Action Alert: MA Residents, Tell Gov. Patrick You Support Shared Parenting on July 26

Short Version: We want you to go with us to ask Governor Deval Patrick to do more to support our shared parenting bill on Tuesday, July 26 in Boston. If you can attend either event, please email fathersandfamilies@fathersandfamilies.org your name, email address, phone #, and which event(s) you can attend.
Full Version: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has told the Massachusetts Legislature that if they pass Fathers and Families” Shared Parenting bill, he will sign it. F & F has met with Patrick, and he is supportive of shared parenting and two-parent involvement. However, we want to remind him of the widespread support for shared parenting in Massachusetts and urge him to make shared parenting a priority. Patrick is currently on his Summer Conversations Tour 2011, which he describers as “an opportunity to engage with government and make your voices heard.” We want you to join us on Tuesday, July 26 in Boston. If you can attend either event, please email fathersandfamilies@fathersandfamilies.org with your name, email address, phone #, and which event(s) you can attend.

Of the four priority areas Patrick has identified for his second term, two of them–education and youth violence prevention–are directly related to shared parenting. We want to remind Patrick that father involvement is crucial in keeping kids in school and successful, and in preventing youth violence. In fact, according to Boston College researchers, children whose nonresident fathers are involved in their lives are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, commit violence or property crime, or to have problems in school. To learn more about Summer Conversations Tour 2011, visit the Governor’s website at www.mass.gov/governor.