Two of the proudest moments of my life were the birth of my son, and the day I married my wife Donna. There is nothing more important to me than being a father and a husband. I could not imagine life without my wife and son. Strong families are the foundation for producing strong, productive communities. If we restored the number of children who are raised in married-couple families to 1970s levels, we would reduce the poverty rate by 20 to 30 percent.

Two ways to reduce the prevalence of single-parent families are to reduce teen and out-of-wedlock pregnancies and to reduce the incidence of divorce. Brookings estimates that a future drop in teen childbearing will save taxpayers money since it now costs the federal government at least $9 billion per year in direct costs for health care, foster care, criminal justice, public assistance programs, and lost tax revenues.

I know from experience about the necessary course of events that is critical to achieving life’s goals: 1) finish high school (and, if possible, obtain a two-year or four-year degree); 2) get a job; 3) do not marry before you are stably employed; and 4) wait to have children until after you marry and at least one parent is stably employed. If you do these four things, I can virtually guarantee that you won’t live in poverty.

Our leaders must actively discourage unwed childbearing, especially among teens. Not only does research support this approach, I used this very same formula to pull myself out of poverty in one generation when research tells us that it takes five.

I understand that this is a hard message to swallow for some. But if we are really serious about reducing poverty, we have to tell our young people that two-parent households are better than one. Waiting to have children will provide you with a more prosperous future. Finishing school gives you the best chance for success. And, strong families produce strong children who become productive adults. Family planning is a must and teens should be taught values and relationship skills.

While marriage is a preference, we understand that every child deserves two active parents whether or not they are married. Unfortunately, many impoverished children live in unwed, single parent households. That is why at the Mayor’s Office of Community Services, we host a Fatherhood Initiative Program (FIP). FIP’s mission is to strengthen the relationship between fathers and their children, as well as reverse the absentee father trend.

Participants attend Fatherhood Training Sessions. Each session is designed to address issues of fatherhood by: promoting responsible fatherhood and holistic parenting; empowering fathers to assume emotional, moral, and financial responsibility for their children; helping fathers understand the challenges of parenting; and increasing fathers’ skills in building and maintaining healthy relationships.

If we want to strengthen families, we must continue to:

• Fund effective teen pregnancy prevention efforts, premarital education, and promote family planning.

• Promote marriage as the best environment for rearing children.

• Fund fatherhood and healthy relationship programs.

• Promote effective child support enforcement strategies.