COLUMBUS, Ohio—The state of Ohio is making a play to encourage fathers to be involved and engaged with their kids, with the help of a sports-themed program called All Pro Dad.
The initiative, cofounded by former NFL head coach Tony Dungy, is getting $7.8 million in state money over the next two years. Most of that money will be spent on a new TV and online ad campaign urging fathers to actively participate in their children’s lives.
The remainder will go to support local All Pro Dad chapters around Ohio that offer support and resources for fathers, as well as hold father-son events at sports stadiums, according to the group’s other cofounder, Mark Merrill.
Ohio is now one of at least three states that provide funding to All Pro Dad, which is part of Family First, a Tampa-based nonprofit focused on promoting good parenting and family relationships.
The funding comes out of $20 million set aside in the current two-year state budget for pro-fatherhood programs. Of the remaining $12.2 million, $11.7 million will be distributed among more than 60 other local community-support programs across Ohio, and the remaining $500,000 will go to administer the funding, according to Ohio Department of Children and Youth spokeswoman Jodi Norton Trimble.
During a press conference at Ohio Stadium on Tuesday, Dungy and Merrill joined Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, and Senate President Rob McColley, among others, in launching the All Pro Dad campaign in Ohio.
McColley, a Napoleon Republican and current lieutenant governor candidate who was behind inserting the fatherhood money in the budget, told reporters that Ohio has a problem with too many fathers not playing a meaningful role in their children’s lives.
“You can start to see a strong correlation with some of the other stuff we’re seeing happening in society right now — in the incarceration rate, kids dropping out of school, kids not finishing their high school education, even being able to do the various things that really contribute to them being successful in life,” McColley said. “We want to break the cycle of parents who are not a part of their children’s lives.”
Matt Spitz, an All Pro Dad team captain from suburban Columbus, said when he first looked through the group’s resources and curriculum, it clicked with him.
“It wasn’t complicated. It wasn’t about being perfect,” Spitz said, standing alongside his two children. “It was about showing up and learning how to be present and intentional. With my kids, I felt equipped to have significant conversations with them beyond ‘How was your day?’”
Ohio investing millions in national program to get dads more involved with their kids
