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Being a dad is one of the most important jobs a man can have. The greatest advantage a child can have is the love and support of a strong and stable family and the research clearly indicates the benefits to children who have two actively engaged parents.Families of all shapes and sizes love and provide for the needs of their children, including families headed by grandparents, same sex couples, and single parents. And in families of all types responsible parenting remains a crucial part of ensuring a child's well-being. The President has often described the "hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children [as] one that no government can fill." And while millions of single-mother households across the country are doing whatever it takes to provide for their families, we know that without a father doing his part it can be a struggle to meet the many obligations parents face.Responsible fathering means taking responsibility for a child's intellectual, emotional, and financial well-being. This requires being present in a child's life, actively contributing to a child's healthy development, sharing economic responsibilities, and cooperating with a child's mother in addressing the full range of a child's and family's needs.Today, however, one out of every three children in America - over 24 million in total - lives in a home without their biological father present. And data show that low-income men from communities of color are significantly more likely to be nonresident fathers than resident fathers. Roughly one out of every three Hispanic children and more than half of African-American children grow up in homes without their fathers present.The presence and involvement of a child's parents protects children from a number of vulnerabilities. More engaged fathers-whether living with or apart from their children-can help foster a child's healthy physical, emotional, and social development. While evidence shows that children benefit most from the invol