Strengthening the Family
Public policies should respect and promote family life.
The family is the basic building block of society. All public policy should seek to strengthen family life through tax, workplace, marriage, and welfare policies that foster stable and caring families. Policy makers should recognize and address how poverty and unjust economic conditions undermine family life.
Federal and state laws should protect marriage as being between a man and a woman.
Congress should submit a proposed constitutional amendment protecting marriage to the states for ratification. The MCC opposes redefining marriage to include relationships other than a life-long stable relationship between a man and a woman.
Adoption should be promoted and made more accessible.
State-imposed barriers to qualified prospective parents should be removed. The MCC supports funding for state-sponsored adoption awareness campaigns, adoption counseling, tax credits for adoptive parents and adoption subsidies to encourage families to adopt children from the state’s foster care system.
Child welfare services should protect and advance children’s best interests.
The state should draw on the services of faith-based and community-based institutions to achieve permanency and stability in children’s family situations. Reimbursement rates for families and agencies caring for children should offset their actual costs. There should be adequate screening and training for prospective adoptive and foster parents. Laws and policies should not infringe on parents’ obligations to raise and educate their children.
The state should strengthen its response to domestic violence and child abuse.
Public policies should address the causes of domestic violence, provide support and protection for abuse victims, and track domestic abusers to prevent repeat offenses. The state of Missouri should streamline its system of tracking child abuse and neglect to ensure the protection of children and families.
|
