This newsletter issue contains feature articles and short reports on how and why family structures are undergoing substantial change in many parts of the world. These articles include: (1) "The Changing Family Structure," a review of how families are changing and why; (2) "Peru: Families in the Andes"; (3) "Thailand: Families of the Garbage Dump"; (4) "Arrernte Families, Culture, and Environment," about Australia's Aboriginal peoples; (5) "Thriving...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cultural Traits, Extended Family, Family Problems, Family Programs, Family...
This "Pocket Guide" is derived from the "2004 KIDS COUNT Special Report: City & Rural KIDSCOUNT Data Book." It is designed to give state-level policymakers a better understanding of conditions faced by families in their rural communities and how they compare to those in the rural parts of other states, as well as the country as a whole. This special guide provides the kind of detailed, objective data needed to track and monitor the well-being of children in the rural...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Rural Areas, Social Indicators, Well Being, Child Welfare, Poverty, Family Structure,...
This study investigated how marriage, cohabitation, single parenthood, and the presence of biological parents affected the incomes and material hardships of children. Data from the 1997 and 1999 National Survey of America's Families were used to examine recent changes in the marital status and household structure of families with children, how levels of income and material hardship varied by family structure, and whether marriage acted to reduce marital hardship, even among families with low...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Welfare, Children, Educational Attainment, Family Income, Family Structure,...
In recent years, the belief that marriage bestows large economic gains has generated enthusiasm for policy proposals that encourage the formation and continuation of two-parent families. This study examined the effects of family structure on economic resources, controlling for unobservable family background characteristics. Data were drawn from the 1968 through 1993 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a longitudinal survey conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Children, Divorce, Family Financial Resources, Family Structure, Marriage, Nuclear...
This publication provides the objective data needed to track and monitor the well-being of children in different types of American communities. It is part of the ongoing work of the Casey Foundation -- advanced primarily through our KIDS COUNT initiative -- designed to give policymakers data that can help them better understand how conditions of families in their communities stack up against those in other communities across the country. Objective, scientific data provide the best foundation...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Social Indicators, Children, Well Being, Urban Areas, Rural Areas, Child Welfare,...
In 1992, 12 million families were maintained by women in the United States--a figure that more than doubled since 1970 when there were only 5.6 million such families. They accounted for 14.8 percent of all families in 1980 and 17.6 percent in 1992. Women maintained 3.5 million Black families in 1992; this represented nearly half of all Black families in the United States. One of every four Hispanic-origin families was maintained by a woman. Women who maintain families were very active in the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Education, Economically Disadvantaged, Employed Parents, Employed Women,...
This report examines the current condition of educationally disadvantaged children in the United States, describes conditions likely to prevail through the year 2020, and discusses implications for the education of disadvantaged children. The text: (1) develops a common definition of the term "educationally disadvantaged"; (2) identifies the current state of the educationally disadvantaged; (3) points out projected changes in the educationally disadvantaged population, and indicates...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Children, Definitions, Demography, Educational Attainment, Educational Policy,...
This study examines the impact of family structure, poverty level, and region of residence on educational attainment. The study uses data collected by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, with a probability sample of 3,854 men and women aged 14 to 18 in 1979. Logistic regression was used to allow for the analysis of dichotomous dependent variables (high school completion versus incompletion and attendance of at least one year of college versus not attending college). Parent's...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, College Attendance, Differences, Educational Attainment, Family...
A typological approach to the analysis of poverty, based on selected characteristics of family structure, is suggested since the family unit is a concrete or actual structure in society, and much of the research and many of the action programs of the war on poverty have implicitly invoked some concept of the family. The typology of family structure suggested involves 4 dimensions: (1) family life-cycle, (2) membership composition, (3) completeness, and (4) sex of head. Data from a field study...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classification, Economic Factors, Family Characteristics, Family Environment, Family...
The eight papers contained in this document focus on those tax provisions most directly affecting families and children. Questions addressed include the following: (1) Since the enactment of the first permanent income tax in 1913, how have tax laws affecting families evolved in response to changes in economic and demographic conditions? (2) Relative to prior years, does the current tax code penalize families with children? (3) At what level of income do families make the greatest use of the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Comparative Analysis, Family Characteristics, Family (Sociological Unit), Family...
