FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Joe Englert

(312) 296-3668

ILL. COUNCIL ON RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD TO HOLD FORUM AT UIS

Springfield, Ill. — The Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood will hold a free, public forum Saturday, April 30, at 1 p.m. in Conference Room H of the Public Affairs Center, at University of Illinois at Springfield.

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 lawmakers, churches, social service organizations and individuals in Central Illinois to participate in the forum.

The Council also is hoping to identify individuals from Central 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, 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 continue 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 Springfield meeting will be the second meeting, following a forum in Carbondale on April 16. 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 meetings, 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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