COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A program that helps inmates not only become better parents but also better people celebrated the steps 11 men took on Monday.
The Cobb County Jail held a graduation ceremony for the inmates who went through the 13-week program, Parenting 101.
The program gives detainees tools to help rebuild themselves as better parents for their kids.
"The things that we put in the toolbox are responsibility, trustworthiness, integrity -- all the things that they didn't get when they were a kid," explained the program's instructor, Dr. James Anderson.
The class is designed to teach the men not only how to be better fathers, but also how to have better relationships with their kids and the mothers of their kids. The goal is to give them the resources they need to become better people so they don't end up coming back to jail.
On Monday, the graduates spoke about the fathers they wanted to be. Many of the men also wrote apologies to their kids, saying they would work to make them proud.
Anderson said while this is graduation day, it's not the end -- but only the beginning for the guys who went through the Parenting 101 program.
"This is the start, because a lot of times they didn't have the wise counsel. They didn't have the things that they need in the toolbox," Anderson explained. "This is kind of creating that foundation for them to be the 'super dad.' But they're going to make mistakes. But just keep trying."