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Marriage:Vermont’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
Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in Vermont, 1929–2010
PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
heritage.orgChart 1 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
39.2%40.8%
National
Vermont
In 2010, a record 39.2 percent of children in Vermont were born outside marriage. Throughout most of Vermont’s history, non-marital childbearing was rare. For example, in 1950 only two percent of children in the state were born to unmarried women. In the late 1970s the rate was still below ten percent. However, over the last three decades unwed childbearing in Vermont has increased dramatically.
Note: Data on non-marital births in Vermont are unavailable between 1951 and 1977. However, all states that have data for this period show rates which parallel the national trend displayed in the chart. In these states, the non-marital birth rates remained low until the onset of the federal War on Poverty in the mid-1960s, and then began to rise steadily. The Vermont unwed birth rate between 1934 and 1979 very likely parallels the overall national trend.
Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics.
In Vermont, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty by 89 Percent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.
heritage.orgChart 2 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Single-Parent, Female-Headed
Families
Married, Two-Parent Families
32.7%
3.5%
The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing is a major cause of high levels of child pov-erty in Vermont.
Some 32.7 percent of single mothers with children are poor compared to 3.5 percent of mar-ried couples with children.
Single-parent families with children are nine 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.
In Vermont, One-Third of All Families with Children Are Not Married
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.
heritage.orgChart 3 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
66.8%
33.2%
Unmarried Families
Married Families
Overall, married couples head about two-thirds of families with children in Vermont. One-third are single-parent families.
In Vermont, 80 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.
heritage.orgChart 4 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
19.9%
80.1%
Unmarried Families
Married Families
Among poor families with children in Vermont, four in five are not married. By contrast, only one-fifth of poor families with children are headed by married couples.
In Vermont, 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 5 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
PERCENTAGE OF OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS BY AGE OF MOTHER
Age18–19:13.7%
Age20–24:40.5%
Age25–29:24.4%
Age30–54:17.6%
UnderAge 18:3.8%
Out-of-wedlock births are often confused erroneously with teen births, but only 3.8 percent of out-of-wedlock births in Vermont occur to girls under age 18.
By contrast, some 79 percent of out-of-wedlock births occur to young adult women between the ages of 18 and 29.
Less-Educated Women Are More Likely to Give Birth Outside of Marriage
heritage.orgChart 6 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
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)
75.6%
59.4%
40.0%
9.6%
24.4%
40.6%
60.0%
90.4%
Mother’s education level
Unmarried Mothers
Married Mothers
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.
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 Vermont, among women who are high school dropouts, about 75.6 percent of all births occur outside marriage. Among women who have only a high school diploma, nearly six in ten births occur outside marriage. By con-trast, among women with at least a college degree, only 9.6 percent of births are out of wedlock.
Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing Child Poverty in Vermont
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2005–2009 data.
heritage.orgChart 7 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
High School Dropout
High School Graduate
SomeCollege
College Graduate
49.3%
22.6%
31.8%
7.2%
29.3%
3.1%
13.2%
1.1%
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 Vermont, the poverty rate for a single mother who has only a high school diploma is 31.8 percent, but the poverty rate for a married couple family headed by an individual who, similarly, has only a high school degree is far lower at 7.2 percent.
On average, marriage drops the poverty rate by around 78 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
Unwed Birth Rates Vary Strongly by Race in Vermont
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.
heritage.orgChart 8 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
All Races White Non-
Hispanic
HispanicBlackNon-
Hispanic
38.8% 39.1% 40.2%
56.0%
8.3%
In 2008 (the most recent year for which racial breakdown is available), nearly four in ten births (38.8 percent) overall in Vermont occurred outside marriage.
Among white non-Hispanics, about four in ten births (39.1 percent) occurred outside mar-riage. This was the third-highest non-marital birth rate among white non-Hispanic women in the nation.
Among blacks, 40.2 percent of births were to unmarried women. Among Hispanics, 56 percent of births were out of wedlock.
Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in VermontALL 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 9 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
Note: Figures have been rounded.
95.1% White Non-Hispanic
Asian/OtherBlack Non-Hispanic
Hispanic
2.1%1.6%1.2%
0.8%1.6%1.7%
95.9%
In Vermont in 2008, some 95.1 percent of all births occurred to non-Hispanic whites, 1.6 percent occurred to non-Hispanic blacks, and 1.2 percent occurred to His-panics.
The racial composition of unwed births was nearly identical. In 2008, 95.9 percent of all non-marital births in Vermont were to non-Hispanic whites, 1.7 percent were to Hispanic women, and 1.6 percent were to black non-Hispanic women.
Non-Married White Families Are Nine Times More Likely to Be Poor in Vermont
heritage.orgChart 10 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Married Families Non-Married Families
2.7%
24.2%
Marriage leads to lower poverty rates for whites and Hispanics.*
For example, in 2009, the pov-erty rate for married white families in Vermont was 2.7 percent. But the poverty rate for non-married white families was nearly nine times higher at 24.2 percent.
* The black population in Vermont is too small to provide reliable estimates of poverty by family structure.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.
Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Roughly 13 Times More Likely to Be Poor in Vermont
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.
heritage.orgChart 11 • Marriage and Poverty in Vermont
PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Married Families Non-Married Families
3.3%
42.3%
In 2009, the poverty rate for Hispanic married families in Ver-mont was 3.3 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married families was nearly 13 times higher at 42.3 percent.
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.
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.
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