marriage & poverty: georgia

Marriage:Georgia’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 • January 2012

Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society

Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in Georgia, 1929–2010

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK

heritage.orgChart 1 • Marriage and Poverty in Georgia

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Georgia

National

45.8%

40.8%

Throughout most of Georgia’s history, out-of-wedlock childbear-ing was rare.

In the late 1950s, before the federal government began the War on Poverty, only 10 percent of children in Georgia were born outside marriage. However, over the next five decades, the number rose rapidly. By 2010, 45.8 percent of births in Georgia occurred outside of marriage.

Note: Data on non-marital births in Georgia are unavailable between 1959 and 1979. However, all states that do have data for this period show a rapid growth in non-marital childbearing from the mid-1960s on. The Georgia trend during this period undoubtedly parallels the national trend shown in the chart.

Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics.

In Georgia, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty by 82 Percent

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


PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Single-Parent, Female-Headed

Families

Married, Two-Parent Families

37.8%

7.0%

The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing is a major cause of high levels of child poverty in Georgia.

Some 37.8 percent of single mothers with children were poor compared to 7 percent of married couples with children.

Single-parent families with children are more than five times more likely to be poor than fami-lies in which the parents are mar-ried.

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.

More than One-Third of All Families with Children in Georgia Are Not Married

Overall, married couples head less than two-thirds of families with children in Georgia. Well over one-third are single-parent families.



63.8%

36.2%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

In Georgia, 74 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married



26.3%

73.7%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

Among poor families with children in Georgia, three-quarters are not married. By contrast, only one-quarter of poor families with children are headed by married couples.

In Georgia, 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.


PERCENTAGE OF OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS BY AGE OF MOTHER

Age18–19:14.6%

Age20–24:37.7%

Age25–29:22.9%

Age30–54:16.6%

UnderAge 18:8.2%

Out-of-wedlock births are often confused erroneously with teen births, but only 8 percent of out-of-wedlock births in Georgia occur to girls under age 18.

By contrast, some 75 percent of out-of-wedlock births occur to young adult women between the ages of 18 and 29.

Less-Educated Women in Georgia Are More Likely to Give Birth Outside of Marriage



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)

69.4%

58.5%

39.8%

10.8%

30.6%

41.5%

60.2%

89.3%

Mother’s education level

Unmarried Mothers

Married Mothers

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 Georgia, among women who are high school dropouts, more than two-thirds of all births occur outside marriage. Among women who have only a high school diploma, 59 percent of all births occur outside marriage. By con-trast, among women with at least a college degree, only 11 percent of births are out of wedlock.

Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing Child Poverty in Georgia



0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

High School Dropout

High School Graduate

SomeCollege

College Graduate

61.8%

23.6%

40.7%

8.7%

30.4%

4.3%

10.7%

1.6%

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 Georgia, the poverty rate for a single mother who has only a high school diploma is 40.7 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 8.7 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 Births Rates Vary Strongly by Race in Georgia



PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

All Races White Non-

Hispanic

Hispanic BlackNon-

Hispanic

45.4%

26.9%

50.9%

70.2%8.3%

Out-of-wedlock childbearing varies considerably by race.

In 2008 (the most recent year for which racial breakdown is available), more than four in ten births (45.4 percent) in Georgia occurred outside marriage. The rate was lowest among non-Hispanic whites at more than one in four births (26.9 percent). Among Hispanics, more than half of births were out-of-wedlock. Among blacks, seven out of 10 births were to unmarried women (70.2 percent).

Growth of Unwed Childbearing by Race in Georgia, 1934–2008

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008

26.9%

70.2%

Historically, out-of-wedlock child-bearing has been somewhat more frequent among blacks than among whites. However, prior to the onset of the federal government’s War on Poverty in the 1960s, the rates for both whites and blacks were comparatively low.

In the late 1950s, 2 percent of white children in Georgia were born outside marriage. By 2008, the number had risen to more than one in four (26.9 percent).

In the late 1950s, one-quarter of black children in Georgia were born outside marriage. By 2008, the number had risen to about seven in every ten (70.2 percent).

Note: Data on non-marital births in Georgia are unavailable between 1959 and 1979. However, all states that do have data for this period show a rapid growth in non-marital childbearing from the mid-1960s on. The Georgia trend during this period undoubtedly parallels the national trend shown in the chart.

Georgia – WhitesNational – Whites

Georgia – BlacksNational – Blacks

Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics.

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

ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS



Note: Figures have been rounded.

43.5% White Non-Hispanic

Asian/Other

Black Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

33.0%

17.6%

5.9%

25.8%

50.9%

19.7%

3.6%

In Georgia in 2008, some 43.5 percent of all births occurred to non-Hispanic whites, 17.6 percent occurred to Hispanics, and 33 percent occurred to non-Hispanic blacks.

Because blacks and Hispanics are more likely to have children without being married, they account for a disproportionately large share of all out-of-wedlock births. Even so, the largest number of unwed births are to black non-Hispanic women.

In Georgia in 2008, 25.8 percent of all non-marital births were to non-Hispanic whites, 19.7 percent were to Hispanics, and 50.9 per-cent were to black non-Hispanic women.

Non-Married White Families Are Six Times More Likely to Be Poor in Georgia



PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Married Families Non-Married Families

3.8%

22.5%

Marriage leads to lower poverty rates for whites, blacks, and His-panics.

For example, in 2009, the pov-erty rate for married white families in Georgia was 3.8 percent. But the poverty rate for non-married white families was about six times higher at 22.5 percent.

Non-Married Black Families Are More than Five Times More Likely to Be Poor in Georgia

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Ameri-can Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.



0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%


6.2%

34.9%

In 2009, the poverty rate for married black couples in Georgia was 6.2 percent, while the poverty rate for non-married black families was more than five times higher at 34.9 percent.

Non-Married Hispanic Families Are More than Twice as Likely to Be Poor in Georgia




0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%


20.4%

45.1%

In 2009, the poverty rate for Hispanic married families in Georgia was 20.4 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married families was more than twice as high at 45.1 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.

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