This paper presents facts to use in evaluating changes in incomes of families with children, focusing on the period from 1967-1984 and making comparisons with the preceeding two decades. Changes in average family income are examined, as well as income changes in a variety of socioeconomic groups. Comparisons are provided of current and past economic performance and changes in the sources of family income. The major findings were: 1)average real income increased between 1967 and 1973 and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Demography, Economically Disadvantaged, Employed Women, Family Financial Resources,...
Noting that the failures of the U.S. health care system are compounding the problems faced by low-income Americans, Alan Weil argues that any strategy to reduce poverty must provide access to health care for all low-income families. Although nearly all children in families with incomes under 200 percent of poverty are eligible for either Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the parents of poor children often lack health insurance. Parents who leave welfare normally...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Poverty, Low Income, Tax Credits, Dependents, Health Insurance, Access to Health...
This longitudinal study investigated two issues regarding child poverty dynamics: whether long-run transitions out of poverty have changed and whether the events associated with exits from poverty have changed over time. The study contrasted mobility patterns of young children over the 1970s with patterns over the 1980s, examining which poor children had higher or lower mobility prospects and whether those mobility prospects changed over time. Finally, the study investigated how changes in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Blacks, Children, Family Income, Family Structure, Females, One Parent Family,...
Contents of this volume of studies analyzing the causes of the alarming growth in illegitimacy, families lacking a father, and welfare caseloads, include the following studies: "The Family, Poverty, and Welfare Programs: An Introductory Essay on Problems of Analysis and Policy," Robert I. Lerman; "The Impact of Welfare Payment Levels on Family Stability," Marjorie Honig; "Income Supplements and the American Family," Phillips Cutright and John Scanzoni;...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Welfare, Economically Disadvantaged, Family Counseling, Family Financial...
What do the half-century decline in U.S. marriage and the attendant rise in single parenthood mean for the economic well-being of children, especially children living in single-parent families? Adam Thomas and Isabel Sawhill show how differing living arrangements can be expected to affect families' economic well-being. Married-parent and cohabiting households, for example, can benefit from economies of scale and from having two adult earners. The availability of child support for single-parent...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Poverty, Mothers, Family Income, Family (Sociological Unit), Interpersonal...
This report presents data on Hispanic Americans, one of the nation's largest racial minorities. Hispanics have had much lower high school completion rates and higher dropout rates than blacks and whites since the 1970s. Hispanic high school students are more likely to carry weapons and more likely to become pregnant than black and white students. Between 1970-99, the percentage of children in two-parent families decreased for all races, and the number of Hispanic children living in two-parent...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, Children, Educational Attainment, Family Structure, Health Behavior,...
This annotated brief summarizes research on the effects of family structure on child wellbeing, identifying issues that remain to be explored. On average, children who grow up in families with both their biological parents in a low-conflict marriage are better off in several ways than children who grow up in single-, step-, or cohabiting-parent households. Compared to children raised by their married parents, children in other types of families are more likely to achieve lower educational...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Welfare, Cohabitation, Elementary Secondary Education, Family Structure,...
The research reported here examines residence differences (metropolitan ghetto, non metropolitan, or rural) in characteristics purportedly associated with poverty among poor, black Americans--and particularly in family relationships and interaction. Samples, drawn from the eastern part of Texas, were restricted to families with children still in the home. Residence differences were searched for in education and occupations, aspects of family structure and interaction, interaction of the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Blacks, Demography, Family Attitudes, Family Characteristics, Family Relationship,...
Using data from the 1984 (sixth wave) survey of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this report describes the household structure and parental characteristics of about 4,400 children born to a national cross-section of American mothers 19 to 27 years of age. About 80 percent of the children were under 6 years of age and most of the rest were between 6 and 9 years old. The children were representative of the first 30 percent of all children born to a typical contemporary cohort of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Day Care, Employment, Family Characteristics, Family Structure, Fatherless Family,...
This Kids Count pamphlet provides information on the living arrangements of Florida's children, focusing on family types. Drawing on information from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, the Current Population Survey, and the National Center for Health Statistics, the pamphlet presents information on changes in America's families, children's current living arrangements, and children's health insurance status. The pamphlet provides data for Florida and the nation as a whole on the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Births to Single Women, Child Health, Children, Counties, Divorce, Family...
This report presents detailed social and economic characteristics of the United States population below the poverty level in 1984 based on the March 1985 Current Population Survey. Poverty data are cross-classified by such characteristics as race, family relationship, type of residence, education, work experience, and type of income received. Estimates in the report were developed from two sample frames: one from the 1970 census, and the other from the 1980 census. General findings are...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Economic Factors, Educational Attainment, Family Characteristics, Family Income,...
