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The National Fatherhood Initiative Third, we are taking our pro-fatherhood message directly to individual men. Through the skill building and community resource materials, we provide information on how men can become better fathers, and local communities can promote, encourage and support fathers. One of our most successful publications, Father Facts 3, contains national data on trends in fatherhood, as well as research documenting the negative consequences of father absence. We also publish a Fatherhood Resource Catalog containing books, tapes, and other fatherhood products. There is substantial evidence that our efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Whether reflected in stadiums filled with Promise Keepers, the streets of our nation's capital inundated with Million Man Marchers, or news stories highlighting the connection between absent fathers and such diverse social ills as crime, educational failure and welfare dependency, fatherhood is in the air. Virtually everyone – from Dan Quayle to Bill Clinton – now agrees: fathers matter, and they matter a lot more than many had previously realized. The job, however, is only half done. Though few still argue seriously that fathers are superfluous, the number of children growing up in father absent households continues to rise. This year, more than a million children will experience the divorce or separation of their parents. An additional 1.3 million babies will be fathered out-of-wedlock. Overall, nearly 2.5 million children will join the ranks of the fatherless. Certainly much has been accomplished. But we must not delude ourselves into believing that the struggle to renew fatherhood has been won. Far too many children continue to grow up in homes without fathers. The most important battles are still before us. Achieving attitudinal change may be hard; but behavioral change is even harder. And that is what our children need most of all. Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., is the President of the National Fatherhood Initiative and the former United States Commissioner for Children, Youth and Families. For further information on the National Fatherhood Initiative or to obtain copies of any of the aforementioned materials, feel free to contact the NFI. Reprinted with permission from:
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