Marriage Poverty - Florida

Marriage:
Florida’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 Florida, 1929–2010
Throughout most of Florida’s PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
history, out-of-wedlock childbear-
ing was rare. 50%
47.5%
When the federal government’s
War on Poverty began in 1964,
only 10.9 percent of children in 40%
Florida were born out of wedlock.
However, over the next four
decades, the number rose rapidly.
By 2010, 47.5 percent of births in 30%
Florida occurred outside of mar-
riage.

20%

Note: Initiated by President Lyndon
Johnson in 1963, 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 Florida heritage.org

Death of Marriage in Florida, 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 90%
century, marital births were the
norm in Florida. In 1964, more
than 89 percent of births occurred
to married couples. 80%
However, in the mid-1960s, the
marital birth rate began to fall
steadily. By 2010, only 52.5 per-
cent of births in Florida occurred 70%
to married couples.

60%
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. 52.5%
50%
Statistics.


In Florida, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty
by 78 Percent
The rapid rise in out-of- PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
wedlock childbearing is a major 40%
cause of high levels of child pov-
erty in Florida.
33.4%
Some 33.4 percent of single
mothers with children were poor 30%
compared to 7.2 percent of mar-
ried couples with children.
Single-parent families with
children are more than four times
20%
more likely to be poor than fami-
lies in which the parents are mar-
ried.
The higher poverty rate among
10%
single-mother families is due both 7.2%
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 Florida, One-Third of All Families with Children Are Not Married

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

Unmarried
Families
36.9%
Married
Families
63.1%

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


In Florida, 71 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married

Among poor families with
children in Florida, 71 percent are
not married. By contrast, three in
ten poor families with children are
headed by married couples.
Married
Families
29.1%

Unmarried
Families
70.9%



In Florida, 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 6.7 percent of
out-of-wedlock births in Florida Under
occur to girls under age 18. Age 18:
6.7%
By contrast, some 74 percent of
out-of-wedlock births occur to
Age
young adult women between the 30–54:
ages of 18 and 29. Age
19.1% 18–19:
13.5%

Age
25–29:
23.8%
Age
20–24:
36.9%
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 in Florida 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% Unmarried
difﬁculty supporting children by 11.5% Mothers
themselves: those with low levels 90%
of education. 40.7%
80%
In Florida, among women who
70% 59.1%
are high school dropouts, about
three-quarters of all births occur 60% 74.9%
outside marriage. Among women
who have only a high school 50% 88.5% Married
diploma, 59 percent of all births Mothers
occur outside marriage. By con- 40%
trast, among women with at least a 30% 59.3%
college degree, only 11.5 percent
of births are out of wedlock. 20% 40.9%
25.1%
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
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS Years) Years) Years) Years)
data.


Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing
Child Poverty in Florida
The poverty rate of married PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES Poverty Rate of Families by
couples with children is dramatically WITH CHILDREN THAT Single
Education and Marital Status
lower than the rate for households ARE POOR Married
of the Head of Household
headed by single parents. This is true
60%
even when the married couple is
53.5%
compared to single parents with the
same education level. 50%

For example, in Florida, the pov-
erty rate for a single mother who has 40%
36.2%
only a high school diploma is 36.2
percent, but the poverty rate for a 30%
married couple family headed by an 25.5%
individual who, similarly, has only a 20.1%
20%
high school degree is far lower at 9.8
percent. 11.2%
10%
9.8%
On average, marriage drops the 4.5%
poverty rate by around 74 percent 2.4%
among families with the same educa- 0%
tion level. High School High School Some College
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 Florida
Out-of-wedlock childbearing PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
varies considerably by race.
80%
In 2008, 47 percent of births in
Florida occurred outside marriage. 8.3%
69.9%
The rate was lowest among non- 70%
Hispanic whites at over one in
three births (35.3 percent). 60%
Among Hispanics, over half of
births were out-of-wedlock. 50.5%
50% 46.9%
Among blacks, seven out of ten
births were to unmarried women
(69.9 percent). 40%
35.3%

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 Florida, 1929–2008
Historically, out-of-wedlock PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
childbearing has been somewhat
more frequent among blacks than 80%
among whites. However, prior to Black Non-
the onset of the federal Hispanic
70%
69.9%
government’s War on Poverty in
1964, the rates for both whites and
60%
blacks were comparatively low.
In 1964, one in twenty-ﬁve (4 Hispanic
percent) white children were born 50% 50.5%
outside marriage. By 2008, the
number had risen to over one in 40% White Non-
three (35.3 percent). Hispanic
35.3%
In 1964, three in ten black 30%
children (29.6 percent) were born
outside marriage. By 2008, the
20%
number had risen to seven in ten
(69.9 percent).
10%
Note: No data is available for 1979.
0%
Statistics.


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

In Florida in 2008, some 45.7 ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
percent of all births (both marital and
non-marital) occurred to non-
Hispanic whites, 28.5 percent
occurred to Hispanics, and 22.3
percent to non-Hispanic blacks.
45.7% White Non- 34.4%
Because black and Hispanic people Hispanic
are more likely to have children
without being married, a dispropor-
tionate share of all out-of-wedlock
births occur to those groups. None-
theless, the largest number of out-of- 30.7%
wedlock births still occur to white
non-Hispanic women Hispanic
28.5%
In Florida in 2008, 34.4 percent of
all non-marital births were to non-
Hispanic whites, 30.7 percent were to
Hispanics, and 33.3 percent were to
black non-Hispanic women. Black Non- 33.3%
22.3%
Hispanic

Source: U.S. Department of Health and 3.5% Asian/Other 1.6%
Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS
data. Note: Figures have been rounded.


Non-Married White Families Are Five Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Florida
Marriage leads to lower poverty PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
rates for whites, blacks, and His-
panics in Florida.
20%
For example, in 2009, the pov- 17.9%
erty rate for married white families
in Florida was 3.5 percent. But the
poverty rate for non-married white
15%
families was ﬁve times higher at
17.9 percent.

10%

5%
3.5%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


Non-Married Black Families Are Four Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Florida
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
married black couples in Florida
was 8.1 percent, while the poverty
40%
rate for non-married black families
was four times higher at 33.9 33.9%
percent.

30%

20%

10% 8.1%

0%


Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Nearly Three Times More Likely
to Be Poor in Florida
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
Hispanic married families in
Florida was 10.2 percent, while
35%
the poverty rate among non-
married families was nearly three
29.3%
times higher at 29.3 percent. 30%

25%

20%

15%

10.2%
10%

5%

0%


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.

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