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So many American fathers are absent from their children's homes that the U.S. has become the world leader in fatherless families. Over one-third of American children live without their biological father.

How did fatherhood come to this point? There are many contributing factors, including the high number of children born to single mothers and the ease with which some men walk away from the children they create.

Society and the government actually contributed to making things worse. Welfare programs were revised to make low- income mothers ineligible if a man lived in the home. This had a particularly devastating effect on poor, Black neighborhoods, making it difficult for fathers to live with their children, even if they wanted to. The number of children in fatherless homes exploded from 5.1 million in 1960 to 16.5 million in 1995.

The effects of this trend are spreading in negative ways throughout our society. Studies consistently show that children raised with involved, loving fathers are more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, show empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behavior including drug use, truancy and criminal activity.

While the father's role is much more than merely a bread-winner, economic support is, in itself, a vitally important factor for the security and well-being of children. Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor.

In 2002, 7.8% of children in two-parent families were living in poverty compared to 38.4% in single parent homes. Families suffer from the single paycheck, only made worse by the pay equities women face in the workplace.

For the most part, studies have consistently shown that fathers -- whether they live with their children or not, matter in the lives of their children. Of course the greatest benefit for children is when Dad is not only physically present, but emotionally available as well.

Some of us were blessed to have good fathers, and we don't need research studies to tell us how important he was.

People might say, "It's only a man's duty to raise the children he fathers." That is true. But it is a duty many men choose not to fulfill.

So to those men who do fulfill it -- who work hard for their families and whose kids live with the joyful certainty that Dad loves them -- we say, thank you. Thank you for making our community and society a better place for all of us to live.

And by the way, Happy Fathers Day.