Dr. Earls notes that fathers do have a distinct role in cultivating important developmental aspects of a child's life. Research has shown that fathers, apart from mothers, tend to cultivate independence and stimulate academic success in their children. Dr. Earls has been researching urban areas of Illinois, focusing on a longitudinal study, primarily through surveys, of attitudes toward the expectations and performance of fathers in child rearing. The research indicates that urban minority communities have a crisis in the role of fathers in child rearing. This is related to economic and social conditions as well as the intervention of the criminal justice system in removing many fathers from their communities and family contact. Also, welfare policies have not focused on facilitating the involvement of fathers in the lives of welfare families. Dr. Earls suggests that actions to increase and improve the quality of fathers' involvement in child rearing must focus on the development of community expectations for fatherhood. This should include the cultivation of appropriate attitudes about fatherhood and child rearing among boys, which involves challenging the hyper-masculine perspective that child rearing is the job of women and that the masculine role is one of detached enforcement of child obedience, often through harsh methods. Questions and answers as well as participant comments are included on the video.