Because children in America are truly important
Family Focus USA is an ideal that has been developed over several years through discussion, research and community consultation regarding the changing nature of society and the effect that such change has been exerting on the lives of American children and the context in which they live.From an initial small group of parents and couples, disenchanted with the traditional responses of Government, Church and Business to the ongoing needs of disadvantaged American children, Family Focus USA has grown from an unincorporated association into an international Public Company Limited by Guarantee operating in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
Family Focus USA is a community based independent nonprofit company and is not affiliated, directly or indirectly, with any political, religious, or sectarian group.
It is the stated intention of the Board of Directors to develop meaningful and practical community based responses that will enable disadvantaged American children to fully access the social and developmental opportunities that, for the majority of our society, is considered the ‘normal’ American way of life.
Through direct fundraising to the American public, private and Government grants, and commercial activities Family Focus USA will fund the provision of direct services, support and encouragement to disadvantaged American children, and the families in which they live. Such activity will be solely directed towards enabling disadvantaged children to develop the necessary motivations, vision, skills and abilities to overcome the barriers of disadvantage and/or impoverishment and thereby fully participate in, and contribute towards, the wider American community, now and in their future lives.
Our Core Values.
Throughout the early stages of Family Focus' development several fundamental and key elements emerged as being absolutely necessary in the development of a meaningful and practical response to the needs of American children in our contemporary society. These have formed the core values of the Organization, which means that we consider them to be non-negotiable and they must be present in the formulation of any activity of Family Focus USA.Intrinsic value of the individual
Family Focus USA holds, as absolute, that every individual in our American society has intrinsic value, dignity and self worth. Every individual has a contribution to make in advancing our society and the American way of life” and each individual should be nurtured, encouraged, and supported in attaining their full potential for the advancement of society as a whole.
Such intrinsic value requires an holistic response to the needs of each individual which affirm the value of individual diversity and promote self awareness rather than, as is often the case in existing traditional responses, seek to establish a common sameness of equality.
Manumission from Poverty
Family Focus USA holds, as absolute, that no American child should live in poverty or conditions of impoverishment.
Such emancipation requires a recognition of poverty as being much more than merely a measurement of economic indicators, as is often the case in existing traditional responses, and that the root causes of poverty, and therefore the true indicators for measurement, are in fact those which harm and erode the intrinsic value of the individual. Namely:
o Physical – such as, but not limited to, safe housing; health services; adequate food; adequate clothing; financial resources; etc.
o Intellectual – such as, but not limited to, education; recreation; socialization; etc.
o Emotional – such as, but not limited to, security; love; encouragement; creativity; spirituality; etc.
Family Focus USA holds that it is these indicators which more appropriately identify poverty and that it is the absence of or restriction of access to all or any of these opportunities which define poverty and impoverishment of the human condition in American society.
Primacy of the familial unit
Family Focus USA holds the primacy of the family unit as the core of social structure and cohesion in American society and represents the absolute social continuity for all children in society.
Therefore:
the family unit must be nurtured, supported and encouraged in attaining its full potential as the foundation of society and, therefore, the “American way of life”;
in order to encourage the intrinsic value of children and liberate family structures from the conditions of impoverishment it is necessary to identify the concept of the family unit on the basis of the quality of the relationships that bind a group of people together;
the definition of the family unit may include, but is not necessarily limited to, such physical family structures as are commonly referred to as: traditional; intact; extended; nuclear; blended; adoptive; same-sex parents; sole parents; divorced; foster; etc.
it is the nurture, encouragement and support of the quality of the relationships within the family unit by all institutions in our society which will abolish the conditions of poverty in which American children currently live.
Our Purpose.
Our predominant purpose is to alleviate the consequences of poverty in the lives of American children through direct service, support and encouragement so that they might access and fully participate in all facets of contemporary American society and; to remove the barriers of impoverishment that prevent American children from enjoying open access, opportunities, and participation within the wider American community.This purpose is espoused in the Company’s Constitution and is the motivating force behind all our activities.
Our Vision.
“An American society in which all children are supported and encouraged to realize their full potential for the advancement of the whole community.”Our Objectives.
The objectives of Family Focus USA are the means, to the extent determined by the Board of Directors to be practicable and desirable from time to time, by which the Organization shall carry out its Purpose:• Providing American children, living in poverty, with relief through the provision of direct services, monies, goods, or support.
• Enabling deprived American children, through the up-skilling of themselves, their families and their local community, to meet their basic needs and increase their potential to participate in and benefit from their wider society.
• Empowering American children, living in impoverished conditions, and their families, to develop the skills and strategies necessary to maintain an existence above and free of impoverishment.
• Advocating for and/or providing services that overcome the barriers of impoverishment that prevent American children from enjoying equal access, opportunities, and participation within our American society.