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By Stu Wesbury
“June 20, 2009: President Barack Obama, at the White House, addressed the nation on his views of fatherhood. It was concise, informative, and convincing. The presentation is available on YouTube. Ten minutes of your time is all it will take.
His message: Children growing up in a family without the father potentially results in many negative outcomes. Such children are more likely to drop out of school, be a victim of substance abuse, serve time in prison or suffer abuse at home. Girls are more likely to give birth to a child as an unmarried mother.”
Why It Matters. “The United Way of Pennsylvania studies poverty in the Commonwealth and provides a statistical report each year. Their latest report emphasizes the use of ‘ALICE,’ a statistical analysis process used to identify a family/household that is ‘Asset Limited, Income Constrained, (and) Employed.’ These families/households earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but (still) cannot afford the basic cost of living in their county.
The report revealed that In 2021, in Pennsylvania:
- 14 percent of ‘Married with Children’ households were below the ALICE Threshold (121,644 households)
- 53 percent of the ‘Single-Male-Headed with Children’ households were below the ALICE Threshold (60,511 households)
- 75 percent of ‘Single-Female-Headed with Children’ households were below the ALICE Threshold (223,733 households)”
Quotable. Public Law 1747, No. 114 states that, “When a child has the benefit of access to both parents, the child is more likely to exhibit healthy behaviors, excel in school and achieve emotional well-being.” Another finding recognized that “approximately 24,000,000 of the nation’s children (were) being raised in single-parent households, some without access to their fathers and their emotional and financial support.”
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