The FYT Team
(Frank Rodriguez, Christine Gausden, Joshua Parsons, and Marilyn Durbin)

The Forge Your Trail (FYT) program, within the OU Center for Public Management, which won the 2024 College of Continuing Education Innovation Award, continues to change lives and improve parenting skills as it enters the second year of a Fatherhood Grant funded through Oklahoma Human Services. This three-year grant allows FYT to offer a 21-hour fatherhood class, On My Shoulders (OMS), both virtually and in-person.

The OMS classes are a partnership between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Human Services, Adult and Family Services (AFS). Initially aimed at non-custodial fathers, the program is now available to any father, prospective parent, or father figure. Starting in 2025, thanks to a new partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the OMS class will also be available in Oklahoma prisons.

On My Shoulders enhances parenting skills by teaching effective communication and relationship-building techniques, emphasizing the influence of parenting on children. Participants are paired with a personal coach to reinforce the lessons learned during the sessions.

Forge Your Trail provides free personalized coaching services to support participants in achieving economic mobility, job and housing stability, and successful relationships with children, spouses, and co-parents. Participation in the OMS class is not required to receive coaching services.

In Spring 2024, FYT also launched a podcast featuring guest speakers and in-house experts discussing various parenting topics. Episodes cover reconnecting with children after incarceration, navigating child support services, and more. Future topics will include protecting children from sexual predators, the effects of drugs on the brain, advocating for children in schools, parenting adopted children, creating resumes, and job interview tips.