Clinton's radio message focuses on fathers

NEW YORK - The one in three American children who live without their fathers should not have to suffer financially or emotionally, President Clinton said Saturday in releasing a report that offers ways to help fathers get more involved in their child's schooling.

The report by the Education and Health and Human Services departments gives teachers and those who care for youngsters information on the best ways to help fathers have a strong role in their children's education. And it highlights model programs and provides information on resources available.

Researchers report that a father's involvement during infancy and the early years not only contributes to a child's emotional security, but helps them solve math problems and develop verbal skills, Clinton said in his weekly radio address, marking Father's Day on Sunday.

''One study showed that the chances of a child getting mostly A's increased by over 40 percent in two-parent families where the father was highly involved,'' Clinton said. ''Even in families where the father isn't living with his child, but remains actively involved, those odds of getting A's increased by a full third.''

In his radio message, which he taped Friday in New York where he visited two schools, the president noted that child support collections have increased 10 percent during the past year, reaching a record of nearly $16 billion - double the $8 billion collected in 1992.

Clinton also used his address to criticize the House for passing a spending bill last week that fails to include his $255 million fatherhood initiative. It aims to help at least 40,000 low-income noncustodial parents - primarily fathers - find work, meet support payments and re-establish relationships with their children.

It would allow states to simplify child support and distribution rules, give incentives to states that pass more child support payments directly to families and help noncustodial parents move into jobs.

''The fact is, many fathers can't provide financial and emotional support to their children, not because they're deadbeat, but because they're dead broke,'' Clinton said.

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Echoing the president's concerns, Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci noted in the weekly Republican radio address that children without fathers living at home are five times more likely to grow up poor and twice as likely to drop out of high school.

''The challenges confronted by fathers today are greater than any time in our past, and more important than ever to future generations,'' Cellucci said. ''I urge every father across this great land to take an active role in their children's lives.''

Cellucci also put in a plug for pro-family initiatives that his fellow GOP governors, including presidential candidate George W. Bush of Texas, have instituted in their states.