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By Floyd Edward Reinhardt and Eddie Reinhardt, Littleton

Let’s give the Rocky Mountain News another chance! Let’s ask it to re-announce Gov. Bill Ritter’s statewide program, “Be There for Your Kids,” with the same exuberance they’ve used for the Colorado Rockies’ playoff victories. They can do better than “Grant aimed at assisting at-risk dads,” a one-column, seven-inch article several pages in from Page 1 on Oct. 2.

What is more important in Colorado today than the governor’s efforts to help men become more aware of the importance of their influence in the lives of their children? This program is designed to promote responsible fatherhood across the state of Colorado.

Just after the four F-16s arrived at the stadium to thrill baseball fans with their low formation flyover and just before the Oct. 1 Rockies-Padres game, Ritter unveiled a new program to be spearheaded through the Colorado Department of Human Services, under the direction of Rich Batten.

The announcement was made to more than 100 people on the east side of the Capitol. “Fathers have a very important role in the lives of their children,” Ritter said. “At the end of the day, our future is only as strong as our children.” The governor explained that Colorado was the only state and one of two locations in the country — including Washington, D.C. — to be awarded a five-year, $10 million federal grant with the focus and intent of improving paternal relationships and parenting. The grant money is being used to fund community and faith-based programs that provide fatherhood skills training and healthy marriage/couple relationship training. The public awareness campaign includes coloradodads.com, a new Web site that is an all-encompassing resource for dads and families.

Research shows that children who grow up without responsible fathers are significantly more likely to experience poverty, do poorly in school and engage in criminal activity. David Blankenhorn, founder of the Institute for American Values and author of Fatherless America, tells us that, “Fatherlessness is the most harmful demographic trend of this generation. It is the leading cause of declining child well-being in our society. It is the engine driving our most urgent social problems. Yet despite its scale of social consequences, fatherlessness is a problem frequently ignored or denied.”

This program will work with low-income fathers, fathers of children with disabilities and single custodial fathers. The financial cost for fatherlessness in Colorado is not yet available, but the figures would be staggering. The emotional and life-changing cost of not having a dad at home in Colorado is incalculable.

Let’s have a “do-over.” Let’s make sure everyone knows about the governor’s new fatherhood initiative, the “Be There for Your Kids” program.

Littleton residents Floyd Edward Reinhardt and son Eddie talk about fatherhood at their Web site
youreokkid.com.

READER COMMENTS

"Why do fathers need a government-sponsored program before they decide to be responsible fathers?"

Because "government-sponsored programs" got the father thrown out of his home and HE was forced to pay for the privilege! Get the state out of the divorce incentive business and perhaps fathers will have a chance to be in their kids lives again!

Can I get an Amen! I just knew that you and I would eventually have a commonality somewhere. You have hit it dead on!

Why do fathers need a government-sponsored program before they decide to be responsible fathers?

Where is the program to promote responsible motherhood?

Woman have children and they don't even know who the real father is.Then when a supposed father demands a paternity test,he's the bad guy.

What about the women who divorce and parade man after man through their children's lives. These woman don't even know who these men are ,unless they do a backround check.Which is doubtful.

A lot of child molesters look for single woman with children, the woman is swept off her feet and the man has his eyes on her kids.

Father's need to be father's today ,but mother's need to be mother's also.

Congratulations,Eddie and Floyd! You've re-invented the wheel! Now that Governor Ritter has seen the light and learned that fatherlessness is bad,do you suppose he'll take the next step and figure out that the government he heads is the chief cause of the problem? His subordinates at Human Services have for a very long time made a comfortable living paying unmarried women to bear fatherless children.
In terms of government dollars(that's millions of government dollars,mind you),the taxpaying public can buy and raise approximately three dozen gang-bangers,or one F-16.JMHO,but I'd rather have the F-16.

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