Here are some suggestions that I made in my detailed policy idea that I think would help effectuate this goal to lessen the prevalence of absent/unsupportive fatherhood:
Right to Education and Coaching on Management of Pregnancy and Parenting
- Require high schools to offer an awareness class, taught by a non-ideological, independently contracted source, regarding: fetal & child development;what abortion procedures are really like; physical/psychological risks/experiences of pregnancy & abortion; resources/options available to low-income families; the maternal/fetal healthcare rights; adoption; parenting skills & perspectives; primary attachment theory; child’s need for routine, care & attention; causes/examples/harms of: toxic stress, absent fatherhood, counter-parenting, all forms of abuse, coercion & exploitation; biological sex differences between men & women; various disabilities and disorders (including Down Syndrome, ADHD & Autism).
- Mandate that Medi-Caid and health insurance offers parents of newborns, as well as recently separated parents, access to an in-home parental coach (independently contracted and selected by the mother), to provide direct, real-time information, advice and assistance to the parents, at their homes, regarding all of the above mentioned topics. These (limited allowable) visits may be free or have a co-pay based on each parent’s income. The parenting coach can also advise separated parents on developmentally appropriate parental custodial schedules.