Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

December 2015 – Ohio is receiving $10 million in federal grants over the next five years in efforts to keep fathers connected to their families. The program through the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood (fatherhood.ohio.gov) includes fatherhood training classes, job training, and marriage and relationship counseling.

The Ohio Commission on Fatherhood operates out of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and is just one of many fatherhood programs around the country designed to address the problem uncovered by the Congressional Research Service that 25% of children under age 18 are maintained by mothers, and such children are more likely to do poorly in school, have emotional and behavioral problems, become teen parents, and live at poverty level.

The Suffolk County Fatherhood Initiative in East Hampton, New York, is another program recently granted $1 million by the Department of Health and Human Services. Organizations with resources for fathers in other states can be found at the National Fatherhood Initiative website by searching the map under “Father Source Locater” on fatherhood.org. The goal of such programs is to increase participation of fathers in the lives of their children.

“We commend such government initiatives,” said AFA president Tim Wildmon, “but we also encourage everyone to monitor them closely to discern how they define and represent marriage of mom and dad.”

worldmag.com, 10/13/15; patch.com, 10/13/15