The Health and Human Services Commission held a public hearing for LB905, to Adopt the Commission on Fathers, Men and Boys, on March 2, 2016. NFA team member Nate Grasz testified in support of this important bill. We realize that you cannot legislate good fathers, but because of the growing number of children being raised without a father, we need to empower men to make a positive difference in their community and combat fatherlessness.

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Thank you, Senator Campbell, members of the committee. My name is Nate Grasz; I work for the Nebraska Family Alliance, and am here to voice our support for LB905 and the Commission on Fathers, Men, and Boys.

There are many ongoing issues we face that negatively impact our communities and our society. Poverty, crime, drugs, sexual assault, domestic violence, suicide, and low educational attainment among others. One thing we know about these issues for certain, is that children in father absent households are at a significantly higher risk of winding up as another statistic and victim to these issues.

There are hundreds of studies that show the grave impact fathers have on child outcomes, and findings show that children in father-absent environments are almost four times more likely to live in poverty; more than twice as likely to commit suicide; more likely to use drugs, alcohol, engage in juvenile delinquency, drop out of school; and are at a higher risk of being victimized by crime, becoming pregnant, and obtaining STDs.

We realize that you cannot legislate good fathers, but because of these alarming outcomes, and the growing number of children being raised without a father, we need to empower men to make a positive difference in their community by encouraging the dialogue of responsible fatherhood, spurring community initiatives to combat fatherlessness, and working with Nebraska agencies to promote a healthier society by devising policies and procedures that will effectively address the socioeconomic concerns of fathers, men, and boys.

We recognize that not everyone has a father that can play an active role in their life, and we all know incredible, hardworking single moms and individuals who were raised without a father and achieved great success, but we also know that in most cases children who are raised in father-absent environments have lower outcomes across the board. This is an issue we can and must address, and efforts to do so have generated broad support across party and philosophical lines.

Similar action has been taken in several other states, and President Obama has even started an ongoing fatherhood initiative aimed at encouraging dads around the country to get more involved in their kids’ lives, stating: “No matter how advanced we get, there will never be a substitute for the love and support and, most importantly, the presence of a parent in a child’s life. And in many ways, that’s uniquely true for fathers.”

Families are the fundamental building block of all human civilization and are the foundation of a thriving nation, state, and community – but today, too many children in Nebraska are growing up without fathers in their lives. For reasons previously outlined, this cannot go ignored, and is why we support this bill and the creation of a commission to advocate for not only fathers, but all men and boys in Nebraska.