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Marriage:
Tennessee’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 • 2012

    Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society
Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in Tennessee, 1929–2010
  Throughout most of Tennessee’s           PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
history, out-of-wedlock childbear-
ing was rare.                              50%

  When the federal government’s                                                                            44.1%
War on Poverty began in 1964,
only 10 percent of children in             40%
Tennessee were born out of wed-
lock. However, over the next four
decades, the number rose rapidly.
By 2010, 44.1 percent of births in         30%
Tennessee 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 Tennessee      heritage.org
Death of Marriage in Tennessee, 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 side        100%
of the out-of-wedlock birth rate.
  Through most of the 20th cen-
tury, marital births were the norm
in Tennessee. In 1964, 90 percent
of births occurred to married
couples.                                  80%

  However, in the mid-1960s, the
marital birth rate began to fall
steadily. By 2010, only 55.9 per-
cent of births in Tennessee
occurred to married couples.
                                          60%
                                                                                                          55.9%

Note: In any given year, the sum of the
out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1)
and the marital birth rate (Chart 2)
equals 100 percent of all births.
                                          40%
Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census
Bureau, and National Center for Health       1930   1940   1950   1960   1970   1980   1990    2000   2010
Statistics.

                                                            Chart 2 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee      heritage.org
In Tennessee, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty
by 82 Percent
  The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock     PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
childbearing is a major cause of        50%
high levels of child poverty in
Tennessee.                                           43.5%
   Some 43.5 percent of single
                                        40%
mothers with children are poor
compared to 8.1 percent of mar-
ried couples with children.
   Single-parent families with          30%
children are more than five times
more likely to be poor than fami-
lies in which the parents are mar-      20%
ried.
  The higher poverty rate among
single-mother families is due both                                                    8.1%
                                        10%
to the lower education levels of
the mothers and the lower income
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

                                                      Chart 3 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
Over One-Third of All Families with Children in Tennessee Are
Not Married
   Overall, married couples head
slightly less than two-thirds of
families with children in
Tennessee. Over one-third are
single-parent families.
                                                           Unmarried
                                                            Families
                                                             35.6%
                                       Married
                                       Families
                                        64.4%




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

                                        Chart 4 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
In Tennessee, 73 Percent of Poor Families with Children
Are Not Married
  Among poor families with
children in Tennessee, about
three-quarters are not married. By
contrast, only 27 percent of poor
families with children are headed
by married couples.                                        Married
                                                           Families
                                                             27%



                                       Unmarried
                                        Families
                                          73%




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

                                       Chart 5 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
In Tennessee, 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 8.6 percent of
out-of-wedlock births in Tennes-                                          Under
see occur to girls under age 18.                                          Age 18:
  By contrast, some 78 percent of                                          8.6%
out-of-wedlock births occur to                                Age
young adult women between the                                30–54:
ages of 18 and 29.                                           13.2%
                                                                                      Age
                                                                                     18–19:
                                                                                     16.9%
                                                     Age
                                                    25–29:
                                                    21.3%


                                                                         Age
                                                                        20–24:
                                                                         40%

Note: Figures have been rounded.

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

                                                      Chart 6 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
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%
                                                                                             7.2%        Unmarried
difficulty supporting children by                                                                         Mothers
themselves: those with low levels         90%
of education.                                                                38.6%
                                          80%
   In Tennessee, among women                                   56.1%
who are high school dropouts,             70%                                               92.8%        Married
                                                  70.3%                                                  Mothers
about 70.3 percent of all births          60%
occur outside marriage. Among
women who have only a high                50%
school diploma, over 56 percent of
all births occur outside marriage.        40%
                                                                             61.4%
By contrast, among women with at          30%
least a college degree, only 7.2                               43.9%
percent of births are out of wed-         20%
lock.                                             29.7%
                                          10%

                                           0%
                                                High School High School      Some         College        Mother’s
                                                 Dropout     Graduate       College       Graduate       education
Source: U.S. Department of Health and              (0–11        (12         (13–15          (16+         level
Human Services, Centers for Disease                Years)      Years)        Years)        Years)
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.

