Jeff Steiner | Dad’s Resource Center
The heart of Dads’ Resource Center is a children’s advocacy organization that aims to ensure that each child has the appropriate involvement and contributions from both of their parents. We have seen firsthand that disenfranchised fathers result in disadvantaged children.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children in America live in homes that are absent of their biological father. That’s one out of every three. The effects of absent fathers on child development are staggering:
Drug and alcohol abuse: Fatherless children are more prone to substance abuse. The National Center for Fathering says that fatherless children are "10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances." They also state that "71% of adolescent substance abusers come from a fatherless home."
Crime: Fatherless children are more likely to behave violently and more likely to be incarcerated. In his book Fatherless America, David Blankenhorn writes, "[T]he weight of evidence increasingly supports the conclusion that fatherlessness is a primary generator of violence among young men."
Education: Fatherless children have lower academic achievement and are less likely to graduate from high school. Researchers reviewed studies on father absence, and found that father absence does not necessarily affect children's cognitive abilities, but still found "strong and consistent negative effects of father absence on high school graduation."
Poverty: Fatherless children are more likely to live in poverty. According to the U.S. Census, the poverty rate for single parents with children in the United States in 2009 was 37.1 percent. The rate for married couples with children was 6.8 percent.
These documented facts clearly demonstrate the need for our legal and court systems, human service organizations and communities to recognize and commit resources to ensure custodial equity. Both parents should be involved in the positive upbringing of their children, whether the parents are married, separated or divorced. Any standards of consideration regarding the rights and custody of children should be applied equally to both parents by the courts and all agencies.
Simply put, mothers and fathers give different, but equally important things to their children. Sons and daughters who don’t have the benefit of having both parents in their lives growing up are much more likely to become unbalanced as adults, and less likely to be successful in life.
The Dads’ Resource Center is committed to promoting the well-being of children and helping to support and encourage fathers to be fully and actively engaged in the lives of their sons and daughters. Parental equality is the foundation of a child’s healthy upbringing. For more information about the Dads’ Resource Center visit our website, @dadsrc.org
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