URGENT, read and act today - NOW is the time for all good marriage educators ....... 12/17/07
Smartmarriages
smartmarriages at lists101.his.com
Mon Dec 17 15:39:36 EST 2007
- NOW IS THE TIME....
- CALIFORNIAN: CALL TO ARMS
- INVITATION LETTER TO GOV SCHWARZENEGGER AND FIRST LADY MARIA SHRIVER
- INVITATION LETTER TO SPEAKER PELOSI
- ALIGNMENT BETWEEN SCHWARZENEGGER PLATFORM AND MARRIAGE EDUCATION
- ALIGNMENT BETWEEN DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM AND MARRIAGE EDUCATION
########################
- NOW IS THE TIME.....
Now is the time for ALL good Marriage Educators to come to the aid of their
country! If our elected officials don't know about the research that shows
the importance of marriage to the health, wealth and wellbeing of men,
women, children and the village it's our fault not theirs. Ditto for
Marriage Education - if they don't know about this wonderful new efficient,
cost-effective approach, shame on us, not on them.
NOW IS YOUR CHANCE to inform them - share what you know. Below is the Call
to Arms that was sent today by the California Healthy Marriage Coalition to
Californians to ask them to write to their Governor and to Speaker Nancy
Pelosi to tell them why they should accept our invitation to welcome Smart
Marriages to their state and to her Congressional District.
I'm sending this to the list in case there are CALIFORNIANS who are on the
Smart Marriages List who are not on the California list. We need all hands
on deck! If you live in California, please take pen to paper today and get
these letters out. We want a flood of mail that shows them how much the
voters in their state care about marriage strengthening and ongoing marriage
education funding - let them know WHY this is your issue. Why they should
pay attention.
EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT FROM CALIFORNIA, PLEASE WRITE SPEAKER PELOSI. San
Francisco happens to be Pelosi's district so letters from her constituents
will be most powerful, but Pelosi is the Speaker of the House and so serves
and needs to hear from ALL THE PEOPLE from across the country and from
both sides of the aisle.
If you're not from California, use her Washington DC address:
> Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
> Speaker of the House
> 235 Cannon HOB
> Washington, DC 20515
> TEL 202-225-4965
THIS IS OF UTMOST URGENCY. THE MOST IMPORTANT LETTERS YOU'LL WRITE THIS
HOLIDAY SEASON.
Please copy me on your letters if it's convenient.
Diane at smartmarriages.com
#########################
- CALIFORNIAN: CALL TO ARMS
Dear Californian Healthy Marriage Activists,
Diane Sollee (CMFCE) and Dennis Stoica (CHMC) have invited Governor
Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to
deliver the Opening Plenary at the 12th annual Smart Marriages Conference in
San Francisco on July 2, 2008. To have them there would give a huge boost
to our marriage-education work throughout the state. We hope that each of
you will take the time this week to write each of them to express your
interest in having them address the conference.
I think the crux of your letters ought to include the following:
* Information about Why Marriage Matters to Californians--California
divorce stats, impact of marital success/failure across key social measures
* The impressive size of CHMC, its reach throughout California, and the
partners we have around the state
* Why working to support children by helping couples build Healthy
Marriages through Marriage Education aligns with their respective
legislative agendas and core concerns (available on their websites, and
summarized in email to follow)
Their addresses are as follows:
Governor Schwarzenegger: http://gov.ca/gov
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, Ca 95814
TEL: 916-445-2841
First Lady Maria Shriver: http://www.firstlady.ca.gov
First Lady Maria Shriver
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
TEL: 916-445-2841
Speaker Nancy Pelosi http://www.house.gov/pelosi
Congressman Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
450 Golden Gate Avenue--14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
TEL: 415-556-4862
For your reference, I am including the letters we sent them (Schwarzenegger,
Shriver and Pelosi). However, please do NOT copy these letters! It is
important that yours be unique and come directly from the perspective that
means the most to you. We're looking to reach their hearts and minds, so
speak directly from yours.
And thanks from my heart directly to those of you who take the time to do
this!!! :-)
Patty Howell
Vice President CHMC
#################################
- INVITATION LETTER TO GOV SCHWARZENEGGER AND FIRST LADY MARIA SHRIVER
> December 10, 2007
>
> Dear Governor Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver,
> We now know that 90.8% of Californians believe that divorce is a serious
> national problem. Each year, over 150,000 California children suffer the
> effects of their parents¹ marital breakdown. The related impact on health,
> wealth and productivity undermines the strength of our state and our nation.
