The President's Fatherhood Pledge

The President's Fatherhood Pledge

Fatherlessness is a growing crisis in America, one that undergirds many of the challenges that families are facing. When dads aren't around, young people are more likely to drop out of school, use drugs, be involved in the criminal justice system, and become young parents themselves.
President Obama grew up without his dad, and has said that being a father is the most important job he has. That's why the President is joining dads from across the nation in a fatherhood pledge – a pledge that we'll do everything we can to be there for our children and for young people whose fathers are not around.

And yes, I signed it.

Renee Aste
Lowell Massachusetts

Preventing Youth Violence BEFORE it Starts: Youth, Families, and Faith-Based Partners

In the sessions that titled, “Preventing Youth Violence BEFORE it Starts: Youth, Families, and Faith-Based Partners,” Joe Jones, President of the Center for Urban Families drove home the importance of engaging fathers. In addressing the role that father absence plays in Youth Violence, Joe described his programs efforts to train fathers on how to engage with their children and the mother of their children. Joe shared how the Center for Urban Families works with a number of young dads through the Baltimore Responsible Fatherhood Project.

Meanwhile all ThinkProgress can do is make personal attacks as conservative homophobic rhetoric to strong public policy that fathers equally matter.

UPDATE Here is the actual paper written, "The Trouble with Boys: Social Influences and the Gender Gap in Disruptive Behavior". I'm guessing the idea of 'intact family' meant biological mother and father residing under one roof was offensive???