Section 2653 - Findings and declaration of policyThe General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Fathers are role models, caretakers, providers and advocates. Research shows that father involvement is associated with better outcomes for child well-being.(2) When a child has the benefit of access to both parents, the child is more likely to exhibit healthy behaviors, excel in school and achieve emotional well-being.(3) Fathers should be fully present and engaged in providing the emotional, social, physical, intellectual, spiritual and financial contributions that their children need to ensure safety, stability and well-being.(4) Father involvement is a protective factor for children that aids in the development of resilience and mitigates certain psychological and social risks in adulthood.(5) Approximately 24,000,000 of the nation's children are being raised in single-parent households, some without access to their fathers and their emotional and financial support.(6) A father's absence or noninvolvement can have a negative impact on a child's well-being from birth forward, increasing the risks of abuse, substance use, educational underachievement and incarceration.(7) In the absence of public policy that promotes greater father involvement, many children will be less likely to receive the level of parental support needed to achieve economic stability, emotional well-being and independence.(8) Societal and institutional barriers to greater father involvement may include stigma linked to seeking behavioral health services, housing programs that do not encourage fathers living with children and educational and support services systems that do not foster co-parenting.(9) The public policy of the Commonwealth is to end institutional barriers that may impede fathers in fostering supportive connections with their children, establish support mechanisms to enhance the ability of fathers to assume a beneficial parenting role and assist men in preparing for the legal, financial and emotional responsibilities of fatherhood.Added by P.L. TBD 2022 No. 114, § 3, eff. 11/3/2022.