Content by Keyword: Poverty and Measurement

The Food Stamp Program (FSP), administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, is the largest food assistance program in the country, reaching more poor individuals over the course of a year than any other public assistance program. Unlike many other public assistance programs, FSP has few categorical requi

Completed schooling is one measure of job-skill level. Individuals with no more than a high school education have the lowest amount of human capital and are at the greatest risk of becoming poor despite their work effort. This risk factor tracks the trend in educational attainment. Figure WORK 8. Percent of Adults Age 25 and over by Level of

Proportion of total family income spent on child care in families with employed mothers is an important dimension of the risk of dependency. Figure WORK 7. Percent of Monthly Income Spent on Child Care for Preschoolers by Families with Employed Mothers, 1993

Table WORK 6. Selected Chronic Health Conditions per 1,000 Children Age 0 to 17, 1984 - 1994

Adult alcohol and substance abuse is a risk factor for dependence . Figure WORK 5. Percent of Adults who used Cocaine Marijuana or Alchohol, 1996

Health conditions that limit parents' ability to work are important predictors of family economic problems and future dependence. Figure WORK 4. Percent Reporting a Fuctional Disability, 1994

The economic condition of the low-skill labor market is key to the ability of young adult men and women to support families without receiving means-tested assistance. This measure tracks trends in the earnings of low-skilled workers. Figure WORK 3. Mean Weekly Wages of Men Working Full-Time, Full-Year with no more than a High School Educatio

This risk factor tracks trends in the percentage of men and women with 12 years of schooling or less who are engaged in paid employment. These trends illustrate a key risk of dependence. Figure WORK 2. Percent of All Men and Women Age 18 to 65 with no more than a High School Education who are Employed

This risk factor focuses exclusively on the participation of an adult in the labor market, without regard to whether means-tested assistance was received concurrently. Measuring labor force attachment reflects a critical aspect of the risk of dependence. Figure WORK 1. Percent of All Individual in Families with One or More Workers, 1993

This risk factor tracks trends in the extent to which adults are living apart from their children because they are incarcerated. An incarcerated parent leaves his/her family at increased risk of dependence. Figure ECON 13. Estimated Number of Sentenced Male Prisoners Under State or Federal Jurisdiction per 100,000 Resident Population

Frequent changes of residence are disruptive events for children and may increase the risk of dependence. Figure ECON 12. Percent of Individuals and Families who Moved in a Given One-Year Period  

High poverty neighborhoods are often associated with relatively lower quality services (e.g., education, medical) that can have a negative effect on development and increase the risk of dependence. Figure ECON 11. Percent of Children Residing in High-Povetry Neighborhoods, 1990

A lack of health insurance may be the precursor to future health problems and as such a risk-factor of dependence. Figure ECON 10. Percent of Persons Without Health Insurance by Age, 1996  

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was established by the Social Security Act of 1935 as a grant program to enable states to provide cash welfare payments for needy children who had been deprived of parental support or care because their father or mother was absent from the home, incapacitated, deceased, or unemployed. All 50 states, t

The Welfare Indicators Act of 1994 specifies that the annual welfare indicators reports shall include analyses of families and individuals receiving assistance under three means-tested benefit programs: the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program authorized under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (replaced with the Tempo

Figure BIRTH 4. Percentage of All Children Living in Families with a Never-Married Female Head, by Race/Ethnicity: 1982-2003

Figure BIRTH 3a. Births per 1,000 Unmarried Teens Ages 15 to 17, by Race: 1960-2002   Figure BIRTH 3b. Births per 1,000 Unmarried Teens Ages 18 and 19, by Race: 1960-2002

Figure BIRTH 2. Percentage of All Births to Unmarried Teens Ages 15 to 19, by Race and Ethnicity 1940-2002

Figure BIRTH 1. Percentage of Births to Unmarried Women, by Age Group: 1940-2002