By Freda Freeman, reporting for the Charlotte Post
Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan, Public News Service

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Marquee Yarborough, 30, of Zebulon, is working each day to be a better father for his three children: Ja'Zaivin, 7, Nevaeh, also 7, and Ja'Kye, 5. One way he's doing that is through fatherhood programs run by the Family Resource Center South Atlantic.

Yarborough was incarcerated when he found out about the Family Resource Center's Day 2 Day Dads program through other inmates who recommended he sign up for the classes. Released on bail in September, after serving 26 months, he continues to take classes.

Yarborough, who shares joint custody of his children with their mothers, said he wants to be a steady presence in their lives. "I said I'm going to take this class serious and really be there for my kids. Growing up, I didn't have a father figure in my life, so by me having three kids, I was away a lot because I was working so much and then the jail thing happened, so it was like I'm missing too much time with my kids," he said.

The Family Resource Center, which is based in Raleigh, has provided support services for families in 15 counties, primarily in eastern North Carolina, and the Triangle Area, for 25 years. In addition to the Day 2 Day Dads program, the organization holds annual fatherhood conferences with workshops and featured speakers.

"We provide fatherhood programs, we work with families who have children with special needs, we work with middle and high school students on bullying and provide sexual avoidance education, we help parents of preschoolers prepare for school readiness, we help families with juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system," said Derrick Byrd, a co-founder and executive director.

FRCSA received a five-year $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources in 2015 to establish Day 2 Day Dads, serving Wake, Durham, and Edgecombe counties. Although the grant ended in September, FRCSA, which receives state and federal funding, will continue to provide the program, with support from Wake County Human Services.

"There is such a void when it comes to programs that are specific to dads, so we were very excited because we were the only ones in North Carolina to receive a grant to be able to institutionalize some infrastructure that would be available to dads throughout the Triangle Area. Throughout the years, we've been able to provide a number of different services to dads. We've served close to a thousand fathers in five years," Byrd said.

Day 2 Day Dads, which is free, is based on a 12-session curriculum that includes Inside Out Dad for fathers who are or have been incarcerated; 24/7 Dad for fathers in the community; Love Notes for young fathers ages 16 to 24; and Strengthening Families Program for fathers and their families.

The program also provides information about domestic and family violence, teen dating violence, child abuse and neglect, child support, visitation, job readiness skills, and job placement assistance. There are group sessions, one-on-one training, and a fatherhood support group that meets monthly.

"We talk about many different topics in the curriculum. We talk about what it means to be a man, co-parenting, grief and loss and anger, child and adolescent development, men's health," Byrd said. "One of the things we've found is that usually by the fourth session the guys are really engaged and into it. What it does is help to create a very safe space for men and fathers to be able to share and understand that they are not alone in some of the challenges and barriers that they are experiencing.

"The program has three goals. One is to really strengthen their relationships with their children and with their family, to be economically stable and financially able to support their children and family, and we want them to really have a better sense of themselves, to see how they've grown or what are some of the things they're still struggling with."

Byrd said fathers appreciate that the program is specifically designed for them.

"It's just everyday dads who are trying to make it and are just looking for some support and understanding of what it is they're going through and not be pigeonholed into a packaged parenting program that doesn't necessarily speak to their needs. Many parenting programs are maternally centered, they speak to moms, not necessarily dads," he said.

Yarborough said the classes are helping him improve his parenting skills and learn how to relate to each child individually.

"I've learned we're all going to make mistakes in life. Your kids are going to always look up to you, they're going to always be there watching the things that you do, so it made me reevaluate myself. I kind of turned everything that was a negative into a positive," he said.

Yarborough hopes his children see he's trying to be a better father for them.

"They have a father who's going to be there and do whatever it takes to put a smile on their faces. Whatever they do in life, I'm going to be there to support them," he said.

Yarborough recommends the program to other fathers who may be struggling or facing challenges.

"I advise everybody that's a father, if you're having any problems, go to that class. The people there are really willing to help you no matter what issues you have," he said.

FRCSA will hold its annual NC Fatherhood Conference on June 19. The virtual conference is from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., with speakers, workshops, and Father of the Year recognition. Youth over 13 may attend.

For more information, go to ncfatherhood.com or frcsa.org.

