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 www.slfp.com St. Louis Front Page P. O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 www.slfp.com Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com Please e-mail advertising@slfp.com or call 314-771-0200 for information or questions about advertising opportunities in the Community Section. |
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St. Louis Community Info, Tuesday, December 4, 2007 
by Bob Moore, SLFP.com ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), December 4, 2007 - In June 2003, the Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation (GSLCF) launched "Fathers - a Missing Piece of the Puzzle" to focus on the growing problem of fragile families in the St. Louis region. Essentially, the Initiative was designed to support and enhance the work of area nonprofits committed to the role fathers play as assets in their children's lives. Today, in a special presentation at the Employment Connection, GSLCF and United Way unveiled $600,000 in grants to six metropolitan agencies to participate in efforts which have already touched the lives of more than 1,000 fathers and 2,000 St. Louis area children. In an interview following the presentation, Dr. Ronald Mincy, Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, Columbia University, said that "we've always had working poverty in the United States. Men traditionally are the undeserving poor. When they've been in difficulty, there have not been the resources to help support them. However, our welfare policies have changed radically in the 1990s and you had real successes in terms of increasing the fraction of single mothers who are working and getting out of poverty. We decreased black child poverty rates in particular. We would have had much more success in those goals if our work in support of men had been present as well." "We now know, based on about fifteen years of research, that the notion that men do not care about their children is not supported by the data. Most of these men who have non-marital births, really care about their children. Being fathers is the most important thing in their lives. But they face an extraordinary array of barriers in keeping contact with their children, negotiating the relationships with the mothers of their children, finding work, overcoming the scars of incarceration and standing up as men." "I think what is going on here in St. Louis, supported by the Community Foundation, is a critical part of putting those pieces back together. Work like this has been going on all around the country. So work that is going on locally can build upon that experience of research, policy and practice in order to strengthen these fragile families and improve the outcomes of children." Peter D. Kinder, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, spoke about the Missouri Mentoring Initiative, which was initiated by Governor Matt Blunt. "I took this Initiative in a form of a resolution to all of the Lieutenant Governors from across the country. I got support from my Democratic colleagues and friends from across the river, including Pat Quinn in Illinois. We unanimously passed a resolution saying that this Amachi program born here in Missouri should go nationwide. It should be a national model to break this awful cycle." Kinder explained that Amachi is a mentoring program for children whose parents are in our correctional institutions. "We're shortly going to be to the point where every person entering a correctional institution will be interviewed and asked, 'do you have children.' I the answer is 'yes,' then they will asked, 'do you want your children to be mentored.' I think most of them will say they do. We are excited about this program. It has great promise and is growing in Missouri. We are taking it national through the Lieutenant Governor's Association." For more information, see a video on the Big Brothers, Big Sisters - Amachi Missouri at www.ltgov.mo.gov under the heading, "Missouri Mentoring Initiative." Grant Recipients include: EMPLOYMENT CONNECTION was selected to receive a three-year grant award of $108,000 to provide comprehensive employment services; FATHERS' SUPPORT CENTER (FSC) was selected to receive a three-year grant award of $110,000 to support its Family Development and Socialization program; LUTHERAN CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OF ILLINOIS (LCFS) was selected to receive a three-year grant award of $105,000 to increase its focus on improving the ability of nonresident fathers to support and nurture their children; NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSES was selected to receive a three-year grant award of $75,000 to facilitate the start-up of a nationally recognized program model called Meld; ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS PARENTING PARTNERSHIP was selected to receive a three-year grant award of $105,000 to support an initiative that will serve as an extension and broadening of their Fathers Forums outreach program; and, YOUTH IN NEED was selected to receive a three-year grant award of $97,000 to provide opportunities and support to nonresident fathers whose children are enrolled in the agency's Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Catalog of All State Grants Is Now Available Online ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), December 2, 2007 - A catalog of all state grants, loans and assistance programs is now available online. The newest addition to state resources and information available online is part of the governor's ongoing effort to improve access to state government. "I am committed to making it easier for all Missourians to access information about their state government and the countless programs we offer," Gov. Blunt said. "The launch of this new online catalog builds on my call to use technology to increase the availability of resources and make state government more accessible to Missouri taxpayers." The catalog provides all Missourians, non-profit agencies, state and local governments and private companies with detailed information about state assistance programs and how to apply for the programs. The catalog is available at www.mo.gov/mo/pdf/MOCSAP2007.pdf. Earlier this year, the governor launched the Missouri Accountability Portal (MAP), one of the first comprehensive databases of financial records based on real-time data in the nation. The MAP site is updated at the close of each business day to provide up-to-date access to information about state spending. Users can search the MAP site by budget category, vendor or contract. Links to other public information maintained by the state are also available on the MAP site. The MAP expenditure site has also been enhanced to allow Missourians to review state expenditures by state agency and information regarding tax credits administered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development since tax credit application year 2000. The MAP Internet site is being constantly updated to provide even more information to taxpayers. Information on state employees' salaries will be available in a user-friendly database by January 1, 2008. 
The Community Information Guide is presented in conjunction with the St. Louis Front Page and Southwest Illinois News. The sites are owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan St. Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
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Dr. Ronald Mincy, Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, Columbia University, said that "We would have had much more success in those goals if our work in support of men had been present as well."
Peter D. Kinder, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, spoke about the Amachi Program which mentors children whose parents are in correctional institutions.
