Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday promoting programs that help fathers in the state spend more time at home and act as role models for at-risk children, Florida Politics reports.
"If you look over the last many decades, one of the worst social trends has been the decline of fatherhood. We do have, in many instances, a fatherhood crisis in this country," DeSantis said ahead of the signing at the training facility for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida.
"When you take kids that do not have a father present in their upbringing, the chance of them dropping out of school, getting involved in trouble with the law, having other difficulties, increases dramatically," he added.
Florida Politics notes that the legislation passed both the Florida House and Senate with unanimous consent. It provides $60.2 million for fatherhood programs that will help fund mentorship programs and sets aside tens of millions of dollars to support fathers.
"This is the kind of thing that is going to change the lives of children throughout the state of Florida for generations to come," said Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, a Republican.
"This is going to be tremendous and be such a big help to fathers in Florida, agencies that support fathers in Florida," added Tony Dungy, the former head coach of the Buccaneers who founded the Dungy Family Foundation.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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