Ben Smith writes that Father's Day is Obama's "rhetorical sweet spot." President Obama has a number of rhetorical sweet spots on different issues, but at one point or another his subsequent actions have been a disappointment. I first reported on Obama's fatherhood agenda last year, and since then we've seen some important, if limited, movement on this front. Yesterday, Obama said that "In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We can do everything possible to provide good jobs and good schools and safe streets for our kids, but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference."
Has the Obama administration done everything it can to make up the difference? Not exactly, but it has taken some important steps. The stimulus bill temporarily rescinded the effect of the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act that eliminated the incentive payments to state child support collection programs. When there's a shortfall, states often make up the difference by taking money out of child support payments--because those payments come straight out of your paycheck, the non-custodial parent is basically being encouraged to get paid off the books, which under some circumstances can get them in trouble. Twenty-five million dollars were set aside in the budget for research and funding transitional and reentry programs for ex-felons, many of whom are non-custodial parents. Without proper training, the newly released are at great risk to falling back into the illicit economy, which can and usually does result in their being reincarcerated.
Still, many of the changes made in the stimulus bill were temporary, and some things haven't been changed--for example, two-parent families receiving TANF funds have to work twice as hard to get the same amount of assistance as single parents. Dealing with families affected by incarceration will require more than just a line item in the budget, it will require reforming the criminal justice system. All in all, when it comes to Obama's fatherhood agenda, I'd say the administration is doing an alright job, but it could be doing better.
-- A. Serwer
