National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI) released an update to its previously published analysis of expenditures for father-absent households in 14 major federal government assistance programs in 2006.
The $154 Billion Man: The Economic Argument for Investing in Fathers updates National Fatherhood Initiative’s earlier estimate of the public cost of father absence by examining federal spending in 14 major assistance programs that support children in single mother–headed households. Using 2018 data, it finds that the U.S. government spent $154.2 billion on these households—an increase of 54.5% from nearly $100 billion in 2006. NFI_154-Bill-Man_Report_012126
The largest costs came from Medicaid ($43.4B), SNAP ($26.1B), EITC ($18.3B), and housing vouchers ($15.6B). NFI_154-Bill-Man_Report_012126
The report links father absence to higher poverty rates, increased reliance on public benefits, and negative child outcomes, while emphasizing that government programs help reduce harm. It concludes with policy recommendations such as strengthening fathers’ economic opportunities, expanding fatherhood and relationship programs, improving labor equity, and collecting better data to inform future investments.