                                                           Chart 7 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee    heritage.org
Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing
Child Poverty in Tennessee
  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          ARE POOR                                                                    Married
                                                                               of the Head of Household
households headed by single              80%
parents. This is true even when
the married couple is compared to        70%    66.8%
single parents with the same edu-
cation level.                            60%
  For example, in Tennessee, the
poverty rate for a single mother         50%
                                                                   44.5%
who has only a high school
                                         40%
diploma is 44.5 percent, but the                                                      33.0%
poverty rate for a married couple        30%            28.5%
family headed by an individual
who, similarly, has only a high          20%
school degree is far lower at                                              10.8%
                                         10%                                                             9.5%
10.8 percent.                                                                                 5.3%
  On average, marriage drops the                                                                                 1.5%
                                          0%
poverty rate by about 75 percent                High School        High School           Some             College
among families with the same                     Dropout            Graduate            College           Graduate
education level.
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.

                                                             Chart 8 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee         heritage.org
Unwed Birth Rates Vary Strongly by Race in Tennessee
  Out-of-wedlock childbearing           PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
varies considerably by race.                                                                        78.2%
                                        80%
  In 2008, 44.1 percent of births
in Tennessee occurred outside                                                               8.3%
marriage. The rate was lowest           70%
among non-Hispanic whites at
about one in three births (32.8         60%
percent). Among Hispanics, over                                                    53.7%
half of births were out of wedlock.
                                        50%
Among blacks, almost eight in ten              44.1%
births were to unmarried women
(78.2 percent).                         40%
                                                                  32.8%
                                        30%

                                        20%

                                        10%

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

                                                          Chart 9 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
Growth of Unwed Childbearing by Race in Tennessee, 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                                                                                78.2%
                                         70%
government’s War on Poverty in
1964, the rates for both whites and
blacks were comparatively low.           60%
                                                                                                        Hispanic
  In 1964, one in thirty (3.2 per-                                                                      53.7%
cent) white children were born           50%
outside marriage. By 2008, the
number had risen to about one in         40%
three (32.8 percent).
                                                                                                        White Non-
  In 1964, about one in four black       30%                                                            Hispanic
children (27.4 percent) were born                                                                       32.8%
outside marriage. By 2008, the
                                         20%
number had risen to over three in
four (78.2 percent).
                                         10%


                                         0%
Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census
                                          1930   1940   1950   1960   1970   1980    1990   2000 2008
Bureau, and National Center for Health
Statistics.

                                                         Chart 10 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee      heritage.org
Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births
in Tennessee
   In Tennessee in 2008, some 67.4                 ALL BIRTHS                       OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
percent of all births occurred to
non-Hispanic whites, 21.2 percent
occurred to non-Hispanic blacks,
and 9.3 percent occurred to His-
panics.
   Because blacks and Hispanics                         67.4%               White Non-            50.1%
are more likely to have children                                             Hispanic
without being married, they
account for disproportionately
larger shares of all out-of-wedlock
births. Even so, the largest number
of unwed births are to white non-
Hispanic women.
   In Tennessee in 2008, 50.1
percent of all non-marital births                                                                 37.6%
were to non-Hispanic whites, 37.6                                           Black Non-
                                                        21.2%                 Hispanic
percent were to black non-
Hispanic women, and 11.4 percent
were to Hispanics.
                                                        9.3%                 Hispanic             11.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Health and                               2.1% Asian/Other     1%
Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.   Note: Figures have been rounded.

                                                            Chart 11 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
Non-Married White Families Are Nearly Six Times More Likely
to Be Poor in Tennessee
  Marriage leads to lower poverty      PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
rates for whites, blacks, and His-
panics.                                                                              29.5%
                                        30%
  For example, in 2009, the pov-
erty rate for married white families
in Tennessee was 5.4 percent. But       25%
the poverty rate for non-married
white families was about six times
higher at 29.5 percent                  20%


                                        15%


                                        10%

                                                     5.4%
                                         5%


                                         0%
                                                Married Families            Non-Married Families
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American
Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

