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The National Fatherhood Initiative paints a bleak picture of the plight of single-parent families with the following statistics:
According to Dr. Larry Axmaker of Vanderbilt University's Faculty and Staff Wellness Program, growing up in a single-parent family puts children at risk. He asserts that single parents face many stressful situations, difficult decisions, and financial hardships. These challenges may lead to health problems and concerns for both parent and child. Possible contributing factors may include
Dr. Axmaker concludes that more attention is needed in prevention and support programs.
Supporting single-parent families is consistent with Scouting's mission and its aims and methods. The focus of this brochure is to provide local councils with some "best practices" techniques by spotlighting the successful programs of three councils and identifying the things they have in common.
Among the many social needs that single mothers have is the need for male role models that their sons can emulate and learn from. The Chickasaw Council met this need in a very special way by collaborating with a local foundation and university, creating a win-win environment for all.
 
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Increasing Scouting's presence in Memphis's inner city requires innovative efforts because recruiting adult males as Scouting leaders in its urban neighborhoods is difficult, according to past Scout executive Gene Stone. (Stone is presently Scout executive of the Circle Ten Council in Dallas.) Single-parent families—often headed by mothers and grandmothers—unemployment, a pattern of alcohol and drug abuse, and family incomes below the poverty line, make it difficult for Scouting to reach youth in these neighborhoods.
Realizing that trying to recruit quality adult leadership can be a real challenge in under-served urban neighborhoods, the council's management team felt that in order to make their Scoutreach program successful, a unique coalition needed to be established between the council, a generous donor, and college students serving as Scouting mentors for at-risk youth. The projected goal of serving a thousand urban young people over a four-year time frame required a strategy that demonstrated positive, measurable results. But like all good Scoutreach strategies, a generous donor(s) is needed to put the plan into action. After doing some research, the generous donor was the Day Foundation.
The Day Foundation has been involved in funding unique, innovative efforts in the Memphis area for over 40 years. The foundation seriously considers funding projects that provide constructive, positive programs; in other words, programs that offer life-changing differences in the lives of young people are seriously considered.
The Hal P. Bailey Leadership Scholarship, representing a joint effort between the Day Foundation, the Chickasaw Council, and the University of Memphis, was established. Through its scholarship program, the foundation agreed to provide more than $350,000 over a seven-year period, to fund four classes of scholarship students. The 10 African American young men who are scholarship recipients in each class receive half of their tuition and up to $300 for books each semester through graduation. The foundation also pledged $500,000 over seven years for uniforms, equipment, and camping expenses for the newly organized Boy Scout troops. This program is designed to shape leaders for the future in cooperation with BSA and the University of Memphis.
 
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The Day Foundation provided the funding needed to carryout this unique joint program. In terms of tangible results, a total of 20 Scouting units were organized and 550 new youth were recruited into the program during the first year. Importantly, Scouting's reputation as a "can-do" organization that cares about the community of Memphis was enhanced, and the student mentors provided a service that is both personally rewarding and a priceless contribution to the needs of single-parent families.
The success of any innovative local council Scoutreach program depends in great part to a committed council board member who knows and understands the needs of the community being served. Here, the Central Florida Council shares that it's not enough to provide a quality Scouting program for youth of single-parents; providing critical life skills is also important.
The Scoutreach program of the Central Florida Council was established in March 1999 to deliver Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting to boys and young men ordinarily excluded because of financial and environmental restrictions. Many of the young people registered in the council's Scoutreach program come from single-parent households, living at or below the nation's poverty line. The council provides financial support to the units in Orlando's under-served communities, and the Scouts earn their uniforms and camping fees through participation in weekly activities.
The objective of the council's Scoutreach program is to provide a positive Scouting experience. The traditional Scouting program is followed as much as possible, but in some cases, real needs such as personal hygiene, improved reading skills, and personal growth experiences are emphasized more than rank advancement. Providing many of the youth with their first significant male role model is one of the most important life experiences that Scoutreach offers.
Funding for the council's more than 86 units and 2,865 registered youth comes from the United Way and individual gifts designated to benefit at-risk youth. Some of the council's Scoutreach programs require complete financial support, while others simply need help paying for summer camp registration fees.
Most of the council's Scoutreach programs are based at after-school centers and are directed by retirees or college students with Scouting backgrounds. The lack of both transportation and parental involvement necessitates this non-traditional approach.
Thanks in great part to council executive board members Tico Perez and Ron Blocker, and Scout executive Wayne Brock, the Scoutreach program has grown to include Orange, Seminole, Lake, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, and Flagler counties.
Housing communities by far own the most Scouting units serving significant numbers of single-parent families. The Old North State Council has an excellent track record of involving senior housing authority management in all aspects of program implementation, including the financial resources to hire council staff to serve the units that are organized. The council's story follows.
The Old North State Council has reaped the benefit of having established special relationships with three housing authorities. These relationships are unique and crucial to the service they render to hundreds of youth and the support they lend to the leadership of our Scoutreach program.
 
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The High Point Housing Authority has under-written the cost a paraprofessional and district executive for more than seven years. These dedicated Scouters give leadership to recruiting, organizing, and affecting in a very positive way the lives of Scouts and Scouters in that community. The housing authority has also purchased thousands of dollars worth of uniforms and has made available buses and vans upon request for transporting Scouts.
During the past 15 years, the Burlington Housing Authority has played a key role in supporting the council's Scoutreach effort. Their grants coordinator has successfully included Scouting in their drug elimination funding requests for camping equipment, uniforms, registration, activity fees, camperships, etc. Burlington Housing has also assigned and encouraged staff to serve as leaders in both Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting. Several of their employees have gone through BSA training courses.
For several years, the Greensboro Housing Authority has given funding to Scouts for camperships, meeting spaces at most of the resident sites. Also, the Greensboro Housing Authority has assisted the council by inviting council representatives to their staff meetings to recruit housing employees to volunteer as Scout leaders, offering some paid time off to serve as Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, etc.
Catherine Smith, resident service administrator for the Burlington Housing Authority, offers these guidelines to unit-serving executives who are serious about building special relationships with their housing authorities:
When all is said and done, the Old North State Council and the housing authorities view each other as invaluable colleagues who work hard to preserve their relationship and share resources that are essential for serving youth who benefit most from Scouting. Not only has the quality of the Scoutreach program been positively affected, but the council board, committees, activities, etc., have a more diverse representation of leadership. In the past, individuals from these communities might not have been a part of Scouting, but they now are giving their time, leadership, and resources. In summary, Scouting professionals who have housing authorities in their communities would do well to develop and nurture special relationships with the leadership and residents.
Though each is unique in its structure and implementation, the programs for single-parent families in the Chickasaw, Central Florida, and Old North State councils have most of these success indicators in common:
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