> Yet, this is a fixable problem. We invite you to address this important issue
> at the Opening Plenary of the 12th annual Smart Marriages/Happy Families
> Conference in San Francisco, Wednesday July 2, 2008. We are also inviting the
> leading Presidential candidates from both parties to address the conference on
> Friday afternoon.
> Smart Marriages is based on an exciting and proven educational
> approach‹Marriage Education‹that delivers understandings from the research
> labs through skills-based classes that help couples foster family well-being.
> Smart Marriages gathers 3000+ of our country¹s most esteemed marriage
> scholars, practitioners, and policy makers, and receives impressive media
> coverage. Past conveners include Gov Michael & First Lady Jacalyn Leavitt;
> Gov Frank & First Lady Cathy Keating; Gov Jeb Bush; Gov Bill Owens; Sen Evan
> Bayh.
> Marriage Education is inherently a bipartisan issue. Divorce is no respecter
> of party affiliation, nor is the likely fall into poverty that divorce
> inflicts on mothers and children. The cascade of social problems associated
> with marital failure is a plague that California needs not suffer, nor can it
> afford to endure. With more than 120,000 divorces in California annually, the
> related social service impact on State and Federal governments of California¹s
> broken families conservatively costs taxpayers more than $3.6 billion per
> year, along with concomitant pain and suffering for couples, and related
> devastating impact on their children. In addition, Marriage Education is
> directly aligned with the core issues you each address. (See attached Why
> Should Gov. Schwarzenegger Take on Marriage Education as One of His Core
> Issues?, Why Should First Lady Maria Shriver Take on Marriage Education as One
> of Her Core Issues?, Why Marriage Matters in America, and Frequently Asked
> Questions.)
> The Smart Marriages/Happy Families Conference is meeting in California to
> acknowledge the state¹s remarkable leadership in this field. In 2006,
> California won more Federal Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grants than any
> other state, receiving more than $37.8 million in funding. This leadership
> continues: The state just received 41% of the Federal Healthy Marriage
> mini-grants announced this Fall. Congress has funded a proactive, educational
> marriage effort and now all eyes are on California.
> Which is why we hope you¹ll join us. California is leading the way in the
> environment, in stem cell research, in technology, in health and fitness.
> California is also leading the way with Marriage Education. With your long
> marriage and record of innovative leadership, including healthcare and
> education, you are the perfect spokespersons‹spokes couple‹to add your support
> to this important campaign. We hope that you will take this opportunity to
> welcome Smart Marriages to California and explain how the numerous benefits of
> healthy marriages‹for couples, for children, and for the village‹fit with your
> goals for the state. We hope you will challenge and inspire Californians to
> ³get smart² about marriage and put their marriages in the win column. We hope
> you will encourage other states to model upon California¹s leadership,
> research and amazing network of community-based initiatives.
>
> Accept our invitation. Help us help you by empowering all Californians with
> the skills to raise healthy children through stable families.
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
> Diane Sollee, Founder/Director Dennis Stoica, President
> Smart Marriages®/CMFCE California Healthy Marriages Coalition
############################
- INVITATION LETTER TO SPEAKER PELOSI
> December 10, 2007
>
> Dear Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
> More than 93% of Americans and 90.8% of Californians believe that divorce is a
> serious national problem. Each year, over 1.2 million American children
> suffer the effects of their parents¹ marital breakdown. The related impact on
> health, wealth and productivity devastates millions of families and undermines
> the strength of our nation. Yet, we now know that this is a fixable problem.
> We invite you to address this important issue at the Opening Plenary of the
> 12th annual Smart Marriages/Happy Families Conference in San Francisco, your
> home district, July 2, 2008. We are also inviting the leading Presidential
> candidates from both parties to address the Conference on Friday afternoon.
> Smart Marriages is based on an exciting and proven educational
> approach‹Marriage Education‹that delivers understandings from the research
> labs through skills-based classes that help couples foster family well-being.
> Smart Marriages gathers 3000+ of our country¹s most esteemed marriage
> scholars, practitioners, and policy makers, and receives impressive media
> coverage. Past conveners include Gov Michael & First Lady Jacalyn Leavitt;
> Gov Frank & First Lady Cathy Keating; Gov Jeb Bush; Gov Bill Owens; Sen Evan
> Bayh.
