LAKE WORTH MAN SELECTED AS FATHER OF THE YEAR

The Responsible Fatherhood Initiative(RFI)presented Albert Hernandez of Lake Worth with the 2008“Father of the Year” award.  He received his award from Mayor Lois Frankel during a lunch celebration at Leila Restaurant located on South Dixie highway in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. Hernandez was nominated by his sister, Gloriale King because his strong involvement with his own 2 children and his step daughter and his willingness to assume custody for 6 nieces and nephews, ages newborn to 10 years.

Andre Hankins, Coordinator of the RFI Program explained, “We looked for a man that had gone beyond the call of duty in his role and responsibility as a dad and we certainly found him.”

Mayor Frankel who initially helped to secure the funds that enabled Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies to initiate the RFI Program in Palm Beach County in 1998 explained, “Dads from all over the county were nominated by children, spouses, friends and associates. The RFI Advisory Board had a difficult decision to make.  Albert met all of their criteria. What separated Albert from the rest of the nominees was the fact that he actually delivered his daughter in the living room of their home before the paramedics could get there.”

According to a recent Gallup Poll, more than 90 percent of Americans agree “fathers make a unique contribution to their children’s lives.”  Yet nearly 25 million children live without their biological father. About 26 percent of absent fathers live in a different state than their children. The statistical connection between father involvement and child development, while often is underplayed in our society, is startling. A father’s impact touches every aspect of a child’s life: his health, his safety, his happiness, his success in school and in relationships.

About 40 percent of children who lives in fatherless households haven’t seen their dads in at least a year, while 50 percent of children who don’t live with their dads have never stepped foot in their father’s home. The news isn’t good for these kids. Children whose fathers aren’t in their lives are more likely to be poor, abused, engage in criminal activity, experiment with controlled substances and suffer educational, physical, emotional and psychological problems.

The Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County is a special district of local government created in 1986 by local referendum to plan, develop, fund and evaluate primary prevention and early intervention programs for children and families in our county. The expected outcomes are children who are born healthy, are free of abuse and neglect through age five, enter school ready and eager to learn and thriving in after-school programs. 

“The Father of the Year Award” is one of many programs of The Responsible Fatherhood Initiative which works in our community to help prevent the problems that occur when a responsible father is not present in a child's life.  It makes a variety of resources available to teenage boys and teenage fathers during presentations at Palm Beach County middle and high schools about male responsibility. RFI uses a media presentation, “Break the Silence, Stop the Violence,” to work with adults and youngsters to identify and learn alternative behaviors to bullying and gang violence as well as domestic violence.  In the community, Men’s Groups are scheduled to address important topics that include paternity, parenting skills and the importance of the father’s role in a child’s life. The Responsible Fatherhood Initiative can be reached by calling healthy mothers/healthy babies at 561-732-2110, ext. 122.

For more information, call (561) 732-2110.