The Children of America - Living Arrangements Of Children

Family structure has been associated with the economic, parental, and community resources available to children, as well as their overall well-being. On average, living with two married parents has been associated with more favorable outcomes for children. Not surprisingly, the increasing number of divorces, marital separations, and out-of-wedlock births significantly reshaped the living arrangements of American children. In 2003 children under eighteen were considerably more likely to live with only one parent than children of just one or two prior generations.

A 2003 report from the U.S. Census Bureau provided a statistical snapshot of American households with children under the age of eighteen. In 2002 69% of children lived with two parents, 23% lived with only their mother, and 5% lived with only their father. Another 4% lived with neither parent. When children lived in households without either parent, 44% lived with a grandparent. (See Table 3.2.)

Many children lived with a parent who was cohabiting with an unmarried partner. While 23% of children lived with a single mother compared to 5% who lived with a single father, children in a single-father household were three times more likely to share the home with the parent's cohabiting partner. (See Figure 3.1.) Almost half of African-American children (48%) lived with a single mother, compared with 25% of Hispanic children and 16% of non-Hispanic white children. Of children who lived with a cohabiting parent, non-Hispanic white children more frequently experienced a cohabiting mother while Hispanic children more often experienced a cohabiting father. (See Figure 3.1.)

TABLE 3.1

Characteristics of children under 18 years by relationship to householder, 2000
Characteristic	Total	Son or daughter	Grandchild	Householder/spouse1	Other relatives2	Foster child	Other nonrelatives2
Total, under 18 years	71,843,425	64,651,959	4,388,908	64,314	1,464,848	291,507	981,889
Percent	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Race and Hispanic or Latino origin
White alone	68.8	70.9	48.6	62.2	39.1	47.8	66.5
Black or African American alone	14.8	13.3	32.3	14.8	28.8	35.3	13.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1.1	1.0	2.1	1.5	1.9	3.1	1.5
Asian alone	3.4	3.4	2.4	2.6	4.8	1.1	2.4
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.2
Some other race alone	7.7	7.2	8.9	14.5	19.9	7.4	11.6
Two or more races	4.1	4.0	5.4	4.3	5.0	5.1	4.8
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	17.0	16.1	21.1	28.4	38.4	17.2	24.2
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino	61.1	63.6	39.0	50.6	23.8	40.8	56.1
Nativity
Native	95.6	95.9	97.2	80.4	79.3	97.3	89.3
Foreign born	4.4	4.1	2.8	19.6	20.7	2.7	10.7
Living arrangement4
Living in married couple family group	68.0	74.7	10.8	(X)	5.5	(X)	(X)
Living in mother only family group	20.9	20.0	39.9	(X)	21.6	(X)	(X)
Living in father only family group	5.8	5.4	13.8	(X)	6.0	(X)	(X)
Living with neither parent	5.4	(X)	35.5	100.0	67.0	100.0	100.0
Child in unmarried partner household5	5.7	5.3	2.7	(X)	6.1	9.4	46.0
Educational attainment of the householder
Less than high school	19.9	17.8	40.3	68.8	40.6	24.0	28.5
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	27.0	26.8	29.2	21.4	27.4	28.6	32.9
Some college	29.2	29.9	22.0	8.7	22.9	32.4	27.0
Bachelor's degree or more	23.9	25.5	8.5	1.1	9.1	15.0	11.6
Employment status of the householder
In labor force	83.8	86.1	55.6	62.0	70.4	70.9	81.8
Employed6	95.8	96.0	94.8	86.1	92.4	95.8	94.3
Unemployed6	4.2	4.2	5.2	13.9	7.6	4.2	5.7
Not in labor force	16.2	13.9	44.4	38.0	29.6	29.1	18.2
Poverty status in 19997
In poverty	16.0	15.5	20.6	51.1	24.7	(X)	(X)
Not in poverty	84.0	84.5	79.4	48.9	75.3	(X)	(X)
Tenure of householder
Owns home	66.8	67.1	70.2	26.4	51.8	71.7	52.5
Rents home	33.3	32.9	29.8	73.6	48.2	28.3	47.5
Total, 3 to 17 years	60,518,194	54,932,195	3,201,260	64,314	1,217,977	243,341	859,107
Percent 100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
School enrollment
Enrolled in school8	90.8	91.4	86.4	53.4	83.4	90.8	82.6
Nursery school, preschool, or kindergarten	15.0	15.0	19.3	(X)	11.2	15.4	11.5
Public school9	68.0	66.8	77.4	(X)	83.7	84.9	80.2
Elementary (grades 1–8)	55.1	55.6	52.8	1.8	47.0	55.9	47.3
Public school9	89.1	88.7	92.9	94.8	95.0	96.3	95.4
High school (grades 9–12)	20.6	20.8	14.2	47.7	24.9	19.4	23.4
Public school9	90.9	90.6	93.7	92.2	95.1	95.9	94.8
Not enrolled in school	9.2	8.6	13.6	46.6	16.6	9.2	17.4

Some children lived in households maintained by people other than their parents. Foster children fit this grouping because they were not related to the householder. Figure 3.2 shows that some areas of the country, particularly the South, had higher incidents of children who were not a son or daughter of the householder in 2000. Marital difficulties, economic issues, or parents absent due to illness, military service, or prison sentences may have placed children in the homes of relatives. Some cultural traditions favored living in an extended family arrangement. Coastal areas, such as California, Florida, and Hawaii, with large numbers of immigrants have been characterized by above-average proportions of children who were not sons or daughters of the householder. Often relatives or friends already living in the United States provided housing to immigrant families until they could establish themselves.

