Responsible Fatherhood and the Retreat from Marriage Promotion for Black Fathers

• In Event: 21014 - Kinship and Family Diversity

Abstract

How does the promotion of responsible fatherhood affect familial norms for Black men? The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) is a landmark welfare reform bill that encourages the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. The 2005 Deficit Reduction Act extended PRWORA’s marriage promotion activities, and allocated funds toward responsible fatherhood programs. While extant welfare reform research has regarded fatherhood programs as an extension of marriage promotion, I argue that responsible fatherhood initiatives reshape familial norms by decoupling marriage from parenting for Black men yet retains the association between mothering and marriage for Black women. This study uses a content analysis of documents from 2010 to 2024 to build on first-generation welfare research conducted in the early 2000s. The preliminary findings indicate that while marriage promotion continues to receive bipartisan support, fatherhood programs remain controversial among conservatives. Moreover, the seemingly progressive and pragmatic message that tells fathers they can be good parents without being married may increase the salience of marriage for Black mothers and introduce more ambiguity with respect to how to approach family life.

Author

• Blyss Cleveland, Stanford University