Much has been said about the importance of fathers to the development of their children, and many of the woes of society can be traced back in part to fathers who were uninvolved in the lives of their children.

A 2002 Department of Justice survey revealed that 39 percent of jail inmates lived in households without fathers. One fifth of the survey participants had fathers who had been incarcerated. A study reported in the January 2004 edition of the “Journal of Family Issues” found that being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree and forming a marriage where both partners have less than a high school degree. A report from the same periodical in 2002 suggested that children who do not live with a mother and father experience “significantly more drug use” than those who do.

Other studies have shown how important fathers are to their children’s educational attainment. Researchers combing through statistics from the U.S. Department of Education in 2001, for instance, concluded that children whose fathers or stepfathers were involved in their schools were more likely to get mostly A’s than those whose fathers were not involved.

That last statistic is one Princella Johnson, the founder of the Y2K Academy, hopes to leverage in her organization’s fourth annual Fathers as First Teachers on the First Day of School event later this month. This year’s event will focus on father-daughter interactions to help reduce the growing violence and crime among girls.

Dads should show interest in their daughters’ progress and behavior at school and encourage them to achieve more, Johnson says, and the event, set for Aug. 31, aims to encourage the fathers to show that interest by the simple act of taking their daughters to school on the first day of the new school year.

The event will include a pizza party, games and guest speakers, including Johnson and Costellar Ledbetter, retired teacher, businesswoman and Suffolk’s NAACP branch president. Participating girls will also get a chance to meet three mentors who are working with Y2K to help the organization meet its goals.

Those who register ahead of time and then attend the free event can take home free school supplies and donated clothing, and fathers who carry through with the commitment to take their daughters to school on the first day will be eligible to receive free suits.

For more information, visit www.faft4girls.eventbrite.com, or www.y2kacademy.webs.com.