Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Jennifer Ehrle Macomber on Families/Parenting

This series examines youth vulnerability and risk-taking behaviors on several outcomes for young adults, using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort. Notable results suggest youth follow one of four patterns in connecting to the labor market and school in the transition to adulthood: consistently-connected, later-connected, initially-connected, or never-connected. Second generation Latinos make a fairly smooth transition to young adulthood, but are less likely to engage in post-secondary schooling than whites. Youth from low-income families, distressed neighborhoods, and youth with poor mental health engage in relatively higher levels of adolescent risk behaviors and have relatively lower earnings and levels of connectedness in early adulthood.

The Census Bureau released its annual report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage for the U.S. population on August 26, 2008. According to the report, median household income increased by 1.3 percent in 2007, while the overall poverty rate dipped slightly and the number and percentage of people without health insurance decreased. While the overall numbers were positive, not everyone shared in the economic gains. The number and percentage of children in poverty increased, and households in the lowest 40 percent of the income distribution had no significant income gains.

Parents in low-wage jobs lack both the time and resources needed to fill their dual roles of worker and parent. In this essay, the authors outline a "family security" approach that would help parents fulfill their roles effectively. They suggest policies for enabling parents to improve prospects for their children and combine work with child rearing. Among the recommendations are flexible and paid leave policies for working parents, guaranteed child care, and expansion of the Early Head program.

Parents in low-wage jobs lack both the time and resources needed to fill their dual roles of worker and parent. In this summary, the authors outline a “family security” approach that would help parents fulfill their roles effectively. They suggest policies for enabling parents to improve prospects for their children and combine work with child rearing. Among the recommendations are flexible and paid leave policies for working parents, guaranteed child care, and expansion of the Early Head program.

Kids' Share 2008, a second annual report, looks comprehensively at trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children. Key findings suggest that historically children have not been a budget priority. In 2007, this trend continued, as children's spending did not keep pace with GDP growth. Absent a policy change, children's spending will continue to be squeezed in the next decade.

Key Facts: Kids' Share 2008 summarizes findings from the Kids' Share 2008 report, which looks comprehensively at trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children. Key findings suggest that historically children have not been a budget priority. In 2007, this trend continued, as children's spending did not keep pace with GDP growth. Absent a policy change, children's spending will continue to be squeezed in the next decade.

Discussion and debate about adoption and foster care by gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) parents occurs frequently among policymakers, social service agencies, and social workers. Three states currently restrict GLB people from adopting and more are considering similar policies. This report provides new information on GLB adoption and foster care from several government data sources. It offers a demographic portrait of the estimated 65,500 adopted children and 14,100 foster children living with gay and lesbian parents. It also assesses the costs to child welfare systems of proposed bans on allowing GLB people to foster.

This study, conducted in an urban and rural county in two states, Oklahoma and Kentucky, sought to provide a detailed description of how families do or do not connect to services in alternative response system in the two study states. Using data collected from interviews and focus groups with child welfare agency staff, community service providers, and families, the study identified six factors that affect how families connect to needed services, including service network infrastructure, relationships between providers, and service availability, and offered implications as to how these findings could be applied to policy and practice.

Jennifer Macomber, a research associate with the Urban Institute’s Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population, talks about vulnerable families and what's being done to protect the children.

This paper presents trends over time in the number of children in particularly vulnerable families, including families facing risks such as domestic violence, child maltreatment, substance abuse, depression, and childhood disabilities. These families are of particular importance to policymakers given the considerable risk to children's safety and development, the challenges to parents' ability to support a family as well as raise children when they are facing these major stressors, and the potential requirement for strong public or community roles to meet children's needs when parents cannot.