> Marriage Education is inherently a bipartisan issue. Divorce is no respecter
> of party affiliation, nor is the likely fall into poverty that divorce
> inflicts on mothers and children. The cascade of social problems associated
> with marital failure is a plague that America needs not suffer, nor can it
> afford to endure. We hope the Democratic Party will not cede to Republicans a
> willingness to address the tremendous impact of divorce and family breakdown.
> With over 2600 divorces in San Francisco County, 120,000 in California, and
> more than 1 million divorces nationally each year, the social service impact
> on State and Federal governments of marital breakdown costs taxpayers more
> than $100 billion per year, along with concomitant pain and suffering for
> couples and related devastating impact on their children.
>
> The reformation of the welfare system during the Clinton Administration,
> stipulating three purposes of TANF that directly or indirectly promote healthy
> marriages, led to the 2005 TANF reauthorization funding of Healthy Marriage
> Demonstration Grants‹pro-family legislation for which the Bush administration
> lays claim. We look to you as our Speaker of the House to take leadership on
> this bedrock issue and help Democrats reclaim marriage- and
> family-strengthening programs as key to your legislative agenda. (See ³Why
> Should the Democratic Party Take on Marriage Education as One of Its Core
> Issues?², ³Why Marriage Matters in America², ³Frequently Asked Questions²,
> documents attached.)
>
> Our citizens know that America needs to fix this problem, and they need to be
> made aware of the compelling body of research that finds that adults and
> children do better on all measures of health, wealth, achievement, and
> well-being in intact first marriages‹and of the array of cost-effective,
> research-based, preventive Marriage Education resources now available
> throughout the country. We offer you this conference platform to welcome
> Smart Marriages to your home district‹and address the nation and the Marriage
> Educators, community activists and media representatives who will gather from
> all 50 states‹leaders who like you are devoted to the goals of healthy
> children, healthy families and a healthy economy.
>
> Accept our invitation. Help us help you by empowering America with the skills
> to raise healthy children through stable families.
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
> Diane Sollee, Founder/Director Dennis Stoica, President
> Smart Marriages®/CMFCE California Healthy Marriages Coalition
#####################################
- ALIGNMENT BETWEEN SCHWARZENEGGER PLATFORM AND MARRIAGE EDUCATION
> WHY SHOULD GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
> TAKE ON MARRIAGE EDUCATION AS ONE OF HIS CORE ISSUES?
>
> There is a STRONG Alignment of Interests
> Between Governor Schwarzenegger¹s Key Issues and Marriage/Marriage Education
>
> Based on excerpts from Governor Schwarzenegger¹s Official Website
>
> Issue # 1 Health
>
> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Governor¹s groundbreaking Health Care
> Security and Cost Reduction Act aims to ³bring affordable health care coverage
> to every Californian by: Š Promoting prevention, wellness and personal
> responsibility.² ³The Governor's plan outlines a comprehensive prevention
> policy that encourages and rewards healthy behaviors; supports new efforts to
> fight chronic conditions including diabetes and obesity; reduces smoking;
> promotes more efficient service delivery and will help prevent medical
> errors.²
>
> Marriage:
> € Men and heart disease: Married men were about half as likely to dies of
> chronic heart disease or other causes during a ten year period as unmarried
> men.
> € Women and heart disease: Women who reported ³keeping their mouths shut²
> during conflict with their spouse an indication of resentment buried issues
> had four times the risk of dying over the 10 year follow up study.
> € Immune system impaired: Couples in conflict ridden marriages take longer
> than the happily married to heal from all kinds of wounds.
> € A longitudinal study that tracked over 1,500 privileged middle-class
> children with high IQ¹s over their life span found a significantly higher
> mortality rate for those whose parents divorced, compared with those from
> intact families.
> € Health effects during childhood from divorced families include a doubling
> of the risk of asthma and a significant increase in injury rate.
>
>
> Issue # 2 Public Safety: At-Risk Youth, Gangs, and Crime Prevention
>
> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: ³In May, the Governor introduced CalGRIP to
> confront the recent dramatic increase in gangs across the state and their
> proliferation in suburban and rural areasŠ.The CalGRIP strategy targets more
> than $31 million in state and federal funding toward local anti-gang efforts,
> including intervention, suppression and prevention.²
> In October 2007, the Governor signed legislation that will ³advance the
> Governor¹sŠCalGRIP Initiative. One proposal establishes the Office of Gang
> and Youth Violence Policy; others are focused on education for youthful
> offenders, witness protection, anti-gang violence parenting classes and civil
> remedies that would allow a landlord to evict a gang offender.²
>
> Marriage:
> € Divorce is correlated with more truancy, decreased ability to form
> successful social relationships and solve conflicts, and more frequent
> involvement in crime and drug abuse. This constellation of factors increases
> a children¹s likelihood of being at-risk for gang influence and involvement.
