Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Guaranteed income programs intended to alleviate poverty and improve birth outcomes are being implemented in cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Philadelphia. While these initiatives are marketed as efforts to strengthen families, they focus exclusively on mothers and their children. In effect, urban policymakers have adopted an unspoken definition of “family” that discounts the institution of marriage and the importance of fathers.
This trend is central in Heritage’s Delano Squires’ new book, The Vanishing Black Family: How Welfare and Feminism Made Marriage Optional and Children Vulnerable. Join Squires and experts as they explore what’s happening and propose reforms to create a new family culture that increases the number of children raised in homes with a married mother and father.
Guaranteed income programs intended to alleviate poverty and improve birth outcomes are being implemented in cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Philadelphia. While these initiatives are marketed as efforts to strengthen families, they focus exclusively on mothers and their children. In effect, urban policymakers have adopted an unspoken definition of “family” that discounts the institution of marriage and the importance of fathers.
This trend is central in Heritage’s Delano Squires’ new book, The Vanishing Black Family: How Welfare and Feminism Made Marriage Optional and Children Vulnerable. Join Squires and experts as they explore what’s happening and propose reforms to create a new family culture that increases the number of children raised in homes with a married mother and father.
