Focus on the Family facts for kids
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| Founded | 1977 California, United States |
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| Founder | James Dobson |
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Area served
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98 countries |
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Key people
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Revenue
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$99,205,813 (2019 FY) |
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Employees
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880 (as of 2023) |
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Volunteers
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112 |
Focus on the Family (often called FOTF) is a Christian organization. It was started in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson. Today, its main office is in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The group is known for supporting Christian family values. They share their ideas through a daily radio show, books, magazines, and videos. They also create special programs for kids, like Adventures in Odyssey.
Focus on the Family works to influence public rules and laws. They focus on topics like family life, education, and prayer in schools. They believe in traditional ideas about families and gender roles.
Contents
Focus on the Family: A Look at Its History
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From 1977 to 2003, James Dobson was the main leader of Focus on the Family. He combined family support programs with conservative political actions. By 1993, the organization was getting thousands of letters and calls each day from people asking for help.
In 2003, Donald P. Hodel became president. James Dobson stayed as chairman, focusing on creative work and speaking. In 2005, Jim Daly took over as president and CEO.
Around 2007, the leaders decided to focus more on family programs for younger people. They wanted to reach a new generation. This change meant they received fewer donations for a while.
In 2008, the organization had to cut some jobs and reduce its budget. In 2009, James Dobson left his role as chairman. He started a new organization called Family Talk in 2010. He is no longer part of Focus on the Family.
Jim Daly, the current president, has tried to make the organization less focused on politics. He has connected with people and groups that James Dobson did not agree with.
In 2017, Vice President Mike Pence attended Focus on the Family's 40th anniversary. He praised James Dobson and said that President Donald Trump supported the group's goals.
By 2023, Focus on the Family had offices in 14 countries. They also worked with partners in 60 other countries. This means they have a presence in 98 countries around the world.
Key Programs and Activities
Focus on the Family offers many programs to support families and share their beliefs.
Marriage and Family Support
Focus on the Family strongly believes in traditional marriage. They work to support and strengthen marriages between a man and a woman.
Wait No More: Helping Children Find Homes
The Wait No More program helps children in foster care find loving families. Focus on the Family works with adoption agencies and churches. They encourage families to adopt children who are waiting for a permanent home. In Colorado, this program helped reduce the number of children waiting for adoption.
Option Ultrasound Program: Supporting Pregnancies
The Option Ultrasound Program (OUP) gives money to centers that help pregnant women. This money helps these centers buy ultrasound machines or train staff. Focus on the Family believes that ultrasounds help women connect with their babies.
Boundless.org: For Young Adults
Boundless.org is a website for young adults aged 18 to 34. It offers articles, a blog, and a podcast. The site talks about topics important to young adults from a Christian viewpoint.
Plugged In: Reviews for Families
Plugged In is a publication and website from Focus on the Family. It reviews movies, music, books, and TV shows for families. It helps parents decide what content is right for their children.
Day of Dialogue: Student Discussions
The Day of Dialogue was an event for students. It encouraged students to talk about their beliefs on important topics. It was created to offer a different view from the Day of Silence, which focuses on anti-bullying. Focus on the Family took over this event in 2010.
National Day of Prayer: A Time for Prayer
Focus on the Family helps with the National Day of Prayer Task Force. This group organizes Christian prayer events each year on the National Day of Prayer. Shirley Dobson, James Dobson's wife, led this task force for many years.
Radio Theatre: Audio Stories
Radio Theatre is a program that creates radio dramas. They make original stories and adapt famous novels. These include Les Miserables and Anne of Green Gables. They also adapted the complete Chronicles of Narnia series. Famous actors sometimes lend their voices to these productions.
Past Programs
Love Won Out
Focus on the Family used to have a program called Love Won Out. This program aimed to help people who wanted to change their sexual orientation. In 2009, this program was sold to another organization.
Political Views and Actions
Focus on the Family is a non-profit organization. This means they cannot directly support political candidates. However, they can spend money on other political activities, like informing voters. They have a separate group called Family Policy Alliance that focuses more on political lobbying.
Focus on the Family, through its partnership with Family Policy Alliance, supports laws that align with their views on gender identity. They believe in traditional gender roles.
The organization also provides money and training to centers that help pregnant women. They say this support has led to the birth of many babies.
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Focus on the Family has supported the idea of intelligent design. This idea suggests that life is too complex to have developed only by chance. They have published articles and sold videos about intelligent design.
In New Zealand, Focus on the Family supported a public vote. This vote was about changing a law that limited how parents could physically discipline their children.
Focus on the Family Singapore faced criticism in 2014. Some people said their workshops for students promoted old-fashioned gender ideas. The college stopped using their workshops.
2008 Presidential Election
During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Focus on the Family shared its views on the candidates. They sent out a letter imagining a future where many freedoms were lost. This letter was meant to encourage people to vote for certain candidates.
Focus on the Family also supported Senator Saxby Chambliss in his election. They paid for radio ads to help his campaign.
Views on LGBTQ Rights
Focus on the Family has strong views on LGBTQ rights. They have opposed laws that would protect LGBTQ individuals from unfair treatment.
James Dobson, the founder, spoke at a rally against same-sex marriage in 2004. He urged people to vote to stop laws that supported gay rights. He also stated that he did not support civil unions, seeing them as similar to same-sex marriage.
Some civil rights groups see Focus on the Family as a major opponent of gay rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes them as a group that drives the religious right's anti-gay efforts. However, the SPLC does not call them a hate group because their opposition is based on religious beliefs.
Focus on the Family was part of a group that supported California Proposition 8. This was a ballot measure in 2008 that aimed to limit marriage to only opposite-sex couples. It passed but was later found to be against the law.
Research and Its Use
Some scientists have said that Focus on the Family has used their research in ways they did not intend. For example, researchers Judith Stacey, Kyle Pruett, and Carol Gilligan said their work was used to suggest that same-sex parents are not as good. They stated that their research did not support these conclusions. They asked Focus on the Family to stop using their work in this way.
Focus on the Family has said that their position is that children do best with a mother and a father. They claim they have not talked about sexual orientation.
Football Advertisements
In 2010, Focus on the Family bought a commercial during the Super Bowl XLIV. The ad featured football player Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. Pam talked about Tim being a "miracle baby." The ad encouraged viewers to visit the organization's website.
Some women's rights groups asked CBS not to show the ad. They argued it was too political. CBS decided to run the ad, saying their policy on such ads had changed.
In 2012, Focus on the Family aired another commercial during a football game. This ad showed children reciting a Bible verse. It did not cause as much debate as the Super Bowl ad. The organization said its goal was to show that some numbers are more important than game scores.
Awards and Recognition
In 2008, James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program was nominated for the National Radio Hall of Fame. Despite protests from some groups, the program won and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Headquarters
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The main office of Focus on the Family is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is a large complex with four buildings on 47 acres of land. The buildings include the Administration building, International building, Welcome Center, and Operations building.
Focus on the Family moved to this location from California in 1991. At that time, they had 1,200 employees. The number of employees grew to 1,400 by 2002. By 2011, after some job cuts, they had 650 employees. The campus is known for its well-kept buildings and grounds.
See also
In Spanish: Enfoque a la Familia para niños
- Traditionalism