> € Juvenile incarceration rates for children of divorced parents has been
> found to be 12x higher than for children in two-parent families;
> € A U.S. longitudinal study which tracked over 6,400 boys over a period of
> 20 years (well into their adult years) found that children without biological
> fathers in the home are roughly 3x times more likely to commit a crime that
> leads to incarceration than are children of intact families;
> € The findings on parents¹ marital outcome and delinquency are not confined
> to boys. Among adolescent girls, there is a strong correlation between family
> structure and delinquency, hostile behavior, drug use, larceny, skipping
> school, and alcohol abuse.
> € Children who use drugs and abuse alcohol are more likely to come from
> family backgrounds characterized by parental conflict and parental rejection,
> and because divorce increases these factors, it increases the likelihood that
> children will abuse alcohol and begin using drugs.
> € Drug use in children is lowest in intact married families.
>
> Issue # 3 Education
>
> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: On 10/12/07, ³Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
> signedŠlegislation to benefit California¹s students and education system.
> Specifically, these bills make positive changes to career technical education,
> charter schools, California High School Exit Exam and postsecondary education.
> ŒInvesting in California¹s education system is vital to providing California¹s
> students with a quality education,¹ said Governor Schwarzenegger. ŒIt is
> crucial that our students have a strong foundation in the fundamental skills
> necessary for a successful future.¹²
>
> ³As Governor, he has aggressively worked to increase after-school funding,
> making California the first state in the nation to significantly invest in a
> comprehensive after-school program.²
>
> Marriage:
> € Children from divorced homes performed more poorly in reading, spelling
> and math and repeated a grade more frequently than did children from intact
> two-parent families ;
> € The absence of the father lowers cognitive test scores for young children
> in general , especially the math scores of daughters ;
> € By age 13, there is an average difference of half year in reading
> abilities between children of divorced parents and those who have intact
> families ;
> € High school drop-out rates are much higher among children of divorced
> parents than among children of always-married parents ;
> € The college attendance rate is about 60 percent lower among children of
> divorced parents compared with children of intact families ;
>
> Issue # 4 Jobs and the Economy
>
> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Governor¹s policies promote employment and
> economic growth in California. On 10/12/07, ³Governor Arnold
> SchwarzeneggerŠvetoed legislation that would have threatened California¹s
> economic growth. ŒSince I took office, California¹s business climate has
> dramatically improved. Unemployment is at its lowest in three decades, and
> personal income is growing and revenues are the highest in state history.
> These bills would have reversed the success we¹ve had in putting California
> back on track,¹ said Governor Schwarzenegger.²
>
> Marriage:
> € Almost 50% of households with children undergoing divorce move into
> poverty following the divorce.
> € 40% of families on TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, formerly
> called Welfare) are divorced or separated single-parent households.²
> € Divorce increases the likelihood that a family will become economically
> distressed, as single-parent families constitute more than 73% of the lowest
> income quintile.
> € Because divorce leads to decreased household income and higher risk of
> poverty, it affects a child¹s level of academic achievement, which translates
> into lower earnings as an adult.
> € Divorce diminishes the potential of every member of the household to
> accumulate wealth. Decline in income is intergenerational, since children
> whose parents divorce are likely to earn less as adults than children in
> intact families.
###########################
- ALIGNMENT BETWEEN DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM AND MARRIAGE EDUCATION
WHY SHOULD THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
TAKE ON MARRIAGE EDUCATION AS ONE OF ITS CORE ISSUES?
