LEADERSHIP FORUM: National Experts & Local Leaders to Discuss State’s 48th Ranking in Family Prosperity Report

Media Advisory: January 11, 2017

Rhode Island Center For Freedom & Prosperity and ACU Foundation to Sponsor Rhode Island Family Prosperity Leadership Forum

BACKGROUND: Rhode Island ranked 48th in the nation on the 2016 Family Prosperity Index. Local and national experts will convene to discuss the factors that led to this ranking as well as ideas for political, religious, and civic leaders in the state to consider as they work to expand prosperity across the Ocean State.

Pre-registration and full participant bios and other details can be viewed here: http://www.rifamilies.org/family_prosperity_forum

WHAT: Family Prosperity Leadership Forum: From Family Disintegration to Family Prosperity – Turning the Tide in the Ocean State

WHEN: January 17, 2017; Lunch 12:00 pm Forum: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

WHERE: Bryant University, Bello Center Grand Hall
1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917

HOST: Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership

SPONSORS: The Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity;
American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF)

INVITEES: Community, Religious, Business & Political Leaders
(Pre-Registration Required)

WHO: National & Local Civic & Policy Experts

National Presenters:
Grant Collins: Sr. VP, FedCap; ex US Dep’t of Health & Human Services
Nick Eberstadt, Ph.D.: Political economist at American Enterprise Institute
Angela Flood: Communications and policy advisor, ACUF
Thomas Hoenig, Ph.D.: Vice Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)
J. Scott Moody: Economist; Director Family Prosperity Initiative
David Safavian: Deputy Director for ACUF Criminal Justice Reform
Daniel Schneider: Executive Director ACUF
Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D.: Economist; Director Family Prosperity Initiative

Local Participants:
Ray Rickman: President, Rickman Group, former State Representative
Gary Sasse: Director, Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership; Founder, RIPEC
Mike Stenhouse: CEO, RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity

WHY: The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, along with its national partner, The American Conservative Union Foundation, today announced that they will conduct a public forum to analyze factors contributing to the Ocean State’s dismal 48th national rank on the Family Prosperity Index (FPI) as highlighted in their December release of the Rhode Island Family Prosperity report. The report highlights Rhode Island’s poor scores across a broad spectrum of measures of well-being, including family self-sufficiency, family structure, fertility, and illicit drug use, compounded by its significant out-migration rate.

The Family Prosperity Index was created by the ACUF as new tool that does what no resource has done before – demonstrate quantitatively the undeniable link between economic and social policy in determining family prosperity. In so doing, the Index provides a road map for finding real solutions to the cultural and financial problems that keep families – and the nation – from flourishing.

A more holistic measure than the one-dimensional unemployment rate or GDP, which only considers economic data, the FPI makes it possible to measure U.S. progress every year and rate states against each other according to how well they are providing an environment for families to flourish.

Rhode Island is just the second state in the nation to roll-out a detailed state-specific FPI report.