CDC Study Debunked —The Absent Black Father Myth

The problem with the CDC study is that it is comparing non residential dads to non residential dads, and residential dads to residential dads. Within each category, black fathers do well. BUT there are MORE non residential black dads. So, overall black fathers are less involved with their kids than other dads. 

And who suffers from studies like this? The children, that's who.

               

(via Real Clear Politics) 

The problem, of course, is the "in similar living situations." When people speak of "father absence," they are mainly referring to the absence of fathers from the home -- that is, father absence is a "living situation." The assertion here is that, once you disaggregate by father absence, there's no racial gap in father absence.

The piece concedes that "black fathers are more likely to live separately from their children" but claims that "many of them remain just as involved in their kids' lives." "Many" is a versatile word, but nonetheless the supporting evidence is rather weak: For example, 67 percent of black fathers who don't live with their kids, and 59 percent of white fathers in the same situation, see their kids at least once a month. Much stronger evidence on the importance of living with one's kids can be found in the chart above: There isno comparison between resident dads and nonresident dads -- of any race -- on even one of the metrics.

Read here: http://www.realclearpolicy.com/blog/2014/01/16/yes_theres_a_black_fatherhood_crisis_805.html