Not all children were part of a household in Census 2000. The Census Bureau reported that, of the 71,843,425 under age eighteen, more than three hundred thousand lived in group quarters. This included correctional institutions, hospitals, residential treatment facilities, group homes, and schools for the disabled. Also counted in this category were children who, along with one or both parents, were part of the growing homeless population.

Children of Foreign-Born Householders

Census Bureau data revealed that in 2002 there were fourteen million children, or 20% of all children, living in a household

TABLE 3.1

X Not applicable.
1Refers to householders and spouses who are aged 15 to 17 years.
2Other relatives include brother/sister, nephew/niece, cousin, brother/sister-in-law, son/daughter-in-law, and the category "other relative." An example in the latter category would be great-grandchild.
3Other nonrelatives include roomer/boarder, housemate/roommate, unmarried partners, and the category "other nonrelative." An example in the latter category would be a child of an unmarried partner or roommate, but not a related child of the householder.
4Determined by relationship to householder or to reference person in a related subfamily. Universe excludes children aged 15 to 17 who are householders, reference persons of subfamilies, and their spouses.
5Excludes children aged 15 to 17 who are the householder or unmarried partner in an unmarried-partner household.
6Percent based on householders who were in the labor force.
7Poverty universe excludes children unrelated to the householder (foster children and other nonrelatives).
8Enrolled in school includes children enrolled in college, not shown separately.
9Percent based on those enrolled in grade category.
10Includes children aged 5 to 17 with any combination of two or more disabilities.
SOURCE: Terry Lugaila and Julia Overturf, "Table 3. Characteristics of Children under 18 Years by Relationship to Householder, 2000," in Children and the Households They Live In, 2000, Current Population Reports, CENSR-14, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, February 2004, http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/censr-14.pdf (accessed July 19, 2004)
Total, 5 to 17 years	52,826,320	48,097,684	2,602,671	64,314	1,078,672	213,519	769,460
Percent	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Residence in 1995
Same house in 1995	52.9	53.8	55.8	23.6	34.2	25.6	20.9
Different house in 1995	47.1	46.2	44.2	76.4	65.8	74.4	79.1
Language spoken at home
English only	81.6	81.9	84.2	67.8	60.5	88.9	79.2
Language other than English	18.4	18.1	15.8	32.2	39.5	11.1	20.8
Disability status
Severe hearing or vision impairment	1.0	1.0	1.3	2.2	1.3	2.7	1.4
Condition limiting basic activities	1.0	1.0	1.5	3.8	1.4	3.2	1.5
Difficulty learning, remembering or concentrating	4.5	4.3	5.9	4.6	5.4	20.6	5.9
Difficulty dressing, bathing or getting around inside the house	0.9	0.8	1.3	1.7	1.3	4.6	1.1
With any disability	5.7	5.5	7.6	8.8	7.1	22.4	7.6
With multiple disabilities10	1.2	1.1	1.7	2.4	1.5	5.5	1.5

with at least one foreign-born parent present. While children with foreign-born parents might need additional resources at school and at home in order to progress successfully in school, they were more likely to have the advantage of living in a two-parent family. Eighty-one percent of children living with foreign-born parents were living with two parents, compared to 69% of children living with native parents.

Stepchildren

Many divorced parents eventually remarried, and their children became part of stepfamilies, or blended families. The most common stepfamily consisted of children living with a biological mother and a stepfather, with no other children present. The frequency of this arrangement was attributable to the large number of divorced women who gained custody of their children. Another type of stepfamily consisted of at least one stepchild and one biological child of the couple. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 15% of all children lived in stepfamilies and were included in the Census 2000 count of children in two-parent families.

Children and Grandparents

Grandparents have long played a significant role in the lives of many children. Grandparents provide an important resource to struggling parents by assisting with child care and often contributing to the family income. In 2002 5.6 million children were living in households with a grandparent present. The majority of these children (3.7 million) resided in the grandparent's home. In 65% of these cases, at least one parent was also present in the household. One-third of children with a coresident grandparent lived with one or both parents as the householder. (See Table 3.3.)

