serve, the father may be absent. Hear my language,
12:46
absent not. child fatherless. That's significant
12:48
to us in this body of work. So what got me started,
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it was an early epiphany that when I was seeking
12:56
to be a community organizer, when I was working
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at Earl C. Clemens Job Corps over 30 years ago
13:02
with youth from across the world, noted that
13:06
most of them came from father absent homes. When
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I was an assistant director at a maternity home
13:13
over on 4th Street in Lexington, Kentucky, working
13:16
with teen unwed mother or unwed mothers from
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13 to 45 I noted that they often came from father
13:24
absent homes themselves and in working with them
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as mothers the fathers were often not engaged
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and then I started doing the research and found
13:33
that any negative life outcome and that you wouldn't
13:38
want happening to your child or folk you care
13:40
about and Any and many social determinants of
13:44
outcomes were related to father absence. And
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I said that that is a root cause. And we began
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doing the work around fatherhood and trying to
13:53
get fathers more engaged in a healthy way. That's
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great. I mean, and as much needed, as much appreciated.
14:02
And a lot of the things that you have been a
14:05
part of have lasted. And there's been several
14:09
people that have started different things and
14:11
it falls off and it doesn't keep that momentum.
14:14
But when I see what you're doing, it's continually
14:18
moving. It's continually growing. And that's
14:21
a tribute to you as well. I like to say that
14:28
it's beyond a job. You know what I'm saying?
14:31
A lot of us, when we do this type of work, it's
14:35
not. The paycheck that keeps us going. It's got
14:39
to be something else. Yeah, it better be because
14:42
the paychecks ain't that good. I mean, you know
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what I'm saying? Yeah, it's nonprofit work. It's
14:50
a mission. Many will say a ministry. And it's
14:54
something that fortunately, however, it brings
14:57
joy. And I've been around long enough to know
14:59
that paycheck ain't the only thing that brings
15:01
joy. and been around long enough to see some
15:04
impacts and some things circle back around. And
15:07
so I'm thankful for the work. Well, that's awesome.
15:11
We're going to keep talking with David Kozar.
15:14
We're going to take a commercial break. But,
15:16
David, we want to talk about some things that
15:19
are coming up, how we are engaging men in our
15:22
community. Let's do it. You are listening to
15:25
Look Who's Talking with David Kozar. This past
15:38
year has highlighted the strength of Community
15:40
Action Council. Every day, our staff works together
15:43
to help families recover from this crisis. We're
15:47
educating children at home and in person, helping
15:49
parents who lost their jobs, and helping households
15:52
avoid eviction. Our work at Community Action
15:55
Council has never been more important than it
15:57
is right now. So why not join us? We have employment
16:00
opportunities requiring a range of skills from
16:03
entry level to advanced. Apply online at COMMAC.
16:07
action .org. Community Action Council's Head
16:11
Start programs are now enrolling for the 24 -25
16:13
school year in 15 counties, including Lexington.
16:16
Head Start offers high -quality early childhood
16:19
education for qualifying families with children
16:21
between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years old.
16:24
Spaces are limited and filling up quickly. So,
16:26
to help ensure your child receives the Head Start
16:29
advantage this year, start your application today
16:31
by calling 859 -233 -4600 or go online at comaction
16:37
.org. That's C -O -M -M action dot O -R -G. You
17:12
are listening to Look Who's Talking, and we're
17:15
here with David Kozark, who is with Commonwealth
17:19
Center for Fathers and Families founder. Is that
17:23
right? Founder of the Commonwealth Center for
17:26
Fathers and Families. That part. Yeah, Chief
17:27
Visionary Officer. That's it. Okay. We got that
17:30
out the way. That 15 -letter title. CCFF. There
17:36
it goes. So, David, I... want to get into um
17:41
how would you encourage a father who is you know
17:46
just kind of maybe having some friction with
17:49
the child's mother and maybe being able to see
17:53
the child on a regular basis or just everything
17:57
should not be an argument you know how would
18:01
you encourage a father to maneuver in making
18:04
sure that the child is the focus Absolutely,
18:09
yeah. So let me first say what that is not called.
