17
Marriage: North Carolina’s No. 1 Weapon Against Childhood Poverty How the Collapse of Marriage Hurts Children and Three Steps to Reverse the Damage A Heritage Foundation Book of Charts • 2012 Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society

Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Marriage:North Carolina’s No. 1

Weapon AgainstChildhood Poverty

How the Collapse of Marriage Hurts Childrenand Three Steps to Reverse the Damage

A Heritage Foundation Book of Charts • 2012

Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society

Page 2: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in North Carolina, 1929–2010

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK

Note: Initiated by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, the War on Poverty led to the creation of more than three dozen welfare programs to aid poor persons. Government has spent $16.7 trillion on means-tested aid to the poor since 1964.

Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics.

heritage.orgChart 1 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

42.0%

Throughout most of North Carolina’s history, out-of-wedlock childbearing was rare.

When the federal government’s War on Poverty began in 1964, only 10.3 percent of children in North Carolina were born out of wedlock. However, over the next four decades, the number rose rapidly. By 2010, 42 percent of births in North Carolina occurred outside of marriage.

Page 3: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Death of Marriage in North Carolina, 1929–2010

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN TO MARRIED COUPLES

Note: In any given year, the sum of the out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1) and the marital birth rate (Chart 2) equals 100 percent of all births.

Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics.

heritage.orgChart 2 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

58.0%

The marital birth rate — the percentage of all births that occur to married parents — is the flip side of the out-of-wedlock birth rate.

Through most of the 20th cen-tury, marital births were the norm in North Carolina. In 1964, nearly 90 percent of births occurred to married couples.

However, in the mid-1960s, the marital birth rate began to fall steadily. By 2010, only 58 percent of births in North Carolina occurred to married couples.

Page 4: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

In North Carolina, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty by 82 Percent

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

heritage.orgChart 3 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Single-Parent, Female-Headed

Families

Married, Two-Parent Families

40.6%

7.2%

The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing is a major cause of high levels of child pov-erty in North Carolina.

Some 40.6 percent of single mothers with children are poor compared to 7.2 percent of mar-ried couples with children.

Single-parent families with children are nearly six times more likely to be poor than families in which the parents are married.

The higher poverty rate among single-mother families is due both to the lower education levels of the mothers and the lower income due to the absence of the father.

Page 5: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

In North Carolina, One-Third of All Families with Children Are Not Married

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

heritage.orgChart 4 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

64.7%

35.3%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

Overall, married couples head about two-thirds of families with children in North Carolina. Over one-third are single-parent families.

Page 6: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

In North Carolina, 74 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

heritage.orgChart 5 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

26.5%

73.5%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

Among poor families with children in North Carolina, about three-quarters are not married. By contrast, one-quarter of poor families with children are headed by married couples.

Page 7: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

In North Carolina, Few Unwed Births Occur to Teenagers

Note: Figures have been rounded.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.

heritage.orgChart 6 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

PERCENTAGE OF OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS BY AGE OF MOTHER

Age18–19:15.5%

Age20–24:37.8%

Age25–29:22.3%

Age30–54:16.0%

UnderAge 18:8.4%

Out-of-wedlock births are often confused erroneously with teen births, but only 8.4 percent of out-of-wedlock births in North Carolina occur to girls under age 18.

By contrast, some 76 percent of out-of-wedlock births occur to young adult women between the ages of 18 and 29.

Page 8: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Less-Educated Women Are More Likely to Give Birth Outside of Marriage

heritage.orgChart 7 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS THAT ARE MARITAL OR OUT OF WEDLOCK

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

High School Dropout

(0–11Years)

High School Graduate

(12Years)

SomeCollege(13–15Years)

College Graduate

(16+Years)

65.2%

54.5%

42.0%

8.1%

34.8%

45.5%

58.0%

91.9%

Mother’s education level

Unmarried Mothers

Married Mothers

Unwed childbearing occurs most frequently among the women who will have the greatest difficulty supporting children by themselves: those with low levels of education.

In the U.S., among women who are high school dropouts, about 65.2 percent of all births occur outside marriage. Among women who have only a high school diploma, well over half of all births occur outside marriage. By contrast, among women with at least a college degree, only 8.1 percent of births are out of wedlock.

Note: Specific data on out-of-wedlock births and maternal education are not available in North Carolina. However, the pattern varies little between states. North Carolina data will be very similar to the national data presented in this chart.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data. 

Page 9: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing Child Poverty in North Carolina

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2005–2009 data.

heritage.orgChart 8 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

High School Dropout

High School Graduate

SomeCollege

College Graduate

61.2%

26.5%

42.6%

9.5%

33.2%

5.3%

11.8%

1.5%

Note: Virtually none of the heads of families in the chart who are high school dropouts are minor teenagers.

The poverty rate of married couples with children is dramati-cally lower than the rate for house-holds headed by single parents. This is true even when the married couple is compared to single par-ents with the same education level.