This story was produced with original reporting from Freda Freeman for the Charlotte Post, with support from the Pulitzer Center.


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A package to improve public safety is moving ahead in the California state Legislature - with a floor vote in the State Assembly on the first bill expected this week.

Assembly Bill 2215 puts into statute that police officers have the discretion to send people arrested for low-level offenses directly to supportive services.

Anthony DiMartino - government affairs director with the nonprofit Californians for Safety and Justice - said sometimes public safety is best served when people avoid arrest and instead get therapy, addiction support or help getting a job.

"We're also hoping to raise awareness that this is something officers can do, and then also encourage partnerships more with officers to look at what's in their community," said DiMartino, "as alternatives to jail booking."

A second bill would increase transparency and accountability on money sent to the counties as part of the Public Safety Realignment.

A third bill would require police officers, prosecuting attorneys and investigators to identify themselves any time they're interviewing a family member of someone killed or severely injured by police.

DiMartino said they also support AB 2499, which would ensure that survivors of violent crime and their family members can take unpaid time off work to address safety concerns and heal.

"We're hoping to broaden the scope a bit," said DiMartino, "and make it more clear that family members of victims are able to also tap into unpaid leave to support their family member that has been a victim."

A fifth bill would make it easier for justice-involved people and crime victims to speak freely during restorative justice programs - by making the communications inadmissible in other legal proceedings.

Missouri went through with its first execution of the year, as Brian Dorsey was put to death last night, just after 6 p.m. CT.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stop Dorsey's execution. He was convicted of murdering his cousin Sarah Bonnie and her husband Ben nearly 20 years ago.

The advocacy group Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty launched several recent campaigns on Dorsey's behalf to spare his life.

Jenni Gerhauser, a cousin to both Dorsey and Sarah Bonnie, expressed belief in his redemption.

"Brian is more than the worst moment of his life," Gerhauser stressed. "There is so much more to him."

Gerhauser fondly remembered him as fun and charming from their visits during holidays. Dorsey's current lawyers said he was in a drug-induced psychosis when he killed the Bonnies in 2006 and his attorneys at the time had been offered money, preventing them from fighting the death penalty with his guilty plea deal.

Gov. Mike Parson confirmed Monday the state would move forward with Dorsey's death sentence, rejecting a separate request for clemency. More than 70 current and former corrections officers had urged the governor to commute Dorsey's sentence, arguing he had been rehabilitated.

Claudia Boyce, also a cousin in the family, said it should not be a decision for the state to make.

"You know, that's supposed to be God's decision, not ours," Boyce contended.

Dorsey received a lethal injection Tuesday evening. Lethal injection became an option for people on Missouri's death row in 1987, alongside lethal gas.


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Amid overcrowding and unsafe conditions in West Virginia jails, state lawmakers introduced bills that would allow judges to take a 'second look' at an individual's original sentence.

If a court determines they no longer pose a threat to the community, the person could be released, placed on supervision, or receive a shortened sentence.

Sara Whitaker - criminal legal policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy - said West Virginia is one of the few states that has seen its prison population balloon over the past decade, despite declining crime.

She noted that as of last month, more than 500 people in the state were in jail awaiting transfer to a prison.

"As a result, eight out of 10 of the regional jails in the state were beyond capacity," said Whitaker, "with hundreds of people assigned to sleeping on the floor."

The bills failed to advance this session, but Whitaker said advocates are hopeful lawmakers will consider them next year.

The state's jails remain among the deadliest in the country, with at least 91 people losing their lives while incarcerated in the past few years.

According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, jail bills cost counties $45 million in 2022.

Nationwide, long sentences have led to growth in the number of older people behind bars.

Whitaker pointed out that 'Second Look' legislation could help the state avoid turning its prisons into nursing homes, and said the number of elderly people in prison has tripled in the past two decades.

"In 2019, West Virginia had to open a dementia unit in one of its prisons," said Whitaker. "There are hospice units across multiple prisons. And experts predict that this is just only going to get worse."

Whitaker added that 'Second Look' policies also offer a way to correct past racial injustice in the criminal legal system.

Black people incarcerated in West Virginia are four times more likely than white people to be serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole, and five times as likely to be serving a life-without-parole sentence.




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