H. C. R. 20
(By Delegate Petersen, et. al.)
Requesting that all public support programs for children in West
Virginia be designed to encourage fathers to be present in
their children's homes and lives, and that programs that
require fathers to be absent as a requirement for receiving
services be restructured to eliminate such requirements.
Whereas, Fathers make unique and irreplaceable contributions
to the lives of their children; and
Whereas, Forty percent of children in the United States today
live in homes in which their biological father does not live; and
Whereas, Thirty percent of births in the United States today
are to unwed mothers, compared to only five percent in one
thousand nine hundred sixty; and
Whereas, The absence of the father from the child's home is
the strongest statistical factor in children's lives that
predicts poverty, drug abuse, gang membership, early unwanted
teenage pregnancy, poor performance in school and other bad
outcomes; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That all public support programs for children in West
Virginia shall be designed to encourage fathers to be present in
their children's homes and lives, and that programs that requirefathers to be absent as a requirement for receiving services
shall be restructured to eliminate such requirements; and, be it
Further Resolved, That fathers have a moral as well as legal
responsibility to support all their children; and, be it
Further Resolved, That as a matter of public policy,
becoming pregnant out of wedlock shall be discouraged; and, be it
Further Resolved, That married couples shall understand that
current statistical evidence shows that in most cases, children
are better off in a home with their mother and father both being
present and married, than when parents divorce; and, be it
Further Resolved, That public policy shall encourage father-
friendly workplace practices; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the "Family Matters" media campaign
shall include information to the public regarding the importance
of fathers in children's lives.