This paper uses a discrete-time multivariate hazard model and longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine how events affect poverty entries and exits and how these events have changed over time--from the pre-welfare reform period to the post-reform period. It also uses monthly state unemployment rate data from the U.S. Department of Labor and quarterly real gross domestic product data from the Department of Commerce. Results find no single path into or out...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Disabilities, Employment Level, Family Income, Family Structure, Labor Market, One...
Today, there are 827,000 American Indians and Alaskan Natives in the United States. Although found throughout the U.S., nearly two-thirds live in the states of Oklahoma, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Alaska (including Eskimos and Aleuts), North Carolina, South Dakota, and Washington. While in 1930 only 10 percent of the Indians lived in urban areas, by 1970 45 percent lived in urban areas. Selected data from the 1970 U.S. Census were analyzed in this report. Detailed socioeconomic...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Age, American Indians, Census Figures, Demography, Employment...
This study analyzed why child poverty rates were so much higher in Great Britain than in Western Germany during the 1990s, focusing on why child poverty exit rates were lower and child poverty entry rates were higher in Great Britain. Researchers used a form of decomposition analysis comparing cross-nationally the prevalence of events that triggered poverty (changes in household composition, household labor market attachment, and labor earnings) and the chances of making a poverty transition...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Welfare, Cultural Differences, Family Income, Family Status, Family Structure,...
This supplementary analysis to "Declining Share of Children Lived with Single Mothers in the Late 1990s" employs an alternative methodology to provide a clearer picture of changes in living arrangements within different income groups. The original study concluded that children were significantly less likely to live with single mothers in 2000 than 1995 and more likely to live with cohabiting mothers; the trend away from living with married parents had stopped; the proportion of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, Blacks, Child Welfare, Early Parenthood, Family Income, Family...
This report presents a statistical portrait of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of Blacks based primarily on the March 1993 and 1994 Supplements to the Current Population Survey. Topics covered include population growth and geographic distribution, marital status, family type and composition, educational attainment, employment and unemployment, occupational distribution, family income and earnings, poverty status, and the tenure of householders. The report includes a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Blacks, Census Figures, Children, Demography, Economic Factors, Educational...
Using 1980 Census data, this study examined household composition and labor force participation for single mother households in urban and rural areas. The study used Census data on a representative random sample of 5,712 female headed family households. Variables studied were rural-urban status, household composition, labor force participation, and poverty status. The study controlled for race, education, marital status, and age. A descriptive analysis of the data used crosstabulation, group...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Census Figures, Dependents, Employment Level, Family Characteristics, Family Income,...
For more than 15 years, the KIDS COUNT initiative, has produced data books filled with statistics reflecting the general well-being of children in each state. This Pocket Guide is designed to give state-level policymakers a better understanding of conditions faced by families in their large cities and how they compare to those in the large cities located in other states, as well as the country as a whole. This special KIDS COUNT Pocket Guide provides the kind of detailed, objective data needed...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Urban Youth, Social Indicators, Children, Child Welfare, Well Being, Urban Areas,...
This paper examines the needs of children in grandparent care, using data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Information on the children was obtained from the adult in the household most knowledgeable about the child's education and health care. Most children in grandparent care live with much older caregivers and caregivers with less formal education. They tend to be younger than children in the care of other relatives. While more children in grandparent care than in other...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Welfare, Children, Family Caregivers, Family Income, Family Structure,...
This report presents information on trends and variations in nonmarital childbearing in the United States and includes information on the factors that have contributed to the recent changes. Data are presented for 1940-1999 with emphasis on the trends in the 1990s. Data are presented on a variety of measures of nonmarital childbearing, including numbers, rates, and percents of births to unmarried women. Most of the data are from the National Vital Statistics System, but additional data are from...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Birth Rate, Births to Single Women, Children, Family Structure, One Parent Family,...
This paper revisits 1997-98 findings that indicated that during the first years of state implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), states were most likely to implement the environment theory, which claims that children benefit socially and psychologically from being part of a household in which caregivers have jobs, and less likely to create policies, programs, structures, and processes that put the resource and family structure theories into effect. The resource theory...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Welfare, Environmental Influences, Family Structure, Poverty, Public Policy,...