18:12
That is not called baby mama drama. And I know
18:16
that's where everybody's mind may have went to
18:18
because that's what we use. And so in this work,
18:21
one of the things I try to do is influence the
18:24
field in a positive way. So there's some things
18:26
that we ask to be modified. You know, baby daddy,
18:29
baby mama, we don't like that language. We don't
18:32
like it. No, it's not a lifting language. Right,
18:36
right. Fatherless, we don't like that. No child
18:39
is fatherless. We're in the Easter season. There
18:43
was butt. one immaculate conception. The rest
18:46
took two folk that liked each other a little
18:49
bit for a little while. And the other is baby
18:53
mama drama. But when we're dealing with conflicts
18:55
in co -parenting, right? First of all, I'd say
18:59
to the father, examine thyself. Anytime there
19:04
are issues, there are generally... two elements
19:07
to that I say no matter how thin the pancake
19:10
there are two sides to it one of those sides
19:13
are often self -induced and so check yourself
19:16
you know are you being respectful are you regarding
19:19
the mother of your child are you doing those
19:22
things that you are responsible for as a father
19:25
oftentimes that would be the origin of some things
19:30
but there are things that are beyond self -induced
19:33
for fathers there are things that are beyond
19:35
father's control and oftentimes because we're
19:39
in a very matriarchal human service system, a
19:43
very matriarchal court system when it comes to
19:47
custody and parental rights. Fathers are oftentimes
19:52
undermined. And that sense of powerlessness is
19:57
challenging, particularly when it comes to a
20:01
child that that father loves and has a hole in
20:05
them shaped like that. And so you have to...
20:09
temper your emotions. But the advice I give is
20:13
you have to continuously communicate with them
20:18
in such a way that you are going to get the results
20:21
you're seeking. And that result is you spending
20:25
time in a constructive way with your child. But
20:28
gatekeeping is what that is often called, the
20:31
piece about mothers when they don't want that
20:35
child around the father. And try to remind them
20:38
that this is less, try to remind the mother of
20:41
your child that it's less about you and more
20:42
about the child. I've always said over time,
20:46
kids will be fine if it wasn't for grown folks.
20:49
And usually grown folks are the issue. So if
20:52
a mother is keeping a child from a father, it's
20:55
because they need to realize that the... The
20:58
child is the one that's going to be hurt. And
21:00
if a father is not in the place he needs to be
21:02
to be the best father, it's not him that's going
21:05
to be hurt primarily. It's that child that's
21:07
going to be hurt. Sometimes we need mediation.
21:10
Folks, just because they've had a baby together
21:13
biologically or physiologically does not mean
21:16
they need to be together socially. They may not
21:19
be. I'm not a shotgun wedding guy, right? If
21:23
you have a child, you do need to co -parent,
21:26
but that doesn't mean it's a situation that you
21:28
all are necessarily compatible in that way, right?
21:32
So mediation might be needed. And one of the
21:35
things you had kind of glossed over was, you
21:38
know, the rights of... A lot of men do not know
21:44
their rights. That's right. And therefore they
21:46
go into the gunfight with a knife. Yeah. And
21:49
so it's important for you to understand that.
21:53
Regardless of the relationship with the young
21:56
lady, you have rights. Absolutely. So I started
22:02
the way I did because I try to keep the municipalities
22:04
and folks out of it. If we could be civil as
22:07
mothers and fathers, a lot of times we don't
22:10
have to get other systems involved. But when
22:13
we do, there are rights and responsibilities
22:15
you need to know of. And particularly here in
22:17
Kentucky, they just passed a couple of years
22:20
ago now presumptive custody, which means that
22:24
when a child is born, that that child, that father
22:27
and that mother, if they're not wedded. that
22:30
both are by default custodial parents, right?
22:34
And so 50 -50 in that regard, that's an advance
22:38
in many ways because generally by default mom
22:41
is primary custodian. But in this presumptive
22:44
custody legislation, the mother and the father
22:47
are equal parental rights, whereas previously
22:54
that father would have often had to get some...
22:57
litigation to get his visitation and other things.
23:01
The other thing people need to know from a law
23:03
standpoint is that while we do absolutely know
23:09
that children cost money and there's an economic
23:11
impact, fathers need to be economically involved.
