A recent piece on ABC News Channel 5 in Cleveland, Ohio, highlighted the Baby Elmo Program for young fathers at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility. The program, which was designed by researchers at Georgetown University, develops the relationships between incarcerated teen fathers and their babies through intensive experiential learning. Participating fathers attend a parenting class, then visit with their children in a comfortable and relaxed environment. The program is a pilot run by the Ohio Department of Youth Services, which has worked with the Vera Institute’s Family Justice Program to implement research-based family engagement practices. The ABC News Channel 5 piece features the voices of incarcerated fathers as well as several mothers who have participated in the visits. To view the segment, click here. To read a blog post a young father wrote on Vera’s website last year about his experiences in the program, click here.

Noah Bein is currently an intern with Vera's Family Justice Program.