Marriage Reduces Child Poverty in Delaware by 84

Marriage:
Delaware’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 • January 2012

Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society

Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in Delaware, 1929–2010
Throughout most of Delaware’s PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
history, out-of-wedlock childbear-
ing was rare. 50%
47.6%
When the federal government’s
War on Poverty began in 1964,
only 10.4 percent of children in 40%
Delaware were born out of wed-
lock. However, over the next four
decades, the number rose rapidly.
By 2010, 47.6 percent of births in 30%
Delaware occurred outside of
marriage.

20%

Note: Initiated by President Lyndon
Johnson in 1964, the War on Poverty
led to the creation of more than three 10%
dozen welfare programs to aid poor
persons. Government has spent $16.7
trillion on means-tested aid to the poor
since 1964.
0%
Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census
Bureau, and National Center for Health 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Statistics.

Chart 1 • Marriage and Poverty in Delaware heritage.org

Death of Marriage in Delaware, 1929–2010
The marital birth rate — the PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN TO MARRIED COUPLES
percentage of all births that occur
to married parents — is the ﬂip 100%
side of the out-of-wedlock birth
rate. 90%
Through most of the 20th cen-
tury, marital births were the norm 80%
in Delaware. In 1964, nearly 90
percent of births occurred to
70%
married couples.
However, in the mid-1960s, the
marital birth rate began to fall 60%
steadily. By 2010, only 52.5 per- 52.4%
cent of births in Delaware 50%
occurred to married couples.
40%

Note: In any given year, the sum of the
out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1) 30%
and the marital birth rate (Chart 2)
equals 100 percent of all births.
20%
Statistics.


In Delaware, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty
by 84 Percent
The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
childbearing is a major cause of 30%
high levels of child poverty in 28.1%
Delaware.
Some 28.1 percent of single 25%
mothers with children are poor
compared to 4.5 percent of mar-
ried couples with children. 20%
Single-parent families with
children are over six times more
15%
likely to be poor than families in
which the parents are married.
The higher poverty rate among 10%
single-mother families is due both
to the lower education levels of
the mothers and the lower income 5%
4.5%
due to the absence of the father.

0%
Single-Parent, Married,Two-Parent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Female-Headed Families
Community Survey, 2007–2009 data. Families


In Delaware, Four in Ten Families with Children Are Not Married

Overall, married couples head
about 63 percent of families with
children in Delaware. Almost four
in ten are single-parent families.

Unmarried
Families
37.5%
Married
Families
62.5%

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


In Delaware, 75 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married

Among poor families with
children in Delaware,
three-quarters not married. By
contrast, about one-quarter of
poor families with children are
headed by married couples. Married
Families
23.1%

Unmarried
Families
76.9%



In Delaware, Few Unwed Births Occur to Teenagers
Out-of-wedlock births are often PERCENTAGE OF OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
confused erroneously with teen BY AGE OF MOTHER
births, but only 6.7 percent of
out-of-wedlock births in Delaware Under
occur to girls under age 18. Age 18:
By contrast, some 76 percent of 6.7%
out-of-wedlock births occur to Age
young adult women between the 30–54:
ages of 18 and 29. 16.9% Age
18–19:
13.8%

Age
25–29:
24.7% Age
20–24:
37.9%

Note: Figures have been rounded.

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


Less-Educated Women Are More Likely to Give Birth
Outside of Marriage
Unwed childbearing occurs PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS THAT ARE MARITAL
most frequently among the OR OUT OF WEDLOCK
women who will have the greatest 100%
9.9% Unmarried
difﬁculty supporting children by
90%
Mothers
themselves: those with low levels
of education.
80% 44.5%
In Delaware, among women
who are high school dropouts, 70%
66.3%
about 76.7 percent of all births 60% 76.7%
occur outside marriage. Among 90.1% Married
women who have only a high 50% Mothers
school diploma, two-thirds of all
births occur outside marriage. By 40%
55.5%
contrast, among women with at 30%
least a college degree, only 9.9
percent of births are out of wed- 20% 33.7%
lock. 23.3%
10%

0%
High School High School Some College Mother’s
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Dropout Graduate College Graduate education
Human Services, Centers for Disease (0–11 (12 (13–15 (16+ level
data. Years) Years) Years) Years)


Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective
in Reducing Child Poverty in Delaware
The poverty rate of married PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES Poverty Rate of Families by
couples with children is dramati- WITH CHILDREN THAT Single
Education and Marital Status
cally lower than the rate for house- ARE POOR Married
of the Head of Household
holds headed by single parents.
70%
This is true even when the married
couple is compared to single par- 61.9%
60%
ents with the same education level.
For example, in Delaware, the 50%
poverty rate for a single mother
who has only a high school 40%
diploma is 33 percent, but the 33.0%
poverty rate for a married couple 30%
family headed by an individual
who, similarly, has only a high 20% 19.4%
16.6%
school degree is far lower at 4.2 13.3%
percent. 10%
On average, marriage drops the 4.2% 2.2% 1.8%
poverty rate by about 82 percent 0%
among families with the same High School High School Some College
education level. Dropout Graduate College Graduate

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Note: Virtually none of the heads of families in the chart who are high school
Community Survey, 2005–2009 data. dropouts are minor teenagers.


Unwed Birth Rates Vary Strongly by Race in Delaware
Out-of-wedlock childbearing PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
varies considerably by race.
80%
In 2008, 48 percent of births in
Delaware occurred outside mar- 8.3% 72.7%
riage. The rate was lowest among 70%
64.7%
non-Hispanic whites. Among that
group, around one in three births 60%
were non-marital.
Among Hispanics, nearly two- 50% 48.0%
thirds of births were out of wed-
lock. Among blacks, about three
40%
in every four children were to 34.3%
unmarried women (72.7 percent).
30%

20%

10%

0%
Source: U.S. Department of Health and All Races White Hispanic Black
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS Non- Non-
data. Hispanic Hispanic


Growth of Unwed Childbearing by Race in Delaware, 1934–2008
Historically, out-of-wedlock PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
childbearing has been somewhat
more frequent among blacks than 80% Black Non-
among whites. However, prior to Hispanic
the onset of the federal 72.7%
70%
government’s War on Poverty in Hispanic
1964, the rates for both whites and 64.7%
60%
blacks were comparatively low.
In 1964, about one in thirty (3.5
50%
percent) white children were born
outside marriage. By 2008, the
number had risen to more than 40% White Non-
one in three (34.3 percent). Hispanic
In 1964, about four in ten black 30% 34.3%
children (37.2 percent) were born
outside marriage. By 2008, the
20%
number had risen to nearly three
in four (72.7 percent).
10%

0%
Statistics.


Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in Delaware

In Delaware in 2008, some 53.4 ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
percent of all births occurred to
non-Hispanic whites, 26.7 percent
occurred to non-Hispanic blacks,
and 15.2 percent occurred to
Hispanics.
53.4% White Non- 38.1%
Because blacks and Hispanics
Hispanic
are more likely to have children
without being married, they
account for a disproportionately
larger share of all out-of-wedlock
births.
In Delaware in 2008, 40.4 per- 40.4%
cent of all non-marital births were
to non-Hispanic blacks, 38.1 Black Non-
26.7%
percent were to white non- Hispanic
Hispanic women, and 20.5 percent
were to Hispanics.
15.2% Hispanic
20.5%
Source: U.S. Department of Health and 4.7% Asian/Other 1.0%
data. Note: Figures have been rounded.


Non-Married White Families Are Ten Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Delaware
Marriage leads to lower poverty PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
rates for whites, blacks, and His-
panics.
18%
For example, in 2009, the pov- 16.5%
erty rate for married white families 16%
in Delaware was 1.7 percent. But
the poverty rate for non-married 14%
white families was more than ten
times higher at 16.5 percent. 12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%
1.7%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


Non-Married Black Families Are Six Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Delaware
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
married black couples in Delaware
was 4.2 percent, while the poverty
30%
rate for non-married black families
was six times higher at 25.5 per-
25.5%
cent. 25%

20%

15%

10%

5% 4.2%

0%


Non-Married Hispanic Families Are More Than Twice as Likely
to Be Poor in Delaware
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
Hispanic married families in Dela-
ware was 15.8 percent, while the
45%
poverty rate among non-married
families was more than two times
40% 38.4%
higher at 38.4 percent.
35%

30%

25%

20%
15.8%
15%

10%

5%

0%


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.

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.

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.

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.

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Marriage Reduces Child Poverty in Delaware by 84

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Marriage Reduces Child Poverty in Delaware by 84