Brief Age, Race, and Children's Living Arrangements
Subtitle
Implications for TANF Reauthorization
Ronald B. Mincy, Helen Oliver
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Nearly half of young, poor children and two-thirds of poor infants are likely to see their fathers frequently even if their parents are not married according to data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. The report identifies six living arrangements based on the marital status of the child's parents, whether they live together, and whether the father visits the child regularly. Black children are much less likely than white or Hispanic children to live with both of their parents. Instead, fragile-visiting families (the child's parents have never been married to each other, the child lives with the mother, and the father visits regularly) are a uniquely important arrangement by which poor black children have frequent contact with their fathers. [View the press release]
Research Areas Families Social safety net Race and equity
Tags Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Family structure Father involvement Race, gender, class, and ethnicity Men and boys Racial barriers to accessing the safety net