South Carolina
Office of the Governor
David M. Beasley - Governor
Contact: Gary Karr (803)734-9840
September 12, 1997
"One of the most costly problems facing South Carolina today is the problem of father absence," said Governor Beasley, who has three children. "I am convinced that little progress will be made in reversing child poverty, youth crime, drug abuse or educational decline unless South Carolinians work together to reverse one of the underlying causes of these social ills: father absence."
The summit will bring together many of South Carolina's civic, business, religious and policy leaders to develop new strategies to confront father absence.
"My goal is for this summit to help grassroots leaders across South Carolina promote healthy families through encouraging fatherhood skills," the Governor said.
In South Carolina, counties with a higher-than-average rate of father absence also experienced above-average rates of pregnancies to unwed mothers, high school dropouts, violent crimes committed by youths and welfare caseloads.
Among those attending will be: First Lady Mary Wood Beasley; Dr. Wade Horn, president of the National Fatherhood Initiative; Larry Huff, the Governor's children's advocate; authors David Blankenhorn and Ken Canfield; Larry and Charles Ballard, founder and president of The National Institute for Responsible Fatherhood.
The summit will be held at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Columbia from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The registration is $40, which includes breakfast and lunch. Those wishing to register to participate in the summit can call Randy Page at (803) 734-9818. News organizations wishing to cover parts of the summit do not need to register. A detailed schedule will be available later this month.