Marriage Reduces Child Poverty in Kentucky by 79

Marriage:
Kentucky’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 Kentucky, 1929–2010
Throughout most of Kentucky’s PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
history, out-of-wedlock childbear-
ing was rare. 50%

When the federal government’s
War on Poverty began in 1964,
41.2%
only 6.1 percent of children in 40%
Kentucky were born out of wed-
lock. However, over the next four
decades, the number rose rapidly.
By 2010, 41.2 percent of births in 30%
Kentucky 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 Kentucky heritage.org

Death of Marriage in Kentucky, 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.
Through most of the 20th cen- 90%
tury, marital births were the norm
in Kentucky. In 1964, nearly 94
percent of births occurred to
married couples. 80%
However, in the mid-1960s, the
marital birth rate began to fall
steadily. By 2010, only 58.8 per-
70%
cent of births in Kentucky
occurred to married couples.

60%
Note: In any given year, the sum of the 58.8%
out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1)
and the marital birth rate (Chart 2)
equals 100 percent of all births.
50%
Statistics.


In Kentucky, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty
by 79 Percent
The rapid rise in out-of- PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
wedlock childbearing is a major 50%
cause of high levels of child pov- 47.6%
erty in Kentucky.
Some 47.6 percent of single
40%
mothers with children were poor
compared to 10 percent of mar-
ried couples with children.
Single-parent families with 30%
children are nearly 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 10.0%
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


In Kentucky, One-Third of All Families with Children Are Not Married

Overall, married couples head
about two-thirds of families with
children in Kentucky. Over
one-third are single-parent
families.

Unmarried
Families
33.9%
Married
Families
66.1%

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


In Kentucky, 69 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married

Among poor families with
children in Kentucky, about seven
in ten are not married. By contrast,
31.3 percent of poor families with
children are headed by married
couples. Married
Families
31.3%
Unmarried
Families
68.7%



In Kentucky, 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 8.4 percent of
out-of-wedlock births in Kentucky Under
occur to girls under age 18. Age 18:
By contrast, some 79 percent of 8.4%
out-of-wedlock births occur to Age
young adult women between the 30–54:
ages of 18 and 29. 12.9%
Age
18–19:
Age 17.7%
25–29:
21.2%

Age
20–24:
39.8%
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
OR OUT OF WEDLOCK
most frequently among the
women who will have the greatest 100% Unmarried
difﬁculty supporting children by 6.8%
90%
Mothers
themselves: those with low levels
of education. 37.4%
80%
In Kentucky, among women 51.8%
who are high school dropouts, 70%
64.6%
64.6 percent of all births occur 60%
outside marriage. Among women 93.2% Married
who have only a high school 50% Mothers
diploma, over half of all births
40%
occur outside marriage. By con- 62.6%
trast, among women with at least a 30%
college degree, only 6.8 percent of 48.2%
births are out of wedlock. 20%
35.4%
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 Kentucky
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- 58.9%
60%
ents with the same education level.
For example, in Kentucky, the 50%
poverty rate for a single mother
who has only a high school 40%
diploma is 35.5 percent, but the 35.5%
poverty rate for a married couple 30% 29.6%
family headed by an individual
21.4%
who, similarly, has only a high 20%
school degree is far lower at 9
percent. 10% 9.0% 7.8%
On average, marriage drops the 4.3%
1.1%
poverty rate by about 77 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 Kentucky
Out-of-wedlock childbearing PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
varies considerably by race.
90%
In 2008, 40.7 percent of births
in Kentucky occurred outside 8.3%
marriage. The rate was lowest 80% 76.7%
among non-Hispanic whites at
over one in three births (36.5 70%
percent). Among Hispanics, over
half of births were out of wedlock. 60%
53.0%
Among blacks, over three in four
births were to unmarried women 50%
(76.7 percent). 40.7%
40% 36.5%

30%

20%

10%

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


Growth of Unwed Childbearing by Race in Kentucky, 1929–2008
Historically, out-of-wedlock PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
childbearing has been somewhat
100%
more frequent among blacks than
among whites. However, prior to
90%
the onset of the federal
government’s War on Poverty in Black Non-
80%
1964, the rates for both whites and Hispanic
blacks were comparatively low. 76.7%
70%
In 1964, around one in twenty-
ﬁve white children (3.8 percent) 60%
were born outside marriage. By Hispanic
2008, the number had risen to 50% 53.0%
well over one in three (36.5 per- White Non-
cent). 40%
Hispanic
In 1964, about three in ten black 36.5%
30%
children (30.8 percent) were born
outside marriage. By 2008, the 20%
number had risen to over three in
four (76.7 percent). 10%

0%
Statistics.


Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in Kentucky
In Kentucky in 2008, some 84 ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
percent of all births occurred to
non-Hispanic whites, 9.3 percent
occurred to non-Hispanic blacks,
and 5 percent occurred to Hispan-
ics.
Because blacks and Hispanics
are more likely to have children
without being married, they
account for a disproportionately 84.0% White Non- 75.2%
larger share of all out-of-wedlock Hispanic
births. Even so, the overwhelming
majority of unwed births occur to
white non-Hispanic women.
In Kentucky in 2008, 75.2
percent of all non-marital births
were to non-Hispanic whites, 17.6
percent were to black non-
Hispanic women, and 6.5 percent Black Non- 17.6%
were to Hispanics. 9.3% Hispanic
5.0% Hispanic 6.5%
1.7% Asian/Other 0.7%
Source: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease
data. Note: Figures have been rounded.


Non-Married White Families Are Five Times More Likely
to Be Poor in Kentucky
Marriage leads to lower poverty PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
rates for whites, blacks, and His-
panics.
40%
For example, in 2009, the pov-
35.4%
erty rate for married white families 35%
in Kentucky was 7 percent. But
the poverty rate for non-married
30%
white families was ﬁve times
higher at 35.4 percent.
25%

20%

15%

10%
7.0%
5%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


Non-Married Black Families Are Nearly Seven Times More Likely
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
married black couples in
Kentucky was 6.8 percent, while
50%
the poverty rate for non-married 46.3%
black families was nearly seven 45%
times higher at 46.3 percent.
40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%
6.8%
5%

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


Non-Married Hispanic Families Are More than Twice as Likely
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
Hispanic married families in Ken-
tucky was 21.1 percent, while the
60%
poverty rate among non-married
families was two times higher at
49.1 percent. 50% 49.1%

40%

30%

21.1%
20%

10%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


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
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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
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As policy entrepreneurs, we believe the most effective solutions are consistent with those ideas and values.

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Marriage Reduces Child Poverty in Kentucky by 79

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