WINDHAM (AP) — A program at the Maine state prison in Windham is trying not just to make inmates better citizens when they’re released, but better fathers as well.

The InsideOut Dad program at the Maine Correctional Center was developed by the nonprofit National Fatherhood Initiative.

Senior consultant Greg Austen tells the Portland Press Herald the goal is to show inmates that they have a unique and irreplaceable role in the lives of their children. They are also taught how to strengthen the relationship with the mothers of those children

Sometimes inmate and child barely know each other.

Zackery Williams hasn’t seen his 4-year-old daughter, Alexus, since he started serving his sentence more than two years ago. He hopes the program can teach him to make up for lost time when he’s released.

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