National Nonprofit Makes Parenting a Presidential Priority

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 4, 2008 -- (NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.) Dec. 4, 2009 - The National Effective Parenting Initiative (NEPI) has announced that it will be working closely with President Elect Obama and his new administration to actively promote effective parenting and parenting education in the United States.

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National Nonprofit Makes Parenting a Presidential Priority

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http://www.EffectiveParentingUSA.org

NEPI founder and board member Dr. Kerby T. Alvy says, “President-Elect Obama's election is a landmark in the history of our country. It actualizes for all of us Dr. King's dream that the content of one's character exceeds in importance the color of one's skin. And it helps to remedy a wrong that our nation has struggled with since our beginning."

According to Alvy, a clinical child psychologist, Obama’s election is also a landmark in the history of effective parenting.

“In speaking about fulfilling America's promise, he has eloquently exemplified and linked our future as a people to the competencies and commitment of parents in guiding the development of our children. His speeches that have urged and inspired parents to carry out their responsibilities as the leaders of families have added to the dignity and status of that pivotal role. His emphasis on the importance of effective and responsible parenting in the lives of children, and in the future of our nation, has been particularly timely and welcomed,” said Alvy.

The NEPI is a nationwide coalition of parents, providers of parenting services, and local and national organizations that develop and disseminate effective parenting programs. The group believes there are indications that many parents are not raising their children as effectively as possible and, as a result, the nation is paying an enormous price.

According to NEPI, and other sources, the rates of parental abuse and neglect of children are shockingly high. With three million reported cases a year, children and their families require an array of expensive services to prevent further abuse and to treat children for the physical, mental and learning problems that are the usual accompaniment of child maltreatment.

Alvy and other members of NEPI believe parent education, before there are problems, would prevent many of those families from ever coming to the attention of the state and their children entering foster care and would thereby save each state millions of dollars each year.

Childhood obesity and adolescent drug use are major health problems, and uninformed and ineffective parenting is again implicated. The gang problems, which causes children to seek out a "replacement family" are also seen as resulting from parents not being as responsible and effective in carrying out their guidance and supervision responsibilities.

According to Alvy, “All of these problems cost our nation billions of dollars, and thus should be addressed for economic as well as humanitarian purposes. For example, the direct costs of child maltreatment (judicial, law enforcement and health system responses) are estimated at 24 billion each year. The indirect costs (long term economic costs of child maltreatment such as lost wages and taxes paid) exceed an estimated $69 billion annually.”

NEPI has written a letter to President-Elect Obama to urge him to encourage all parents to seek out parent education programs to better the lives of their children, their families and their communities.

In part, the letter reads…

“By you [President Obama] simply indicating the importance of receiving parenting education, you can inspire millions of parents of all backgrounds to do the right thing for their current and future children -- become as educated and effective as possible.

“This type of encouragement, which is consistent with your call for individuals to take actions that benefit the entire nation, could be reinforced by issuing certificates of appreciation to parents who do indeed take the time and energy to enroll in and complete family and parenting skill-building classes and workshops.

”This would also encourage the funding of such parenting programs by private, public, corporate, non-profit, and government funders. Even more powerful would be to offer a tax incentive to parents for taking a parenting class every 3 years (as their children reach new developmental milestones). The Return On Investment (ROI), by reducing child abuse, the number of children in foster care, child health care costs, adolescent drug abuse, dropout rates, and gang violence, would likely be seen in less than ten years."

Alvy, who is also the founder and executive director of the 34-year-old Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, said NEPI is standing by and is ready and able to share what his and other organizations have learned to help make effective parenting a national priority.

”We have developed detailed blueprints for how the federal government can be positively involved in assisting America's parents to be the best that they can be. We have shared such blueprints with the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, including through White House Briefings. We are ready to do so again, and to work with the new administration in seeing to it that all communities have the programs and personnel to provide their parents with the educational opportunities that they need and deserve,” said Alvy.

“Indeed, America already possesses the world's most varied and research-proven parenting and family skill-building programs, and other nations look to us to train their people how to train their parents. American ingenuity and creativity has led to the development of effective parenting programs for parents of children of different ages and for parents of varied cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.”

NEPI believes President-Elect Obama's recognition of this expertise, and his actions to see to it that every parent has the motivation and opportunity to receive the education and support that matches their values, life circumstances and heritage would be a massive advancement.

NEPI is not only congratulating Obama on his monumental achievement according to Alvy. “We are also, out of the spirit of service, he is asking from all Americans, pledging our knowledge and expertise to work with President Obama and his administration to make the United States the most nurturing nation in which to raise children.”

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For more information on the National Effective Parenting Initiative, go to http://www.EffectiveParentingUSA.org

More information can be found online at http://www.EffectiveParentingUSA.org

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