                                                    Chart 12 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
Non-Married Black Families Are Nearly Six Times More Likely
to Be Poor in Tennessee
  In 2009, the poverty rate for        PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
married black couples in Tennes-
see was 7.5 percent, while the
                                        50%
poverty rate for non-married black
families was about six times
higher at 41.3 percent.                                                              41.3%
                                        40%



                                        30%



                                        20%



                                        10%          7.5%


                                         0%
                                                Married Families            Non-Married Families
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American
Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

                                                    Chart 13 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Three Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Tennessee
  In 2009, the poverty rate for        PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
Hispanic married families in Ten-
nessee was 20.8 percent, while the
                                        60%
poverty rate among non-married
families was almost three times                                                      51.2%
higher at 51.2 percent.                 50%


                                        40%


                                        30%

                                                     20.8%
                                        20%


                                        10%


                                         0%
                                                Married Families            Non-Married Families
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American
Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.

                                                    Chart 14 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee   heritage.org
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.




  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

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Marriage Poverty - Tennessee

  • 1. Marriage: Tennessee’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 • 2012 Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society
  • 2. Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in Tennessee, 1929–2010 Throughout most of Tennessee’s PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK history, out-of-wedlock childbear- ing was rare. 50% When the federal government’s 44.1% War on Poverty began in 1964, only 10 percent of children in 40% Tennessee were born out of wed- lock. However, over the next four decades, the number rose rapidly. By 2010, 44.1 percent of births in 30% Tennessee 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 Tennessee heritage.org
  • 3. Death of Marriage in Tennessee, 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 side 100% of the out-of-wedlock birth rate. Through most of the 20th cen- tury, marital births were the norm in Tennessee. In 1964, 90 percent of births occurred to married couples. 80% However, in the mid-1960s, the marital birth rate began to fall steadily. By 2010, only 55.9 per- cent of births in Tennessee occurred to married couples. 60% 55.9% Note: In any given year, the sum of the out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1) and the marital birth rate (Chart 2) equals 100 percent of all births. 40% Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Statistics. Chart 2 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 4. In Tennessee, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty by 82 Percent The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR childbearing is a major cause of 50% high levels of child poverty in Tennessee. 43.5% Some 43.5 percent of single 40% mothers with children are poor compared to 8.1 percent of mar- ried couples with children. Single-parent families with 30% children are more than five times more likely to be poor than fami- lies in which the parents are mar- 20% ried. The higher poverty rate among single-mother families is due both 8.1% 10% to the lower education levels of the mothers and the lower income 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 Chart 3 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 5. Over One-Third of All Families with Children in Tennessee Are Not Married Overall, married couples head slightly less than two-thirds of families with children in Tennessee. Over one-third are single-parent families. Unmarried Families 35.6% Married Families 64.4% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data. Chart 4 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 6. In Tennessee, 73 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married Among poor families with children in Tennessee, about three-quarters are not married. By contrast, only 27 percent of poor families with children are headed by married couples. Married Families 27% Unmarried Families 73% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data. Chart 5 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 7. In Tennessee, 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 8.6 percent of out-of-wedlock births in Tennes- Under see occur to girls under age 18. Age 18: By contrast, some 78 percent of 8.6% out-of-wedlock births occur to Age young adult women between the 30–54: ages of 18 and 29. 13.2% Age 18–19: 16.9% Age 25–29: 21.3% Age 20–24: 40% Note: Figures have been rounded. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data. Chart 6 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 8. 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% 7.2% Unmarried difficulty supporting children by Mothers themselves: those with low levels 90% of education. 