There’s a crisis of fatherlessness in Pennsylvania and the United States. Too many children don’t have the full parental support they need. 1 in 3 children are being raised without a father in the home. Research shows that father involvement’s associated with better outcomes. Fathers can be role models, caretakers, providers and advocates for their children.
When a child has the involvement of both parents, the child is more likely to behave better, excel in school, and achieve emotional well being; fathers help protect children, help them develop resilience, and mitigate risks while becoming an adult.
Systemic barriers can impede greater father family involvement, including, but not limited to:
- The Stigma associated with seeking or receiving behavioral health services;
- Failure of homelessness prevention programs to prioritize families with children;
- Child support orders often overlook the obstacles to fathers engagement with families.
- Child protective services minimize or exclude father involvement, and are often biased against fathers
- Educational services fail to consider fathers as equal co-parents
Pennsylvania needs to end systemic barriers that impede fathers from connecting with their children, and assist men in preparing for the legal, financial and emotional responsibilities of fatherhood.
What are our goals of the Commission on Greater Father Family Involvement?
- Promote the benefits that fathers bring to families;
- Promote fathers and mothers as equal role models, caretakers, providers, and advocates of children;
- Remove systemic barriers that impede fathers from child rearing;
- Foster and support greater father-child interactions, and greater inclusion of fathers in child and family matters;
- Recognize and implement best practices that support greater father family involvement;
- The Commission for Greater Father Family Involvement will do all these things;
- Ensuring the well-being of all families in Pennsylvania.
How will it work?
The Commission will include all parts of the government and will be accountable to the General Assembly. Members will be appointed by the governor, chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, as well as the General Assembly.
It’ll propose changing laws and policies that impede the development of father family-involvement efforts and will recommend enhancing those that succeed. It will evaluate programs and initiatives that impact fatherhood, make recommendations for improvements; and will also encourage early connections of fathers to their children and throughout the life of the child.
The commission will promote parenting skills designed for fathers, promote high quality co-parenting relationships, and provide workforce programs to help fathers to support their children.
It will aid in understanding, evaluating, and improving father family involvement for the benefit of children and families in Pennsylvania.
Our commission is about Creating Better Futures for our Children Through Greater Father Family Involvement.