Family structure, childbearing, and parental employment: Implications for the level and trend in poverty

The correlation between family structure and economic well-being is well established. Poverty rates vary dramatically by family structure; in 2006 about 8 percent of married couples with children, 40 percent of single mother families, and 14 percent of single father families were poor. Eligibility for income support programs, including cash welfare, food stamps, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, are tied to family composition. Moreover, in recent years policymakers have sought not only to respond to family changes, but to try to influence the decisions people make about marriage, divorce, and childbearing. Poverty policies and family policies are increasingly tied. This paper examines changes since 1970 in family structure and their implications for poverty and income support policy. The authors discuss changes in marriage and childbearing and their implications for the living situations of children, such as the increasing proportion of children living with a single mother. They also highlight differences in work and earnings by marital and parental status, such as the substantial increase in the employment rates of single mothers with young children. Family Structure, Childbearing, and Parental Employment: Implications for the Level and Trend in Poverty