FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Joe Englert

(312) 296-3668

ILL. COUNCIL ON RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD TO HOLD FORUM AT SIU

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood along with Southern Illinois University Carbondale will hold a free, public forum Saturday, April 16, at 1 p.m. in Room 150 of the Dunn-Richmond Center, 150 E. Pleasant Hill Road in Carbondale.

Organizers hope to build a statewide network of supportive groups and individuals, pinpoint challenges that hinder father involvement in their children’s lives, develop ideas for programs that would support fathers and look for means of bringing about legislative reforms. To accomplish this, the council is reaching out to SIU faculty, churches, social service organizations and individuals in Southern Illinois to participate in the forum.

The Council also is hoping to identify individuals from Southern Illinois with experience promoting responsible fatherhood in their communities to join its Board of Commissioners.

The Illinois Legislature established the council as a statewide commission under the office of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2003. Jeffery M. Leving, a Chicago attorney and SIU alumni, serves as its chair.

“The deterioration of responsible fatherhood over the last half-century has had a devastating effect on American families,” Leving said in the Council’s first annual report to Gov. Blagojevich.

“Countless studies and mounting anecdotal evidence continues to demonstrate how children who grow up in father-absent homes are much more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse and to engage in criminal behavior.

“The Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood is one of the first government programs of its kind and will serve as a model for other states across the country seeking to restore responsible fatherhood as a societal norm.”

In an effort to establish its statewide network of legislators, educators and community leaders and to develop strategies for promoting responsible fatherhood throughout Illinois, the council is holding three regional events. The Carbondale meeting takes place first, followed by a forum in Springfield April 30. On June 4, the Council, in collaboration with U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis, will hold the 2005 Fatherhood Empowerment Conference in Chicago.

Drawing on feedback from the Carbondale and Springfield meeting, the Council will bring together representatives of state agencies, such as Illinois Department of Public Aid, Illinois Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families Services, at the Fatherhood Empowerment Conference focused on making state policies and programs more father-friendly.

For planning purposes, organizers would like those interested in attending to contact Joe Englert, who is also able to respond to requests for more information. Reach him by telephone at 847/644-1534.

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