For example, in North Carolina, the poverty rate for a single mother who has only a high school diploma is 42.6 percent, but the poverty rate for a married couple family headed by an indi-vidual who, similarly, has only a high school degree is far lower at 9.5 percent.

On average, marriage drops the poverty rate by about 76 percent among families with the same education level.

PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR

Poverty Rate of Families by Education and Marital Status of the Head of Household

Single Married

Page 10: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Unwed Birth Rates Vary Strongly by Race in North Carolina

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.

heritage.orgChart 9 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

All Races White Non-

Hispanic

Hispanic BlackNon-

Hispanic

42.0%

26.7%

53.2%

72.4%

8.3%

Out-of-wedlock childbearing varies considerably by race.

In 2008, 42 percent of births in North Carolina occurred outside marriage. The rate was lowest among non-Hispanic whites at about one in four births (26.7 percent). Among Hispanics, over half of all births were out of wed-lock. Among blacks, more than seven in ten births (72.4 percent) were to unmarried women.

Page 11: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Growth of Unwed Childbearing by Race in North Carolina, 1929–2008

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK

Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics.

heritage.orgChart 10 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008

White Non-Hispanic26.7%

Hispanic53.2%

Black Non-Hispanic72.4%

Historically, out-of-wedlock childbearing has been somewhat more frequent among blacks than among whites. However, prior to the onset of the federal government’s War on Poverty in 1964, the rates for both whites and blacks were comparatively low.

In 1964, around one in forty (2.7 percent) white children were born outside marriage. By 2008, the number had risen to one in four (26.7 percent).

In 1964, about one in four black children (26.7 percent) were born outside marriage. By 2008, the number had risen to more than seven in ten (72.4 percent).

Page 12: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in North Carolina

ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.

heritage.orgChart 11 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

Note: Figures have been rounded.

55.1% White Non-Hispanic

Asian/Other

Black Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

23.8%

16.5%

35.0%

41.0%

20.9%

3.1%4.6%

In North Carolina in 2008, some 55.1 percent of all births occurred to non-Hispanic whites, 23.8 percent occurred to non-Hispanic blacks, and 16.5 percent occurred to Hispanics.

Because blacks and Hispanics are more likely to have children without being married, they account for a disproportionately large share of all out-of-wedlock births.

In North Carolina in 2008, 41 percent of all non-marital births were to non-Hispanic black women, 35 percent were to white non-Hispanic women, and 20.9 percent were to Hispanics.

Page 13: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Non-Married White Families Are Seven Times More Likely to Be Poor in North Carolina

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

heritage.orgChart 12 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Married Families Non-Married Families

3.6%

24.9%

Marriage leads to lower poverty rates for whites, blacks, and His-panics.

For example, in 2009, the pov-erty rate for married white families in North Carolina was 3.6 percent. But the poverty rate for non-married white families was seven times higher at 24.9 percent.

Page 14: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Non-Married Black Families Are Six Times More Likely to Be Poor in North Carolina

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

heritage.orgChart 13 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Married Families Non-Married Families

6.9%

38.0%

In 2009, the poverty rate for married black couples in North Carolina was 6.9 percent, while the poverty rate for non-married black families was nearly six times higher at 38 percent.

Page 15: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Non-Married Hispanic Families Are More than Twice as Likely to Be Poor in North Carolina

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

heritage.orgChart 14 • Marriage and Poverty in North Carolina

PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Married Families Non-Married Families

20.7%

44.8%

In 2009, the poverty rate for Hispanic married families in North Carolina was 20.7 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married families was more than twice as high at 44.8 percent.

Page 16: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

Three Steps to Reduce Child Poverty through Marriage

1) Provide information on the benefits of marriage in reducing child poverty and improving child well-being.

2) Reduce anti-marriage penalties in means-tested welfare programs.

3) Promote life-goal-planning, marriage-strengthening, and divorce-reduction programs to increase healthy marriages and reduce divorce and separation.

Marriage is a highly effective institution which greatly decreases parental and child poverty while improving long-term outcomes for children. Conversely, the absence of marriage greatly increases welfare costs and imposes added burdens on taxpayers.

Unfortunately, almost no information on these topics is available in low-income communities. This information deficit should be corrected in the following manner:

• Explain the benefits of marriage in middle and high schools with a high proportion of at-risk youth;

• Create public education campaigns in low-income communities on the benefits of marriage; and,

• Require federally funded birth control clinics to provide information on the benefits of marriage and the skills needed to develop stable families to interested low-income clients.

Page 17: Marriage poverty - North Carolina

The Family & Religion Initiative is one of 10 Transformational Initiatives making up The Heritage Foundation’s Leadership for America campaign. For more products and information related to this initiative or to learn more about the Leadership for America campaign, please visit heritage.org.

The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited gov-ernment, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

Our vision is to build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish. As conservatives, we believe the values and ideas that motivated our Founding Fathers are worth conserving. As policy entrepreneurs, we believe the most effective solutions are consistent with those ideas and values.

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE • Washington, D.C. 20002 • (202) 546-4400 • heritage.org