In Coresident Grandparents and Their Grandchildren: Grandparent-Maintained Families, Lynne M. Casper and Kenneth R. Bryson of the Census Bureau reported on the rising trend of grandparents raising grandchildren. They noted that in 1970 3.2% of children under age eighteen lived in family households maintained by a grandparent. By 2002, 5.1% of children lived in grandparent-headed households. Grandparents had responsibility for more than one million children without a parent present in the home. Other Census data showed that children living in grandparent-maintained homes without a parent present were more likely to live in poverty and receive public assistance. Thirty-six percent of these children lacked health insurance. (See Figure 3.3.) According to Casper and Bryson, some researchers

TABLE 3.2

Children by age and family structure, March 20021
(In thousands)
	Total under 18 years
Characteristic	Number	90-percent confidence interval	Under 1 year	1–2 years	3–5 years	6–8 years	9–11 years	12–14 years	15–17 years	Total under 6 years	Total under 6–11 years
— Represents zero or rounds to zero.
X Not applicable.
1All people under age 18, excluding those living in group quarters, householders, subfamily reference people, and their spouses.
2If the parent is either the householder with an unmarried partner in the household or the unmarried partner of the householder, they are cohabiting based on this direct measure. Cohabiting couples where neither partner is the householder are not identified.
3POSSLQ (Persons of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters) is defined by the presence of only two people over age 15 in the household who are opposite sex, not related, and not married. There can be any number of people under age 15 in the household. The universe of children under age 15 is shown as the denominator for POSSLQ measurement.
Note: Data based on the Annual Demographic Supplement to the March 2002 Current Population Survey.
SOURCE: Jason Fields, "Table 1. Children by Age and Family Structure, March 2002," in Children's Living Arrangements and Characteristics, March 2002, Current Population Reports, P20-547, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, June 2003, http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-547.pdf (accessed July 19, 2004)
All children	72,321	689	3,917	7,917	11,528	11,954	12,669	12,492	11,842	23,363	24,623
Two parents	49,666	600	2,778	5,552	8,028	8,307	8,615	8,521	7,864	16,358	16,922
Child of householder	48,843	596	2,710	5,410	7,890	8,191	8,490	8,388	7,766	16,009	16,680
Grandchild of householder	476	64	56	107	89	71	60	64	30	251	131
Other relative of householder	315	52	12	32	46	42	61	59	63	91	102
Nonrelative of householder	32	17	—	4	3	4	4	11	6	7	8
Householder has an unmarried partner—parent is not the householder or partner2	13	11	—	1	—	—	5	6	—	2	5
Mother only	16,473	368	832	1,723	2,584	2,724	3,032	2,865	2,714	5,139	5,755
Child of householder	13,747	338	568	1,274	2,071	2,286	2,641	2,474	2,434	3,913	4,927
Grandchild of householder	1,657	120	215	355	366	246	191	180	104	936	438
Other relative of householder	524	68	36	61	59	72	74	120	103	155	146
Nonrelative of householder	545	69	13	34	88	120	125	92	73	135	245
Mother is householder in an unmarried partner household2	1,430	111	121	234	254	242	258	165	155	608	500
Mother is partner in an unmarried partner household2	369	57	4	10	52	93	89	67	55	65	182
Children under 15 years	13,759	338	832	1,723	2,584	2,724	3,032	2,865	(X)	5,139	5,756
In a POSSLQ household3	1,562	116	129	256	337	350	313	177	(X)	722	663
Father only	3,297	169	233	402	506	464	544	551	598	1,141	1,007
Child of householder	2,851	157	193	340	449	371	479	482	537	982	850
Grandchild of householder	275	49	33	42	47	50	38	44	22	121	87
Other relative of householder	92	28	5	12	6	15	15	15	24	23	30
Nonrelative of householder	78	26	2	8	5	28	12	9	15	14	40
Father is householder in an unmarried partner household2	1,022	94	139	212	222	119	131	110	88	574	250
Father is partner in an unmarried partner household2	59	23	1	2	2	26	11	6	10	6	36
Children under 15 years	2,699	153	233	402	506	464	544	551	(X)	1,141	1,008
In a POSSLQ household3	904	89	144	213	214	137	115	80	(X)	572	252
Neither parent	2,885	158	75	240	410	460	479	555	667	725	939
Grandchild of householder	1,273	105	26	113	196	224	238	243	233	335	462
Other relative of householder	802	84	24	67	101	97	127	160	226	192	224
Foster child	235	45	5	18	38	47	34	49	43	62	81
Nonrelative of householder	575	71	20	41	76	91	80	104	164	137	171
Householder has an unmarried partner2	216	43	9	13	32	36	40	43	43	54	76
Children under 15 years	2,218	139	75	240	410	460	479	555	(X)	725	939
In a POSSLQ household3	186	40	6	19	38	41	43	40	(X)	62	83

attributed the growing trend in coresident grandparent/grandchildren families to the continuing incidence of divorce, the rise in single-parent households, parental substance abuse, teen pregnancy, AIDS, child abuse and neglect, and other similar factors.