Three national nonprofit organizations have applied for a $100 million MacArthur Foundation grant to reduce fatherlessness in the United States

SEATTLE - Oct. 17, 2016 - PRLog -- Over 20 million children live in father-absent homes, and fatherlessness is the social problem that polls show is the most significant social issue for 72% of the US public. Father absence is associated with most of the social ills in our society (poverty, teen pregnancy, school dropout, substance abuse, crime and delinquency, abuse and neglect, early mortality). The Men's Health Network, the Global Initiative for Boys and Men (A project of the Coalition for a White House Council for Boys and Men), and the Center for Divorce Education have applied for the grant to greatly expand two online parent education programs that increase fathers' involvement and improve parenting and co-parenting skills. Based on educational programs now mandatory for divorcing/separating parents with minor children in fifteen states, "Children In Between Online," an evidence-based co-parenting program, has already been adopted by a growing and impressive number of court jurisdictions. The grant funding will greatly increase this effort.

For families already disrupted by divorce or separation, a large population of therapists and counselors will be trained and incentivized to integrate both online programs into treatment. Simply increasing contact between the father and children is not sufficient. The relationship between the parents and the quality of the parenting is critical for the long term health of children. One solution to fatherlessness is to increase co-parents' ability to cooperate in raising their children and to improve their parenting skills. The beneficial outcomes are more frequent contact from the nonresidential parent (usually the father), children witnessing fewer conflict episodes between parents, increased financial contributions from the father, and improved child adjustment in which the children will be better adjusted in the short and long term. The direct beneficiaries are both parents and their children. These benefits are sustained by changing the practice of marriage and family therapists and divorce professionals — including courts — to implement and continue to use the evidence-based parenting program proposed. The proposed solution is testable, scalable, and cost-effective, and maximizes use of technology to replace or supplement professional help compared to professional- centered interventions.

This ambitious proposal uses the most advanced technology and behavioral science research to target the most critical factors in father absence, for the lowest cost.

Important Note: A video appeal to the MacArthur Foundation was required: You can see our 90-second video here presented by Global Initiative for Boys and Men President Warren Farrell, Ph.D.

http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/

http://whitehouseboysmen.org/

http://www.divorce-education.com/about-cde.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKmrhVIEkLk&feature=youtu.be