Which Raises a Healthier, Thriving Child—Government or Strong Family?

With growing intrusion by schools, government and healthcare, a shift is taking place---either children are raised by strong families, or they will be raised by government. Which is better for children? Which is better for a thriving, caring society? Government makes a poor parent. This is why natural, healthy, strong families are one of the top goals of Arizona Women of Action.

‘Effective Action’ is our mission--action that aims at the problems hurting people and society—like homelessness, trafficking, gender confusion, depression, abortion, child abuse, manipulation/lies, drug addiction, and violence. So many of the societal problems we shed tears over, debate over, and spend millions over, could all be solved by Strong Families.

When we heard that Christian Family Care has a program called “Strong Families for Children”, we wanted to know more! You’ll be saddened by the statistics, but also amazed by the impact CFC is making to strengthen families in Arizona—in addition to their services for adoption and foster care! This is practical and powerful stuff!

CFC President & CEO Mark Upton writes to our subscribers this week. I hope his words will inspire you to get involved, share with others and maybe support their work. This Strong Families program is real, effective action that will transform Arizona! ~ Kim

Like many of you, I am concerned that the disintegration of the family is fracturing the moral and social wellbeing of Arizona, and America as it was founded.

The disintegration of the family is increasing the burden of government to raise children; and it is my belief that God intended the natural family, not the government, to be the foundational social unit for the wellbeing of children and society.

The natural family, first established when God made a man and woman, unites them as ‘one flesh’ in a lifelong covenant of marriage and blesses them with the exhortation to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ is intended as the foundational social unit, inscribed by God, for the wellbeing of society (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:23-24).

The natural, healthy family solves the dependency problem of caring for the young, old, the weak, and the infirm. It creates new community members that grow into responsible adults that contribute to the wellbeing of our community.

Research studies report that children living with biological parents are 20 to 35 percent more physically healthy than children from broken homes (Dawson). Manning and Lamb found that adolescents in intact families had higher levels of academic achievement and were less likely to exhibit problem behaviors in school compared to peers living in homes where single mothers lived alone or with a cohabiting partner.

The family nurtures and ensures the full physical and emotional development of children so that every child can thrive in society.

'Successful families' says Allan Carlson, president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society ‘are the natural reservoir of liberty. They aim at autonomy or independence, enabling their members to resist oppression, survive economic, social, and political turbulence, and renew the world after troubles have passed.’

Our mission at Christian Family Care is to strengthen families and serve at-risk children in the name of Jesus Christ. For years we have focused on serving the orphaned child, and we continue to do so; however, in the past few years, we have expanded services to keep families intact, to prevent children disrupting from families.

On Father’s Day, I spoke to a church about the importance of knowing that we are created by and belong to God. Our identity rests in Him. However, as a result of the disintegration of the family, many people today are asking themselves these questions; ‘Who am I’ and ‘Whose am I.’

So many people today numb these nagging questions by ingesting, injecting, and swallowing drugs in search of identifying who they are. This is why fatherless boys gravitate toward gangs. Ninety-nine percent of broken homes are a result of Dad’s leaving. Not moms. Although there are exceptions.

Strong Families is one of the programs we started to help stabilize families. Focused on serving families in crisis, we provide services to wrap around the parents to help stabilize their life crisis and support them while recovering, enabling them to retain custody of their children. Ninety-nine percent of the families served have been successful in retaining their children, avoiding the disruption of foster care.

We are now moving into at-risk neighborhoods, providing early childhood education, and training for parents, to restore marriage and create and/or retain intact families. Reinforcing the importance of fatherhood. Family Care KIDS provides early childhood education from teachers, and counselors, who we train and equip to address the challenges of children that have experienced early childhood trauma, whether through divorce, abandonment, abuse, community violence, or foster care.

I mentioned the restoration of fatherhood earlier. Dr. Leonard Sax in his book, ‘Boys Adrift,’ addresses the growing epidemic of unmotivated and underachieving young men. He states that 25%-30% of boys today have no motivation to mature and grow at all. They live with or on the financial support of parents (or government support) and young men are without any father. Their personal sense of reality and self-worth comes from their success in a video game and the achievement obtained by beating the best gamers. These boys are not motivated to establish relationships, even sexual relationships because they can get online pornography without complications. Boys need hands-on experience to learn, and schools do not teach boys that way, and there is no father in the home to train these young boys.

This is where our mentoring program comes into importance. Fifty percent of all boys have no father in their lives to teach them how to become men. Boys need godly men to help guide them. Ten to fifteen percent of the young fathers bringing their children to Family Care KIDS early childhood education center do not have a role model to follow from their own upbringing. These men need mentors as well.

I agree with Allan Carlson when he says that for our communities to prosper, and for our children to become independent citizens equipped to resist the destructive influences of our culture, it is important to strengthen the family.

I want to encourage you, and thank you, for taking action to advance the natural family and to help organizations like Christian Family Care improve the welfare of our communities by strengthening the family and serving at-risk children in our communities.

Learn more about Christian Family Care: “In every aspect of our ministry, we surround children and families with the love of Jesus Christ through adoption, foster care, and support programs.”