Stoneleigh Fellow Rufus Sylvester Lynch and the Philadelphia Strong Families Coalition present a new report summarizing the results of their work to focus attention on the well-being of Philadelphia’s children and the crucial role of fathers in the family-child well-being paradigm.
The report, Child Well-Being in Philadelphia: Profiles of Children, Families & Fathers, was released on September 23, 2014 and supported by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region III; Reverend Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Sr., former mayor of the city of Philadelphia; and former Common Pleas Judge, Nelson A. Diaz.
The report brings to realization that children, families, and ultimately communities suffer when fathers are not appropriately included in the family constellation. The deficiencies and negative impacts include, but are not limited to: lower family incomes; higher percentages of income assistance; compromised childhood achievement in school; health disparities; poor housing in precarious neighborhoods; and higher risks for drug use, gang involvement, and teen parenthood/pregnancy.
The report calls for the elimination of any and all systemic barriers to the inclusion of fathers in the lives of their children.