23:16
We know that, but we teach, and I believe it,
23:21
and know it's the emotional involvement that
23:23
breaks into the social determinants. So I want
23:27
folks to be more concerned with daddy's time
23:30
than daddy's dime. But folk need to know that
23:34
visitation with your child is not contingent
23:37
upon you paying child support. You should pay
23:39
child support, but your visitation is not contingent
23:42
upon that. So folk like, oh, you don't get to
23:44
see your baby because you're not paying child
23:45
support. Well, that's actually not. The law,
23:48
that's not the way. Oh, wow. Even though that's
23:50
the way it manifests sometimes, even in many
23:52
courthouses. Right, right. That should not be
23:54
the case. Those rights, thank you, Cam, for bringing
23:57
that out. Folks need to know that. And I think,
23:59
too, you know, one of the questions I had that's
24:02
down here is how has fatherhood evolved? And
24:06
just what you just said, I mean, as men, we are
24:09
protectors, we are providers, you know, and so
24:13
often in the past we haven't been in touch with.
24:17
the emotional aspect of pouring into our kids.
24:20
So you will hear things like, I got you something
24:25
to eat. Go on in there and be happy. You know
24:26
what I'm saying? Instead of, you know, hey, come
24:29
on, let's go outside. Let's talk about this.
24:31
Let's talk about that. You know, let's get involved.
24:34
But I think that's one of the ways that fatherhood
24:38
is evolving, being more. in tune with those other
24:44
aspects that are needed for a child's development
24:47
besides the dime. Absolutely. There are those
24:50
psychosocial components that the father brings
24:53
explicitly. And again, this is not, fatherhood
24:57
is not contradictory to motherhood. That's got
25:00
to be a message that's known. It's complimentary.
25:02
It's complimentary, not contradictory. And so
25:06
fathers, we have an exercise with that, Cam and
25:09
Jessica, that most... good fatherhood curricula
25:12
will have list the characteristics of a father
25:14
and that's where they start bring home the bacon
25:16
right protector provider go through the entire
25:20
list you will seldom see nurturer love that's
25:25
part of the evolution we're finding that part
25:28
of the father showing that nurturing element
25:30
to his young men helps them adjust and helps
25:33
them be more empathetic we say little boys need
25:36
their daddies we're also learning and know very
25:39
much so know Little girls need their daddies
25:41
as well because we help you to understand or
25:45
we help little girls understand and deal with
25:47
emotions and self -image and that nurturing,
25:50
loving component of a father with the girls are
25:53
very important. Even at that early childhood
25:56
development age that I know that you're concerned
25:58
about as, you know, an early head start, an early
26:02
developmental stage. This is very important.
26:04
So that is one good. evolution that has occurred
26:07
in fatherhood. My dad's the reason why I don't
26:09
have a man now. But that's another story. What?
26:15
He was great. No one compares. No one compares.
26:21
But I want to get into what are some of the things
26:28
that CCF is doing? Two F's. CCF. F. Come on.
26:39
What do you have coming up? We're always doing
26:44
something, right? So know that CCFF is less of
26:48
a direct service delivery organization. So that's
26:52
a clarification we have to make. Our doors don't
26:54
swing. every day with fathers. We're more about
26:57
policy and advocacy, raising awareness. Like
27:00
we do professional development. If you want your
27:03
early childhood development teachers to learn
27:06
how fatherhood impacts child development, we
27:09
have folks online that are on deck that can do
27:13
that professional development. Raise that awareness.
27:16
We look at policies that might be counterintuitive
27:19
to healthy family formation through... that may
27:25
not be father -centric or father -inclusive.
27:28
We do an annual summit that we first at one point
27:32
was statewide. Now we're also doing it regionally.
27:35
Now the closest thing we have to direct service
27:37
delivery, however. is that we do distribute capacity
27:40
-building mini -grants so folk can do the work
27:43
in their centers, projects in their centers or
27:47
in their agencies or in their faith -based organizations
27:50
or in their community or in their club that are
27:53
focused around fathers. So we help build their
27:55
capacity to do that. In fact, CAC has been one
27:59
of our mini -grantees over time. And the other
28:01
thing we do that looks like direct service delivery
28:03
is the KY Dad Academy, which is a short -term,
28:07
is a six -week, 10 -session. training intensive
28:12
like a fellowship that we do with 15 to 20 men
28:15
at a time per cohort to increase their capacity
28:19
to be a better husband better father and better
28:21
citizen and so we want ambassadors out across
28:24
the state that are doing this work that are working
28:26
with their local cabinets and dcbss that are
28:29
working with their county attorneys that are
28:30
working with community to build up fatherhood
28:33
and so coming up We've got a KY Dad Academy kicking
28:37
off. We're actually now afforded resources to
28:41
be able to do regional, what we call KY Dad huddles.
