‘WE HAVE A FATHERHOOD CRISIS’: DeSantis Warns of ‘Decline in Fatherhood’ and Touts Programs to Solve it
July 25, 2022 Updated 10:55 A.M. ET
TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated his priority of addressing the “fatherhood crisis” during his tenure as governor in Florida.
“We have a fatherhood crisis in our nation,” he said. “Here in Florida, we are investing in programs to support fathers and families.”
In a video, DeSantis described the United States’ fatherhood situation as “one of the worst social trends.”
A major piece of legislation signed by DeSantis was HB 7065, “Child Welfare,” which supports fathers in actively participating in their children’s lives.
“To any dad out there who may not be engaged, you know, we wanna be able to support – we’ve got programs, we’ve got community groups and nonprofits that wanna be there to help. But you gotta be willing to do the right thing and be present in your child’s life,” he went on.
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“There are more than 18 million children in our country who live without a father in their home,” he remarked. “Incredibly, there are those who diminish the importance of fatherhood and the nuclear family – we will not let that happen in our state. I am proud to say we are doing everything we can to support involved fatherhood in Florida.”
“You’re not a man by leaving your kids hung out to dry. You need to be there. It takes a lot of responsibility – it’s not easy … We want to make sure that every single kid in Florida [has] their father present.”
In May, the governor argued that if every American child had a father in the home, there would be “far, far fewer problems that we would have to deal with as a society.”
“I do think there are a lot of problems, but if you could just snap your finger and do one thing, and you did this where the fathers were in the home, you would not even need to worry about a lot of these other problems.” he said.
The National Fatherhood Initiative warns that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 25% of American children, or 18.4 million, live without a father figure in the home. “Research shows that a father’s absence affects children in numerous unfortunate ways, while a father’s presence makes a positive difference in the lives of both children and mothers.