The tables in this compilation provide information about poverty and income trends in 1995. In some cases, trend data are available back to the 1950s. The first section of tables, "Poverty Trends," focuses on poverty thresholds and poverty among children. Some tables present information on poverty by ethnic group, and others present information about urban and nonurban poverty. In 1959, 18.3% of the population of the central cities was estimated as "in poverty," and in 1995,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Economic Factors, Educational Attainment, Ethnic Groups, Family Structure, Income,...
This study reports the percentage of whites, blacks, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans who, as children, adolescents, and teenagers, lived in one or more of several family types (e.g., mother-father, mother-only, mother-stepfather). Unlike previous analyses of the topic, the present one looks at Mexicans and Puerto Ricans separately, treating them as two distinct groups. It finds that whites are least likely to have ever lived in a nonintact family (i.e., a family whose heads are not the biological...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, Black Youth, Children, Ethnic Groups, Family Structure, Fathers,...
The papers in this volume deal with patterns of household composition and income sharing among low-income families as well as current and proposed Government policies directly related to family structure. Government policies relevant to family structure make up one set of topics. Irene Cox describes how public income transfer benefits and eligibility conditions vary for different family types and household units. Lee Rainwater, and Carol Stack and Herbert Semmel, recommend changes aimed at...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Black Community, Child Welfare, Family Characteristics, Family Income, Family...
Kids Count is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. By providing policy-makers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, the project attempts to enrich discussions about ways to secure better futures for all children. This year's data book, the sixth annual edition, places a special focus on a problem that is at the heart of social policy debates: the increasing numbers of children growing up without fathers actively involved in their...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Health, Children, Economic Factors, Family Structure, Fathers, Health Needs,...
This report attempts to assemble data on the trends that are favorable or unfavorable to independence from welfare. Twelve such conditions are examined in this report, and they are summarized in table form, with an indication of the direction of the trend and comments. The information is also summarized in narrative form to give an idea of what may be expected for welfare in the future. Overall, the trends that relate to family structure are unfavorable, with a slightly decreasing birth rate...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Crime, Early Parenthood, Economic Factors, Family Structure, Futures (of Society),...
This ERIC digest summarizes recent studies on poverty in rural areas. In 1986, the poverty rate in rural areas was 50 percent higher than the urban rate. During the 1980s, rural poverty stayed higher, rising more rapidly during recession, and falling more slowly in the "recovery" period. Characteristics that distinguish the rural poor from the urban poor are: (1) the rural poor are more likely than the urban poor to work, but low wages keep them in poverty; (2) the majority of poor...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Employment Level, Family Structure, Poverty, Race,...
The South Asian population has emerged as a dynamic and affluent cultural minority in the United States. The 1980 Census, which provides the basis for this report, estimates the number of South Asians at around 400,000, and projections suggest that over one million will have joined the U.S. population by the year 2000. South Asian ethnicity is characterized by comparative "invisibility" to other Americans, entailing uncertainty about "race" and "color," and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Asian Americans, Census Figures, Community Characteristics, Demography, Educational...
While most American children are not poor, the proportion of children living in poverty has remained at or near 20 percent since the early 1980s. Childhood poverty can have short- and long-term negative consequences for children. Growing up at or near the poverty line can affect the quality of a family's housing, children's access to nutritious food and adequate health care, and parents' ability to provide toys, books, and recreational or educational opportunities for their children. Poor...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Age Groups, Child Welfare, Children, Family Structure, Incidence, Poverty, Welfare...
This brief presents 10 key findings about welfare reform, using research from the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project. Welfare reform has taken hold, and, in the immediate aftermath of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), states have made major changes to their welfare systems that reflect the transition from cash assistance to requiring and supporting work. Welfare caseloads remain dynamic, with a high frequency of leavers and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Welfare, Children, Family Structure, Immigrants, Poverty, Racial Differences,...
This report addresses the sources and remedies for child poverty in the United States through a review of the effects of trends, policies, and changes in social relationships; and an analysis of data concerning poverty and children. An introduction sketches the present condition of children in poverty and the policies and attitudes of the past 30 years. The next section reviews trends in family incomes and poverty, pointing out the antipoverty effects of economic growth and government policies....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Development, Child Health, Children, Early Parenthood, Economic Factors,...
