As more and more studies point to the lack of fathers or father figures in the life of at-risk youth as a major contributing factor in their problems, a local agency has decided to handle the problem head-on.

And their not waiting until fathers get home.

The Neighborhood-Based Family Intervention Center in Sharon is now home to Foundations of Fatherhood, which is a character-based, self-help support program that helps teach fathers how to be an effective role-model in their children's' lives.

Supported by a $3,500 grant from the Shenango Valley Foundation, the program is part of a national initiative to help guide fathers.

Terrence Harrison, 39, of Farrell -- an intervention worker at the center who acts as facilitator for the class -- said his goal is to help fathers become more responsible.

"Hair on our face does not make us mature," he said. "Taking responsibility does."

The classes, offered every other week, help fathers discuss their roles as parents, their emotions -- such as anger and how to deal with it, and characteristics they want to see in themselves and pass on to their children.

"I'm finding it's so good for me on a personal level," said Matthew Beatty, 32, of Grove City, a center worker who is taking the class to learn to become a facilitator.

Beatty is also a single dad who is the custodial parent of his five-year old daughter Genevieve. "I'm learning that I don't have to try to be Superman. I'm not going to get it right all the time; That it's okay to be human."

Class member John Krupa, 44, Sharon, was recently laid off, and is taking care of his four children full-time while his wife is working.

"I never envisioned myself in this position. Sometimes I fake it. I was totally unprepared," said the father of four, whose ages range from 5 to 13. Krupa has become a more hands-on parent in recent years, but once he became a full-time 'Mr. Mom' he decided to get some guidance.

"I'm almost totally doing what I was brought up to think a woman should do. I'm the first man in my family to change a diaper," Krupa said. "All my preconceived ideas of what a father should be have been crunched."

In taking the class, Krupa and others in similar situations, gain a support group and find they are not alone.

Taking the class may also keep their children from joining the "at-risk" characteristics.

Sixty-eight percent of the at-risk youth the center serves have no active father or father-figure in their lives.

"A lot of men fail because they feel inadequate. This class helps them take responsibility for their family," said Harrison. "We also have to learn how to forgive ourselves. Everyone's been dealt a hand of cards. You don't have to accept the hand you've been dealt."

That is the main reason Krupa attends the class.

"I needed this class. I needed the help. I needed to reinvent what a father is," he said. "I'm here because I don't have all the answers."

For more information about the class, contact Neighborhood-Based Family Intervention Center at 347-0190.