The family on common ground - Chattanooga

[Smartmarriages ©]

subject: The family on common ground - Chattanooga

from: Smart Marriages

First Things First will share their model three times at the
Orlando Smart Marriages conference -
- 1st as part of the FREE Florida Fatherhood Commission 2-day
symposium Wed & Thursday where they will present
a workshop on how to access free media (yes, you can attend just
one day of this symposium);
- 2nd in a 90 minute workshop "Changing
A Culture: First Things First" on Sat morning;
- and 3rd at the Sunday afternoon "Teach In" - a work/study/brainstorming/
sharing session on "Transforming Communities Grassroots Style"
where the best community programs will tell you how they
are doing what they're doing and how you can do it too.  -diane


February 15, 2001

Chattanooga Times Free Press Opinion
Free Press Editorial

The family on common ground

Local programs, even successful ones, sometimes labor along with only modest
levels of public recognition. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a national
spotlight seeks out the local organization and tells its story to a wider
audience. For the recipient of the attention, everything changes at that
stage.

First Things First, a home-grown effort to solidify the institution of the
family as the building block of our society, finds itself with a new
predicament. Founded by farsighted local leaders in 1997 to address local
needs, the young organization has swiftly moved up the totem pole of
national credibility. But, unlike groups that have sought exposure through
aggressive public relations, First Things First is earning it the hard way
-- via community impact and measurable outcomes.

By focusing on underlying cultural values, First Things First is attacking
the causes of social ills rather than their symptoms. And by taking a
research-based approach to solving problems, it is acquiring knowledge
grounded in real-world experience. By committing itself to reducing divorce
and out-of-wedlock births, it is tying its reputation to strategic goals.
The knowledge gained should, in turn, promote replication in other cities.
In this way, a viable working model is created.

USA Today chose Valentine's Day as the appropriate moment to turn on the
spotlight. A contributing columnist chose to write about the nation's
depressingly high divorce rate on the traditional day for celebration of
romance. It was a nice journalistic opportunity to showcase emerging
"divorce-buster" programs around the country.

In reviewing groups that are taking bold steps to halt the decline in
marriage, he singled out the local example:

"In Chattanooga, Tenn., a nonprofit group called First Things First
convinced local officials to require divorcing couples to attend a class
that reviews much of the sobering research about the effect of divorce on
children. The result? A 19 percentage point decline in Chattanooga's divorce
rate in the first year."

The author, it should be known, leads a double life professionally. William
R. Mattox Jr. is also a scholar with the Institute for American Values, a
new breed of think tank. From its base in New York City (of all places), the
institute is blazing new political and scholarly trails as it documents the
nation's cultural crisis and makes the indispensable case for marriage and
families.

The four-person professional staff of the institute is no larger than that
of First Things First here in Chattanooga. Its founder, David Blankenhorn,
has emerged as the "navigator of the fatherhood movement" by avoiding
polarizing debates between the forces of left and right. Mr. Mattox and the
other citizen-scholars who populate the "institute without walls" have
succeeded brilliantly in turning the policy debate on critical issues in
their direction since the early 1990s.

The appeal of this movement apparently cuts across intellectual and
political divides. Liberals who envision a more humane and civil society are
in step with hard-core conservatives concerned with moral revitalization.
The institute's letterhead presents a rainbow coalition of genuinely
compassionate liberals and conservatives.

Promoting American values means providing studies and resources to
grass-roots organizations, allowing them to do what they do best. The
institute has no illusions about where the impact occurs -- in real-world
communities like Chattanooga. Mr. Mattox has an affinity for our area
because his wife is originally from Dalton, Ga. He was not surprised to find
a national model in our backyard.

Across the country, Mr. Mattox firmly believes "we will need what
Chattanooga has in First Things First -- an infrastructure, not just a
coalition of well-intentioned volunteers. I can't think of another place
with a community-based organization like this."

The author sees himself as a translator between the secular and faith-based
worlds, relating local experience to national policies. If yesterday's story
is any indication, he's in the right line of work.

Copyright © 2001, Chattanooga Publishing Co.


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To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE, or change your address, visit
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appropriate box and proceed.

This is a moderated list. Replies are read by Diane Sollee, director, only.

This newslist shares information on marriage, divorce and skills-based
educational approaches.  Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by
members of the Coalition.

Newsletter archive - to read ALL past posts to the newsletter:
http://archives.his.com/smartmarriages/index.html#start

The 5th Annual Smart Marriages/June 19 - 26, 2001 in Orlando. See web for
details.

List your program in the Directory of Classes at www.smartmarriages.com

Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE) Diane
Sollee, Director  5310 Belt Rd NW,   Washington, DC 20015-1961
www.smartmarriages.com  202-362-3332 cmfce at smartmarriages.com
-- 


**************************
Copyright © 2001 CMFCE. All rights reserved.

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE, or change your address,
visit http://www.smartmarriages.com  Click Newsletter. Enter your
address in the appropriate box and proceed.

This is a moderated list. Replies are read by Diane Sollee, director, only.

This newslist shares information on marriage, divorce and skills-based
educational approaches.  Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by
members of the Coalition.

Newsletter archive - to read ALL past posts to the newsletter:
http://archives.his.com/smartmarriages/index.html#start

The 5th Annual Smart Marriages/June 19 - 26, 2001 in Orlando. See web for
details. 

List your program in the Directory of Classes at www.smartmarriages.com

Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE)
Diane Sollee, Director
5310 Belt Rd NW,   Washington, DC 20015-1961
www.smartmarriages.com  202-362-3332
cmfce at smartmarriages.com
--