Many of the children who are caught up in the juvenile justice system are missing fathers in their lives, says Terrence Harrison, intervention worker and Foundation of Fatherhood coordinator.

Harrison, who works with the Pennsylvania Fatherhood Initiative, was a part of the "It's a Family Affair" community health fair Friday at E.J. McCluskey Gymnasium in Farrell Area High School. Through his work with children and fathers, Harrison said he gets to see the entire spectrum of relationships.

"Some of the fathers are incarcerated or they don't have healthy relationships with their kids. Our goal is to help reconnect those relationships," he said.

Fathers especially need to grow closer to their daughters, said Harrison, noting many daughters need that connection.

"Daughters need to see positive things coming from their fathers. I tell fathers, it's not just your sons, but your daughters as well."

Foundations of Fatherhood is a five-week workshop for fathers wanting a healthier relationship with their children. The workshops, offered throughout the year, deal with issues of male character, developing support systems, healthy relationships, dealing with guilt and shame, child development stages, improving communication and anger management. The workshop program is run through the Neighborhood-based Family Intervention Center and Childen's Aid Society of Mercer County.

"The whole idea is to get men to look at themselves," Harrison said.

Harrison said the workshops teach fathers how to deal with their anger and other people's anger as well. He said these topics are important for fathers to learn if they want to become better influences in their childrens' lives.

"A lot of the fathers are dealing with their own anger and we assist them with working through that. We teach them about their character as a man and how they can have an influence in their child's life. But before we can do that, the fathers have to work on these things in their own lives."

Harrison is a single parent raising three children who are 21, 19 and 7. He said he has worked with youth in the system for nine years.