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Midlands Fatherhood Coalition tells Sumter County Council it helped reunite dozens of fathers; outlines new jail reentry program
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Summary
Midlands Fatherhood Coalition presenters told Sumter County Council they achieved an 83% program success rate in 2024, said 85 of 103 fathers served since 2019 maintained or regained custody, and described a new collaboration with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Detention Center to support incarcerated fathers during and after release.
Representatives of the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition (MFC) presented an end-of-year report to Sumter County Council on March 11, emphasizing the nonprofit’s work to reunite fathers with families and its newly adopted reentry program with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department Detention Center.
Andrew Coston, MFC’s director of data and technology, said the coalition recorded an 83% success rate in 2024 and stated, "Since 2019, MFC has assisted 85 of a total of 103 fathers either maintain custody or have custody reinstated since 2019." Coston added that, in MFC’s estimation, that success rate translated into the county saving "over 3 million dollars in incarceration costs." Council did not provide independent financial analysis at the meeting; the figure was presented by MFC staff as part of their report.
Terrence Osborn described a new program partnership between MFC and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department Detention Center to provide services to incarcerated men during their sentence and after release. Carl Burrus closed the presentation with personal testimony about the program’s impact and encouraged council to continue supporting MFC.
Keith Ivey and other MFC presenters asked council for continued support; the presentation was informational and no council action was taken.
Key takeaways: MFC presented program outcome statistics and a reentry partnership with the detention center. The meeting record shows the organization’s performance claims but does not include independent verification of the cited cost savings or custody statistics. Council members did not vote on funding or new formal commitments at the meeting; the presentation was recorded for informational purposes.
The council moved on to other business after the presentation.