By Rob

April 1, 2009 10:46 AM | Link to this

Josh, thanks for the background. After looking at your research, though - I would suggest the “data” is particularly unconvincing in that it completely neglects other significant statistical cohorts in positing explanations. For example, median household income. You could “unpeel” some of the labels the FRC put on their data (like “married parents in an intact household” and “single parent”) and put the income labels on, and you’d have had the exact same chart. I would think getting at the causal relationship bewteen data and successful children is more important than coincidental “cherry picking” of convenient data points.

By Steve L

April 1, 2009 11:51 AM | Link to this

from frc’s website: Family Research Council (FRC) champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulates public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society.

By Steve L

April 1, 2009 12:00 PM | Link to this

How is that in anyway an unbiased source of information? These people are a joke.

By It's No Wonder that Hamilton and Middletown are Failing.

April 1, 2009 1:21 PM | Link to this

It’s narrow mindedness like this that will forever keep Butler County struggling to retain progressive, intelligent companies and people, let alone in its efforts to recruit any to this area. If Fox used data like this throughout his career – and his many, many government paid junkets out West, then it’s no wonder he and his staff failed so miserably in their attempts. And, as far as CCV, isn’t that group led by a recovering porn addict who admittedly can divine what porn is without even looking at it? Sorry, perceptions of this county are bad enough. Giving these clowns airtime only exacerbates it.

By Rich

April 2, 2009 9:21 AM | Link to this

Are Butler County “officials” so dim, so ignorant, and so oblivious that they don’t realize you can’t expect to get reliable data or analysis from admittedly biased sources? Do any of them believe for one second that CCV or FRC would conclude that “non-traditional” households could EVER be suitable as foster or adoptive homes? Of course not. OF COURSE NOT. Reliable, unbiased studies HAVE been conducted, and I cited just one in a comment posted to the earlier blog item on this subject. Just go to the American Academy of Pediatrics website and search for “same sex adoption” on their own search engine. You’ll quickly find this: pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/109/2/341 And please excuse repeating myself, but here is the operative section: “ABSTRACT. A growing body of scientific literature demonstrates that children who grow up with 1 or 2 gay and/or lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as do children whose parents are heterosexual. Children’s optimal development seems to be influenced more by the nature of the relationships and interactions within the family unit than by the particular structural form it takes.” They cite sources, provide data, and are quite evidently NOT coming at this topic with an agenda of supporting one side or the other based on ulterior motives; rather, they are all about doing what is demonstrably RIGHT for children. I have no illusions that our “leaders” in Butler Co. will actually do the right thing in this case — they’ve proven themselves craven politically-driven cowards too many times in the past. It should surprise no one when they follow the same pattern in future. We can only hope that officials with more sanity in Columbus overrule our local “leaders” and quickly nullify this policy. If not, we’ll just have to wait for the inevitable court case that achieves this end, after wasting way too much public money and harming kids who could have had stable, nurturing homes far earlier.

By Big Momma

April 2, 2009 10:33 AM | Link to this

What I can’t get over is Don Dixon lecturing people about the importance of the “traditional married Family”. If there was ever a hypocrite, he’s the world biggest.

By Robert

April 2, 2009 10:38 AM | Link to this

It’s interesting and very telling that the commissioners are going to pay the next director of Children Services so much less than they paid Mike Fox. Clearly the big pay to less than qualified Fox was a payoff from the commissioners just to keep his mouth shut.

By Robert

April 4, 2009 9:56 AM | Link to this

Looks like our dim-witted Butler Co. officials got caught using bad science to further their backwards agenda, rather than using good science to promote the well-being and safety of Butler County’s children.