28:45
And those KY Dad huddles and regions will then
28:49
build up into KY Dad Academy at the state. We're
28:53
going to have, before long, we're going to have
28:55
great capacity of men that have been trained
28:57
in this continuum of care to help propagate fatherhood
29:01
across the state. And we also have a mini grant.
29:04
That, you know, it's March right now. We have
29:08
a mini grant application that is out even now
29:10
across the state that we would love for folks
29:14
to apply for. Those are read by reviewers outside
29:18
of our organizations objectively. So we can get
29:21
some programming out in the state and help increase
29:23
the capacity and keep pushing this wagon up the
29:26
hill. So are you all doing like a fatherhood
29:28
summit or anything like that? Are you all connected
29:30
with that or any way? Yeah, we're connected.
29:33
Certainly. So in partnership with the Cabinet
29:36
for Health and Family Services and the community
29:39
agency and program providers that are part of
29:42
our network, we for the last six years have done
29:45
a statewide summit. Been here in Lexington. Well,
29:48
a couple were in Frankfurt. And then here at
29:51
Lexington at the Campbell House last year. It's
29:53
generally in October. We had over... Over 300
29:57
people in attendance from across the nation,
30:00
quite frankly, to raise awareness in various
30:03
fatherhood -oriented subject matters. We are
30:06
moving to doing that every other year, but in
30:09
the off year, we're doing regional symposiums.
30:12
And in fact, in April, April 25th, we will be
30:16
in western Kentucky. Hopkinsville, a .k .a. Hop
30:20
Town, right on the Tennessee border down there.
30:24
We'll be doing a Western Kentucky symposium.
30:27
This summer we'll be in Louisville doing a symposium
30:29
in Louisville. And then in the fall we're going
30:34
to do an Eastern Kentucky symposium. So you're
30:37
going to be busy. You're going to be busy. You
30:38
know, there's one aspect that I wanted to hit
30:40
before we get up out of here is fathers don't
30:42
always look alike. There might be a non -traditional
30:47
father. Talk about that and give us a message
30:50
for those non -traditional fathers and fathers
30:52
before we get up out of here. Part of the evolution
30:55
of fatherhood is the evolution of the family.
30:58
The family constellation has changed. Ward and
31:02
Jude and two and a half children and the family
31:05
is just different, right? For different folks,
31:08
different populations. But most of the research
31:10
is around biological fathers and the impacts
31:13
of their absence. But we also know that when
31:16
that male model, whether it's an uncle, whether
31:18
it's a grandfather, whether it's a mentor, they
31:21
can have similar positive impacts that they're
31:24
there consistently and responsibly in the life
31:27
of that child. helping mitigate poor behavior
31:31
in school, helping mitigate teen pregnancy, helping
31:34
mitigate poor self -image, helping mitigate childhood
31:38
obesity. Those things can occur as well, and
31:40
I know you're hearing heads start. When you have
31:43
events, you often say fathers, but you also say
31:45
the man. Donuts with dudes, different people,
31:48
so that we're not typecasting and ruling out
31:51
fathers. But we certainly want folks to know
31:54
that we want a pathway for those biological fathers
31:57
to be there for children, for all the good things
32:00
it means to children, families, and communities.
32:04
David, it's been a pleasure having you here.
32:06
How can we get in contact with you? CCFFKY .org.
32:12
We have some social media tags as well, but we're
32:15
on Facebook. We're on Instagram. We're on Twitter.
32:20
Our marketing director, Ronnie Williams Jr.,
32:24
if you reach out to him, he'll get you whatever
32:26
you need whenever you need it. Sounds like a
32:30
plan. Sounds like a plan, man. We thank you.
32:32
For being here, man. We look forward to continuing
32:35
working with you and your group. We could do
32:39
like 25 more shows with this topic. Yeah, we
32:42
sure can. We sure can because we just only scratched
32:45
the surface. Yeah. Try to get in where you fit
32:49
in. There are plenty of events, man. There are
32:53
plenty events for us to connect and work. So
33:00
let's get in, man. Let's get in. All right. You
33:03
have been listening to Look Who's Talking.