Fathers Matter: Most Adolescents Who Enter the Justice System Have Suffered from Parental Abandonment, Substance Abuse, or a Dysfunctional Household.

Approximately one in four children in the United States live without their father in the home—a staggering 18.3 million children affected—according to a May report by the America First Policy Institute.

This from wndnewscenter.org.

According to Pew Research:

The U.S. rate of children living in single-parent homes—23% (80% of which are led by single moms)—is more than three times the global average of 7%.

The AFPI report, by former NFL player and fatherhood advocate Jack Brewer, is only about four pages long, but it is rife with shocking and disheartening statistical data pulled together from scores of reports and government agencies detailing the destructive effects of fatherlessness.

Brewer is Chair of the Center for Opportunity Now, and Vice-Chair of the Center for 1776 at America First Policy Institute (AFPI). He is an outspoken Christian advocate for social change—albeit decidedly non-“woke.”

Below are just some of the other findings in the AFPI report culled from various groups and government agencies studying the effects of fatherlessness, broken down by category (figures are not definitive, as the report frequently states “some data suggest” regarding the various problems):

Poverty:

• Fatherless families are 4 times more likely to raise children in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau);
• 80% of homeless families are led by women;

Mental illness/suicide:

• “Children from single-parent families are twice as likely to suffer from mental health and behavioral problems as those living with married parents”;
• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes;
• In one study, 70% of youth in state-operated facilities were from single-parent homes;
• “85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders are from fatherless homes” (DOJ, 1998);
• Children in single-parent homes have nearly five times greater chance of developing mood disorders than those in dual parent households.

Drug use and behavioral problems:

• “Children without fathers are also 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, and 71% of all children who abuse substances come from fatherless homes”;
• “75% of patients in substance abuse centers are from fatherless homes” (1998 data, DOJ).

Educational problems:

• 71% of high-school dropouts are from fatherless homes;
• “Children with an actively engaged father perform much better in school. Some data shows that they are 33% less likely to repeat a class and 43% more likely to get A’s in school.”

Here are some of the report’s findings related to crime:

• “In a [2016] study of 56 school shootings, only 10 of the shooters (18%) were raised in a stable home with both biological parents. 82% grew up in either an unstable family environment or grew up without both biological parents together”;
• “In a [2010] study of 75 juvenile delinquents, 66% experienced fatherlessness, 20% had never lived with their father, and 25% had an alcoholic father.”

Lessons learned:

• Reduce fatherlessness, reduce crime;
• Some of the most stunning numbers in the report surround criminal activity and fatherless homes.

Brewer states:

Most adolescents who enter the justice system have suffered from parental abandonment, substance abuse, or a dysfunctional household.

Tragically, the report describes how the cycle of fatherlessness and criminality continues, with more than 800,000 of America’s 2 million prisoners being parents – of whom 92% are fathers.

Citing 2022 Department of Justice information, Brewer writes:

There are just about 2.7 million children that have a parent in prison…In 2016, the average age of a minor child with parents in federal prison was 10 years old, and nine years old for minors with a parent in a state prison.

Tucker Carlson addressed the crisis of fathers being absent from their children’s home five years ago on Fox News:

Regarding abortion, the AFPI report states:

Perhaps counterintuitively, data shows that upon the legalization of abortion [by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973], the fatherlessness rate in a country rises dramatically….In the same vein, one out of every three pregnancies in a fatherless home end in abortion. (Beckwith, 2019). Fatherlessness likewise has a link to teen pregnancy and sexual activity…One study showed that girls whose fathers left home before they were five years old were eight times more likely to get pregnant as adolescents.

The report looks more to churches and private institutions than the government to solve America’s fatherlessness crisis:

While legislative and policy reforms are essential in addressing this crisis, Americans believe that it is the community’s responsibility, more so than the government, to take care of fatherless children.

Brewer writes:

Policy officials and community leaders alike can support an all-out pro-fatherhood messaging campaign to amplify the importance of fatherhood across the Nation.

Amplification from athletes, celebrities, musicians, actors, and national role models can push the importance of fatherhood to the forefront of public consciousness. In this way, fatherhood and its importance can become a unifying issue for all swaths of the country.

Brewer is shown below in a 2022 appearance on Fox News discussing the U.S. crisis of fatherlessness:

Final thoughts: An example of concerned citizens stepping up to do what is needed to be done. Thank you, Jack Brewer.