Appropriate level of state involvement in family matters

Families in Michigan are being encouraged by the government to attend courses on improving marriages, parenting and fathering skills.

The programme is part of an initiative aimed at saving families and reducing the financial cost to the state of divorce and single-parent homes, yet it comes at a time when the state is already has barely enough money to keep schools and prisons open.

Critics say that the state is interfering with personal lives, going beyond its remit and messing with things it has no right or understanding to:

“These are classic examples of government overreach,” said Jack McHugh, legislative analyst for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank in Midland.

“Most people do not look to government to promote fatherhood or marriage or areas of life that are beyond government competence and ability, and frankly, are none of their business.”

“Most people look to government to pave the roads, arrest and imprison bad guys, and fund education,” McHugh said. “They don’t look for parenting advice.”

He and other opponents believe that this sort of programme should be run by community and religious groups.

They also question the use of government money on these schemes when the state is looking to cut immediate relief to needy families.

But Brad Snavely, executive director of the Michigan Family Forum, said pumping money into immediate relief does little to solve the long-term problems poverty presents. He points to statistics that show fatherless children account for 71 percent of high school dropouts and 75 percent of those in substance abuse programs.

“To not try to proactively address this would be irresponsible,” Snavely said.

Faith-based and community groups can reach only so far, he said. The state must step in when problems become widespread.

Read the full article, including views from participants: New initiatives aim to promote better parenting