Millions of children are growing up without their fathers. Many of these children "lost" their fathers when their parents separated or divorced, but many others never even lived with them. Although both divorced and never married fathers disengage from their children at alarmingly high rates, men who were never married to their children's mothers are even less likely to be involved in their children's upbringing or to share a close relationship with them. They are also less likely to pay child support and, according to policymakers, more likely to be African-American. This article proposes that the law recognized all of the contributions poor nonresident fathers make to their children and credit them against formal child support obligations.