Families
"Frankly, I'm fed up with politicians in Washington lecturing the rest of us about family values. Our families have values, but our government doesn’t." BILL CLINTON, speech at Democratic National Convention, July 16, 1992
Families - The foundation to a functioning society!
Raising healthier, well educated and happy children will lead to stronger marriages which in turn leads to stronger communities which in turn leads to healthier, well educated and happy children........
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia is an organization working hard for the betterment of West Virginia families. Recently they posted the following announcement on their website:
We are happy to report that the 2012 Legislature passed H.B. 4605 creating an incentive for couples to complete premarital education prior to receiving a marriage license - what we have called the, "Premarital Education Act (PEA)."
One of the quickest ways to strengthen West Virginia’s economy is to strengthen West Virginia’s families – starting with their marriages.
West Virginia averages approximately 9,200 divorces annually. Each divorce costs taxpayers between $20,000 and $30,000 or, roughly, $230,000,000 annually. Statistics indicate that couples who undergo premarital education and counseling ahead of marriage can reduce the risk of divorce by 30%.
The PEA creates multiple levels of community involvement while strengthening West Virginia’s economy. Pastors, social workers, and other community leaders are encouraged to provide premarital education, thus staking an interest in the relationships within their community. If the divorce rate is reduced by just 2% annually, West Virginia’s economy stands to gain almost $5.5 million each year.
There are so many organizations providing resources for building and sustaining great families in West Virginia. One such resource is the "West Virginia Family Magazine". West Virginia Family is an award-winning FREE quarterly family resource magazine containing news articles and tips on health, education, entertainment, and safety, plus a family calendar of events in West Virginia. This is a wonderful resource to help you plan family memories for a lifetime.
If you are a faithful and loving husband, father I thank you! Loving and caring wife, mother I thank you! Lets make our great state greater one family at a time!
Some Ideas:
Education - Parents/Grandparents/Citizens must be encouraged to take a greater role in the education of our children. Educators must be given back control of their classrooms. We must bring the word respect back into the lives of our young people. Family/Community involvement in the classroom will build stronger relationships within the family and in our communities.
Accountability - We must hold our young men and women accountable for their actions. Not getting a High School Diploma or a GED should not be an option. A high school diploma or a GED should be a minimum requirement for federal or state aid. In 1989, we passed a law that high school drop outs could not have a drivers license. This law decreased drop out rates by a third from 5,000 students a year to 3,400. This one simple act impacts the lives of 1,600 young men and women each year by motivating them to stay in school and earn their high school diploma. That just leaves 3,400 more - lets work together to find simple solutions to get them all earning high school diploma's. I am for limited government intervention in our lives but, I also believe that an 18 year old should either be attending college, learning a trade, serving in the military or working to provide for him or herself.
Concern - We must turn our concerns for our families into actions. Families need to be supported by their communities, must know that they are important and that there are folks in their communities who are willing to help them to tackle whatever problem they may be facing. Let's put families first - by doing this we will be putting children first!
Families - The foundation to a functioning society!
Raising healthier, well educated and happy children will lead to stronger marriages which in turn leads to stronger communities which in turn leads to healthier, well educated and happy children........
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia is an organization working hard for the betterment of West Virginia families. Recently they posted the following announcement on their website:
We are happy to report that the 2012 Legislature passed H.B. 4605 creating an incentive for couples to complete premarital education prior to receiving a marriage license - what we have called the, "Premarital Education Act (PEA)."
One of the quickest ways to strengthen West Virginia’s economy is to strengthen West Virginia’s families – starting with their marriages.
West Virginia averages approximately 9,200 divorces annually. Each divorce costs taxpayers between $20,000 and $30,000 or, roughly, $230,000,000 annually. Statistics indicate that couples who undergo premarital education and counseling ahead of marriage can reduce the risk of divorce by 30%.
The PEA creates multiple levels of community involvement while strengthening West Virginia’s economy. Pastors, social workers, and other community leaders are encouraged to provide premarital education, thus staking an interest in the relationships within their community. If the divorce rate is reduced by just 2% annually, West Virginia’s economy stands to gain almost $5.5 million each year.
There are so many organizations providing resources for building and sustaining great families in West Virginia. One such resource is the "West Virginia Family Magazine". West Virginia Family is an award-winning FREE quarterly family resource magazine containing news articles and tips on health, education, entertainment, and safety, plus a family calendar of events in West Virginia. This is a wonderful resource to help you plan family memories for a lifetime.
If you are a faithful and loving husband, father I thank you! Loving and caring wife, mother I thank you! Lets make our great state greater one family at a time!
Some Ideas:
Education - Parents/Grandparents/Citizens must be encouraged to take a greater role in the education of our children. Educators must be given back control of their classrooms. We must bring the word respect back into the lives of our young people. Family/Community involvement in the classroom will build stronger relationships within the family and in our communities.
Accountability - We must hold our young men and women accountable for their actions. Not getting a High School Diploma or a GED should not be an option. A high school diploma or a GED should be a minimum requirement for federal or state aid. In 1989, we passed a law that high school drop outs could not have a drivers license. This law decreased drop out rates by a third from 5,000 students a year to 3,400. This one simple act impacts the lives of 1,600 young men and women each year by motivating them to stay in school and earn their high school diploma. That just leaves 3,400 more - lets work together to find simple solutions to get them all earning high school diploma's. I am for limited government intervention in our lives but, I also believe that an 18 year old should either be attending college, learning a trade, serving in the military or working to provide for him or herself.
Concern - We must turn our concerns for our families into actions. Families need to be supported by their communities, must know that they are important and that there are folks in their communities who are willing to help them to tackle whatever problem they may be facing. Let's put families first - by doing this we will be putting children first!