38.6% 80% In Tennessee, among women 56.1% who are high school dropouts, 70% 92.8% Married 70.3% Mothers about 70.3 percent of all births 60% occur outside marriage. Among women who have only a high 50% school diploma, over 56 percent of all births occur outside marriage. 40% 61.4% By contrast, among women with at 30% least a college degree, only 7.2 43.9% percent of births are out of wed- 20% lock. 29.7% 10% 0% High School High School Some College Mother’s Dropout Graduate College Graduate education Source: U.S. Department of Health and (0–11 (12 (13–15 (16+ level Human Services, Centers for Disease Years) Years) Years) Years) Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data. Chart 7 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 9. Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing Child Poverty in Tennessee 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 ARE POOR Married of the Head of Household households headed by single 80% parents. This is true even when the married couple is compared to 70% 66.8% single parents with the same edu- cation level. 60% For example, in Tennessee, the poverty rate for a single mother 50% 44.5% who has only a high school 40% diploma is 44.5 percent, but the 33.0% poverty rate for a married couple 30% 28.5% family headed by an individual who, similarly, has only a high 20% school degree is far lower at 10.8% 10% 9.5% 10.8 percent. 5.3% On average, marriage drops the 1.5% 0% poverty rate by about 75 percent High School High School Some College among families with the same Dropout Graduate College Graduate education level. 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. Chart 8 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 10. Unwed Birth Rates Vary Strongly by Race in Tennessee Out-of-wedlock childbearing PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK varies considerably by race. 78.2% 80% In 2008, 44.1 percent of births in Tennessee occurred outside 8.3% marriage. The rate was lowest 70% among non-Hispanic whites at about one in three births (32.8 60% percent). Among Hispanics, over 53.7% half of births were out of wedlock. 50% Among blacks, almost eight in ten 44.1% births were to unmarried women (78.2 percent). 40% 32.8% 30% 20% 10% 0% Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease All Races White Hispanic Black Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS Non- Non- data. Hispanic Hispanic Chart 9 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 11. Growth of Unwed Childbearing by Race in Tennessee, 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 78.2% 70% government’s War on Poverty in 1964, the rates for both whites and blacks were comparatively low. 60% Hispanic In 1964, one in thirty (3.2 per- 53.7% cent) white children were born 50% outside marriage. By 2008, the number had risen to about one in 40% three (32.8 percent). White Non- In 1964, about one in four black 30% Hispanic children (27.4 percent) were born 32.8% outside marriage. By 2008, the 20% number had risen to over three in four (78.2 percent). 10% 0% Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics. Chart 10 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 12. Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in Tennessee In Tennessee in 2008, some 67.4 ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS percent of all births occurred to non-Hispanic whites, 21.2 percent occurred to non-Hispanic blacks, and 9.3 percent occurred to His- panics. Because blacks and Hispanics 67.4% White Non- 50.1% are more likely to have children Hispanic without being married, they account for disproportionately larger shares of all out-of-wedlock births. Even so, the largest number of unwed births are to white non- Hispanic women. In Tennessee in 2008, 50.1 percent of all non-marital births 37.6% were to non-Hispanic whites, 37.6 Black Non- 21.2% Hispanic percent were to black non- Hispanic women, and 11.4 percent were to Hispanics. 9.3% Hispanic 11.4% Source: U.S. Department of Health and 2.1% Asian/Other 1% Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data. Note: Figures have been rounded. Chart 11 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 13. Non-Married White Families Are Nearly Six Times More Likely to Be Poor in Tennessee Marriage leads to lower poverty PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR rates for whites, blacks, and His- panics. 29.5% 30% For example, in 2009, the pov- erty rate for married white families in Tennessee was 5.4 percent. But 25% the poverty rate for non-married white families was about six times higher at 29.5 percent 20% 15% 10% 5.4% 5% 0% Married Families Non-Married Families Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data. Chart 12 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 14. Non-Married Black Families Are Nearly Six Times More Likely to Be Poor in Tennessee In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR married black couples in Tennes- see was 7.5 percent, while the 50% poverty rate for non-married black families was about six times higher at 41.3 percent. 41.3% 40% 30% 20% 10% 7.5% 0% Married Families Non-Married Families Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data. Chart 13 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 15. Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Three Times More Likely to Be Poor in Tennessee In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR Hispanic married families in Ten- nessee was 20.8 percent, while the 60% poverty rate among non-married families was almost three times 51.2% higher at 51.2 percent. 50% 40% 30% 20.8% 20% 10% 0% Married Families Non-Married Families Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007–2009 data. Chart 14 • Marriage and Poverty in Tennessee heritage.org
  • 16. 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.
  • 17. 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