Twenty graphs and charts provide a 1980 statistical profile of American Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut populations for the United States. Data indicate the 1980 Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut population was 1,420,400, an increase of 592,132 since 1970; little population change by region occurred during the decade, with 49% still located in the West; states with largest American Indian populations are California, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Washington, South Dakota, Michigan, Texas, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Age, Alaska Natives, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Census Figures,...
This newsletter issue focuses on how the family support movement can help reshape the human services delivery system to more effectively meet the needs of African American families. The newsletter includes the following articles: (1) "Dispelling Myths and Building on Strengths: Supporting African American Families"; (2) "The 'Nguzo Saba': African-Centered Values as Tools for Family Assessment, Support, and Empowerment"; (3) "Public Policy and African American Families:...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Afrocentrism, Black Achievement, Black Culture, Blacks,...
This study examined the effects of family structures on students' academic achievement in terms of self-reported grades. It also examined relevant factors that would explain the differences in student grades among students from intact two-parent families, step-families, and single-parent families. Data came from a statewide survey of students in grades 6 through 12 in Rhode Island. The predictors used were demographic characteristics (family structures, participation in free/reduced lunch...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Elementary Secondary Education, Family Structure, Grades...
Noting that Rhode Island has seen a significant increase in child poverty over the last decade in the context of a national decline, this Kids Count issue brief presents an in-depth examination of the economic well-being of children in the state. The brief notes that the highest rates of Rhode Island childhood poverty are among families with young children, single-parent families, minority families, and families living in the core cities and core urban neighborhoods. Tables delineate child...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Change Strategies, Children, Demography, Employed Parents, Employment, Family...
IN THIS REPORT DATA DESCRIBING THE SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIDENTS OF "VINE CITY," A NEGRO SLUM IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, ARE STATISTICALLY SUMMARIZED AND ANALYZED. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX PERSONS, MOSTLY WOMEN, REPRESENTING 11 PERCENT OF "VINE CITY'S" FAMILY POPULATION, WERE INTERVIEWED BY STUDENTS AT A NEARBY COLLEGE. THE INTERVIEW TOPICS, AROUND WHICH THE REPORT IS ORGANIZED, WERE--FAMILY STRUCTURE, HOUSING, EDUCATION, HEALTH, BUDGET AND SPENDING, INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Activities, Behavior Patterns, Blacks, Citizen Participation, Community Surveys, Data...
This chapter examines recent trends in rural poverty and discusses some characteristics of the rural poor compared to the urban poor. Sources of poverty data for 1967-90 include the income supplement of the Census Bureau's annual Current Population Survey and personal income data compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. "Rural" and "urban" are defined as nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas, respectively. The nonmetro poverty rate decreased from 20.2 percent in 1967 to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Blacks, Children, Demography, Economic Factors, Family Structure, Geographic...
THIS SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS DESCRIBES THE LOWER-STATUS URBAN AND RURAL FAMILIES IN PUERTO RICO. THE "JIBAROS," THE RURAL POOR OF THE HIGHLANDS, ARE LANDLESS AGRICULTURAL WORKERS WHO ARE MORE ISOLATED, LESS LITERATE, AND LESS ACCULTURATED TO URBAN LIFE THAN OTHER PUERTO RICANS. THEY TEND TO BE IDEALIZED AS THE PROTOTYPES OF THE ISLAND FOLK CULTURE. THEIR FAMILY STRUCTURE IS CHARACTERISTICALLY MALE-DOMINATED AND AUTHORITARIAN. "JIBARO" WOMEN TEND TO COMPENSATE FOR THEIR...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Agricultural Laborers, Children, Culture Conflict, Family Life, Family Structure,...
Although it is likely that there will be a substantial number of children who remain poor in spite of considerable work effort by their parents as families leave welfare roles, there has been relatively little research on children in working poor families. The primary purpose of this project is to develop a definition of working poor families and to provide a baseline of descriptive information about them. The primary data sources for the study were the 1987, 1988, and 1990-1993 panels of the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Children, Comparative Analysis, Day Care, Early Childhood Education, Employed...
This report of the Canadian Institute of Child Health (CICH) is the third to document indicators of the health and well-being of children and youth in Canada. The report is presented in 10 chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the demographic situation in Canada and introduces the key areas. Chapters 2-5 profile successive stages in child development: pregnancy and infancy, preschool, school age, and youth. Chapter 6 details information on the health and well-being of Aboriginal children...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, Child Development, Child Health, Children, Demography, Disabilities,...