There is a STRONG Alignment of Interests
Between the Democratic Party and Marriage/Marriage Education
Based on excerpts from 2004 Democratic National Platform for America and
2006 Democratic Agenda
Issue #1 Educational Excellence
Democratic Platform: ³Now, as never before, education is the key to
opportunity, essential to a strong America. So we believe in an America that
offers the best education to all our children wherever they live, whatever
their background. Period. We believe in an America where every child comes
to school ready to learnŠ Parents are our children's first and most
important teachers, and they have a responsibility to participate in their
children's education. We will help them do so by offering information and
resources to better teach their childrenŠ [C]hildren need safe, loving, and
disciplined homes in order to learnŠ²
Democratic Agenda: ³Democrats know that the key to expanding opportunity is
to provide every child with a strong foundation of education.²
Marriage:
* Children from divorced homes performed more poorly in reading, spelling
and math and repeated a grade more frequently than did children from intact
two-parent families.[1] <#_ftn1>
* The absence of the father lowers cognitive test scores for young children
in general[2] <#_ftn2> , especially the math scores of daughters.[3]
<#_ftn3>
* By age 13, there is an average difference of half year in reading
abilities between children of divorced parents and those who have intact
families.[4] <#_ftn4>
* High school drop-out rates are much higher among children of divorced
parents than among children of always-married parents.[5] <#_ftn5>
* The college attendance rate is about 60 percent lower among children of
divorced parents compared with children of intact families.[6] <#_ftn6>
Issue #2 Economic Prosperity & Eliminating Poverty
Democratic Platform: ³The heart of the American promise has always been the
middle class, the greatest engine of economic growth the world has ever
known. When the middle class grows in size and security, our country gets
strongerŠ Today, the average American family is earning $1,500 less than in
2000. At the same time, health care costs are up by nearly one-half, college
tuition has increased by more than one-third, gas and oil prices have gone
through the roof, and housing costs have soared. Life literally costs more
than ever before and our families have less money to pay for it. Three
million more Americans have fallen into poverty since 2000. John Kerry,
John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a stronger, more prosperous
America for all our people. We believe in an America where the great
American promise of upward mobility is alive and well. We believe in an
America where the middle class is growing, our economy is thriving, and
America is strong. And we have a plan to build that America.²
Marriage:
* Almost 50% of households with children undergoing divorce move into
poverty following the divorce.[7] <#_ftn7>
* 40% of families on TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, formerly
called Welfare) are divorced or separated single-parent households.[8]
<#_ftn8>
* Divorce increases the likelihood that a family will become economically
distressed, as single-parent families constitute more than 73% of the lowest
income quintile.[9] <#_ftn9>
Issue #3 Retirement Security
Democratic Platform: ³We must protect the retirement security of America's
workers and their families.²
Democratic Agenda: ³We will ensure that a retirement with dignity is the
right and expectation of every single AmericanŠ Democrats believe that
after a life of hard work, you earn a secure retirement.²
Marriage:
* At retirement, the typical married couples has accumulated about $410,000
(or $205,000 each), compared to about $167,000 for the never-married, just
under $154,000 for the divorced, and $96,000 for the separated.[10]
<#_ftn10>
* The longer married people stay married, the greater their wealth
accumulations; the longer divorced people are divorced, the fewer their
assets.[11] <#_ftn11>
Issue #4 Health of America¹s Citizens
Democratic Platform: ³[T]he Democratic Party believe[s] in a better,
stronger, healthier America. Our resolve to fix the health crisis is
stronger than ever.²
Marriage:
* Men and heart disease: Married men were about half as likely to dies of
chronic heart disease or other causes during a ten year period as unmarried
men.[12] <#_ftn12>
* Women and heart disease: Women who reported ³keeping their mouths shut²
during conflict with their spouse an indication of resentment buried
issues had four times the risk of dying over the 10 year follow up
study.[13] <#_ftn13>
* Immune system impaired: Couples in conflict ridden marriages take longer
than the happily married to heal from all kinds of wounds.[14] <#_ftn14>
Issue #5 Crime
Democratic Platform: ³While terrorism poses an especially menacing threat to
our nation, a strong America must remain vigilant against the scourge of
homegrown crime as wellŠ Together, we can make America safer, stronger, and
more respected.²
Marriage:
* In Wisconsin, juvenile incarceration rates for children of divorced
parents are 12 times higher than for children in two-parent families.[15]
<#_ftn15>
* A U.S. longitudinal study which tracked over 6,400 boys over a period of
20 years (well into their adult years) found that children without
biological fathers in the home are roughly three times more likely to commit
a crime that leads to incarceration than are children of intact
families.[16] <#_ftn16>
* It is worth noting that these findings on delinquency are not confined to
boys. Among adolescent girls, there is a strong correlation between family
structure, delinquency,[17] <#_ftn17> hostile behavior,[18] <#_ftn18> drug
use, larceny, skipping school,[19] <#_ftn19> and alcohol abuse.[20]
<#_ftn20>
Issue #6 Health and Safety of Children
Democratic Platform: ³We believe not just that a strong America begins at
home, but that a strong America begins in the home. And just as government's
first responsibility is the health and safety of its people, parents' first
responsibility is the health and safety of their children.²
Marriage:
* A longitudinal study that tracked over 1,500 privileged middle-class
children with high IQ¹s over their life span found a significantly higher
mortality rate for those whose parents divorced, compared with those from
intact families.[21] <#_ftn21>
* Health effects during childhood from divorced families include a doubling
of the risk of asthma and a significant increase in injury rate.[22]
<#_ftn22>
* Margo Wilson and Martin Daly, professors of psychology at McMasters
University in Canada, report that children two years of age and younger are
70 to 100 times more likely to be killed at the hands of their stepparents
than by their biological parents.[23] <#_ftn23> (Younger children, because
of their small size, are much more vulnerable.)
