The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina celebrates ten years of the Fatherhood Initiative, a statewide initiative working to strengthen relationships between low- income fathers and their families in South Carolina.

On December 15, 1998, then Fairfield Behavioral Services, a fatherhood program serving Fairfield, received one of the first Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina Fatherhood Initiative grants. This Fairfield program is now part of the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition which currently serves Fairfield, Lexington, and Richland counties. For ten years this program has consistently served fathers, re- engaging them with their children and helping them become better and more productive citizens.

The Fatherhood Initiative was established as a direct result of the Foundation's research on poverty as it correlated to lack of father engagement. Research demonstrates that children raised in father- absent households are five times more likely to live in poverty, twice as likely to drop out of school, more likely to experience juvenile delinquent behavior and susceptible to engage in teen pregnancy.

In 2002, the Foundation established the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, non- profit organization which develops and supports a statewide infrastructure. The center helps fathers re- engage with their children and overcome the barriers that prevent them from being better providers.