marriage poverty - hawaii

Marriage:Hawaii’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 Hawaii, 1960–2010

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK

heritage.orgChart 1 • Marriage and Poverty in Hawaii

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

37.8%40.8%

National

Hawaii

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

In 1964, when the federal gov-ernment began the War on Pov-erty, only 6.6 percent of children in Hawaii were born outside mar-riage. However, over the next five decades, the number rose rapidly. By 2010, 37.8 percent of births in Hawaii occurred outside of mar-riage.

Note: Data on non-marital births in Hawaii are unavailable before 1960. However, all states that do have data for this period show rates that closely parallel the national rate shown in the chart. In every state for which date is available the unwed birth rate was low and flat up to the mid-1960s and then began to rise rapidly. The Hawaiian rate before 1960 probably closely matches the national rate shown in the chart.

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

In Hawaii, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty by 83 Percent

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


PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Single-Parent, Female-Headed

Families

Married, Two-Parent Families

25.8%

4.5%

The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing is a major cause of high levels of child pov-erty in Hawaii.

Some 25.8 percent of single mothers with children were poor compared to 4.5 percent of mar-ried couples with children.

Single-parent families with children are nearly six 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 Hawaii, Three in Ten Families with Children Are Not Married



69.3%

30.7%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

Overall, married couples head about seven in ten families with children in Hawaii. Over three in ten are single-parent families.

In Hawaii, 68 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married



31.8%

68.2%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

Among poor families with children in Hawaii, about two-thirds are not married. By contrast, only one-third of poor families with children are headed by married couples.

In Hawaii, Few Unwed Births Occur to Teenagers

Out-of-wedlock births are often confused erroneously with teen births, but only 5.9 percent of out-of-wedlock births in Hawaii occur to girls under age 18.

By contrast, some 73 percent of out-of-wedlock births occur to young adult women between the ages of 18 and 29.

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

Age18–19:13.2%

Age20–24:35.3%

Age25–29:24.5%

Age30–54:21.1%

UnderAge 18:5.9%

Less-Educated Women 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)

65.2%

54.5%

42.0%

8.1%

34.8%

45.5%

58.0%

91.9%

Mother’s education level

Unmarried Mothers

Married Mothers

Unwed childbearing occurs most frequently among the women who will have the greatest difficulty sup-porting children by themselves: those with low levels of education.

In the U.S., among women who are high school dropouts, about 65.2 percent of all births occur outside marriage. Among women who have only a high school diploma, well over half of all births occur outside mar-riage. By contrast, among women with at least a college degree, only 8.1 percent of births are out-of-wedlock.

Note: Specific data on out-of-wedlock births and maternal education are not available in Hawaii. However, the pattern varies little between states. Hawaii data will be very similar to the national data presented in this chart.


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



0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

High School Dropout

High School Graduate

SomeCollege

College Graduate

41.7%

12.5%

34.2%

9.3%

23.1%

3.9%

12.4%

1.4%

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 Hawaii, the poverty rate for a single mother who has only a high school diploma is 34.2 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 9.3 percent.

On average, marriage drops the poverty rate by around 79 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 Hawaii



PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

All Races White Non-

Hispanic

HispanicAsian/Native Hawaiian

BlackNon-

Hispanic

37.9%

25.9%

29.7%

40.3%

49.5%

Out-of-wedlock childbearing varies considerably by race in Hawaii.

In 2008 (the most recent year for which racial breakdown is available), 37.9 percent of births in Hawaii occurred outside marriage. The rate was lowest among whites: in that group about one in four births were non-marital.

Among blacks, three in ten births were out-of-wedlock. Among Asians (including native Hawaiians), four in ten births were to unmarried women. Among Hispanics, about half were to unmarried women.

Non-Married White Families Are Seven Times More Likely to Be Poor in Hawaii

Marriage leads to lower poverty rates for whites, Asians, native Hawaiians, Hispanics and blacks.

For example, in 2009, the pov-erty rate for married white families in Hawaii was 2.8 percent. But the poverty rate for non-married white families was seven times higher at 20.6 percent.



PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Married Families Non-Married Families

2.8%

20.6%

Non-Married Asian Families Are Three Times More Likely to Be Poor in Hawaii




0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%


2.7%

9.2%

In 2009, the poverty rate for Asian married families in Hawaii was 2.7 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married families was three times higher at 9.2 percent.

Non-Married Native Hawaiian Families Are Twice as Likely to Be Poor in Hawaii

In 2009, the poverty rate for Native Hawaiian married families in Hawaii was 10.5 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married families was two times higher at 22.3 percent.




0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%


10.5%

22.3%

Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Five Times More Likely to Be Poor in Hawaii

In 2009, the poverty rate for Hispanic married families in Hawaii was 5 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married families was five times higher at 26 percent.




0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%


5.0%

26.0%

Non-Married Black Families Are 26 Times More Likely to Be Poor in Hawaii

In 2009, the poverty rate for married black couples in Hawaii was 1 percent, while the poverty rate for non-married black families was over 26 times higher at 26.1 percent.




0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%


1.0%

26.1%

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.

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE • Washington, D.C. 20002 • (202) 546-4400 • heritage.org