* The rate of sexual abuse of girls by their stepfathers is at least six
times higher[24] <#_ftn24> , and may be as much as 40 times greater[25]
<#_ftn25> , than sexual abuse of daughters by their biological fathers who
remain in intact families.
* Children who use drugs and abuse alcohol are more likely to come from
family backgrounds characterized by parental conflict and parental
rejection, and because divorce increases these factors, it increases the
likelihood that children will abuse alcohol and begin using drugs.[26]
<#_ftn26>
* Drug use in children is lowest in intact married families.[27] <#_ftn27>
Issue #7 Empowering Women
Democratic Platform: ³We believe a day's work is worth a day's pay, and at a
time when women still earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, we need
stronger equal pay laws and stronger enforcement of themŠ We will defend
the dignity of all Americans against those who would undermine it. Because
we believe in the privacy and equality of women, we stand proudly for a
woman's right to chooseŠ²
Marriage:
* A healthy marriage is one that is characterized by mutual respect by both
parties;[28] <#_ftn28>
* The structured dialog process embedded within most marriage education
programs creates a balance of power within the relationship;[29] <#_ftn29>
* Almost 50% of households with children undergoing divorce move into
poverty following the divorce.[30] <#_ftn30>
Issue #8 Domestic Violence
Democratic Platform: ³We will help break the cycle of domestic violence by
punishing offenders and standing with victims.²
Marriage:
* Married women with children suffer far less abuse than single mothers. In
fact the rate of spousal, boyfriend, or domestic partner abuse is twice as
high among mothers who have never been married as it is among mothers who
have ever married (including those separated or divorced.)[31] <#_ftn31>
* Marriage Education programs that would be funded under the President¹s
Healthy Marriage Initiative have been shown to reduce-not increase-domestic
abuse.[32] <#_ftn32>
* Relationship skills training taught at the high school level can be a
highly effective preventive measure to avoid subsequent abusive
relationships.[33] <#_ftn33>
Issue #9 Responsible Fatherhood
Democratic Platform: ³And we must expect increased responsibility from
fathers as well as mothers by increasing child support enforcement and
promoting responsible fatherhood together with religious and civic
organizations.²
Marriage:
* Married fathers provide practical and financial support in raising
children and serve as models for their development.[34] <#_ftn34>
* Children in households where involved, loving fathers are present are
significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem,
exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior compared to children who have absent
fathers.[35] <#_ftn35>
* Committed and responsible fathering during infancy and early childhood
contributes emotional security, curiosity, and math and verbal skills.[36]
<#_ftn36>
Issue #10 Strong, Healthy Families
Democratic Platform: ³Family is the center of everyday American life. Our
parents are our first protectors, first teachers, first role models, and
first friends. Parents know that America's great reward is the quiet but
incomparable satisfaction that comes from building their families a better
life. Strong families, blessed with opportunity, guided by faith, and filled
with dreams are the heart of a strong America.²
Marriage:
* Marriage builds strong families with a wide variety of qualities which
contribute to the family members' sense of personal worth and feelings of
security and satisfaction with each other.[37] <#_ftn37>
* Marriage, and a normative commitment to marriage, foster high-quality
relationships between adults, as well as between parents and children.[38]
<#_ftn38>
* Marriage has important biosocial consequences for adults and children.[39]
<#_ftn39>
###################
(NOTE: PDF versions of the alignment documents that include full footnotes
will be available on the California Coalition website
http://www.camarriage.com as will Marriage Education FAQs papers prepared
for each invitee. - diane)
**************************
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http://www.smartmarriages.com
Order conference audio & video CD/DVD/MP3s: 800-241-7785 or
http://www.iPlaybackSmartMarriages.com
Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE)
Diane Sollee, Director
5310 Belt Rd NW, Washington, DC 20015-1961
http://www.smartmarriages.com
202-362-3332
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