OKMULGEE – The Muscogee Creek Nation Child Support Program has started a Pathways Program. This 12-week class session, titled “Fatherhood and Motherhood is Sacred,” began on January 7 at the MCN Housing Building. The free classes aim to help parents build a positive relationship with their children.
The program has been designed for Native families and is culturally grounded. According to the program, “Rooted in traditional values, teachings and community strengths, the classes support parents in honoring the sacred roles of fathers and mothers while strengthening the family bonds.”
“What we’re hoping they can take away is learning how to parent and co-parent and learning how to establish a healthy relationship with their children,” stated the Director of the Child Support Program, April Buckgaither (Mvskoke). “We feel like it’s important to spread this knowledge because we feel like people will be more inclined to pay their obligations if they have an established relationship with their child.”
According to Buckgaither, the Pathways Program was initiated through a federal government waiver to explore alternative methods for non-custodial parents to fulfill their obligations. Last year was a start-up year, and this year marks their first year of implementing this program.
Throughout the 12-week session, there will be lessons that include family history and cultural components. The program will also have guest speakers presenting on the sacredness of parenthood. These lessons can offer different takes on how to create bonds with children and family, stated Buckgaither.
“We were certified, we have 12 staff that are certified for different training and so it’s the Native American Fatherhood and Families Association, that’s what we were trained through. So every lesson offers a little bit of different take on how to create bonds with your children and your family,” Buckgaither said.
These sessions will be continuous, and if participants don’t start from the beginning, such as missing one or two classes, then they’ll have to start over. The MCN Child Support Program will have a calendar of set dates for when the following classes will begin. For the first six months of the year, they will have these classes.
MCN Child Support Program Coordinator Jessica Birdcreek stated that she is excited for these classes, “because I think it’s going to be really good, especially for our community. There’s so much that Creek Nation offers and this just adds to it. I noticed that we get a lot of parents who want that relationship with their children, and I think this is going to be a step forward and to helping them get there.”
Birdcreek mentioned that, in addition to these classes, the department also offers other classes, such as resume building and financial literacy. They will also offer Child Support 101, which gives the basic knowledge of how child support works.
Buckgaither added that they are planning various programs for the fiscal year and will add more as they develop the Pathways Program. They have staff trained in suicide prevention in addition to another program called “Linking Generations,” which will be launched in January.
For information or questions about the Pathways Program and their class sessions, contact them at 918-295-0800 or email at MCNPathways@mcnchildsupport.com.
