ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION

This post high­lights the lat­est sta­tis­tics and demo­graph­ic trends involv­ing sin­gle-par­ent fam­i­lies. It iden­ti­fies some com­mon hur­dles fac­ing these fam­i­lies and shares oppor­tu­ni­ties for sup­port­ing both sin­gle par­ents and their children.

DEFIN­ING CHIL­DREN IN SIN­GLE-PAR­ENT FAMILIES

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT^® Data Cen­ter uses U.S. Cen­sus Bureau data to define chil­dren in sin­gle-par­ent fam­i­lies. This demo­graph­ic group describes any child under age 18 who lives with an unmar­ried par­ent. Chil­dren liv­ing with cohab­it­ing cou­ples are includ­ed in this group, but chil­dren liv­ing with a mar­ried par­ent and step­par­ent are not.

STA­TIS­TICS ABOUT CHIL­DREN IN SIN­GLE-PAR­ENT FAMILIES

In the Unit­ed States today, near­ly 24 mil­lion chil­dren live in a sin­gle-par­ent fam­i­ly. This total, which has been ris­ing for half a cen­tu­ry, cov­ers about one in every three kids across Amer­i­ca. A num­ber of long-term demo­graph­ic trends have fueled this increase, includ­ing: mar­ry­ing lat­er, declin­ing mar­riage rates, increas­ing divorce rates and an uptick in babies born to sin­gle mothers.

With­in sin­gle-par­ent fam­i­lies, most chil­dren — 15 mil­lion — live in moth­er-only house­holds. Near­ly 6 mil­lion kids live with cohab­i­tat­ing par­ents and some 3 to 4 mil­lion kids live in father-only house­holds, accord­ing to 2019 esti­mates.^*

Among unmar­ried par­ents, the share of sin­gle moth­ers has shrunk in recent decades while the share of cohab­it­ing par­ents has grown.

Photo Credit - Annie E. Casey Foundation

CLICK BUTTON BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

EDEN STIFFMAN, THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY

When Phyllis Glink took a job at the Irving Harris Foundation 26 years ago, “we were by far the biggest funders in early childhood because there weren’t that many of us,” she recalls.

A group of maybe a dozen foundations interested in early-childhood issues would sometimes gather informally to talk about their work.

A lot has changed since then. Glink now leads the Irving Harris Foundation, which, while still giving millions of dollars in early-childhood grants each year, is no longer the biggest donor on the scene. The Early Childhood Funders Collaborative counts nearly 60 national, state, and local foundations as members.

While grantmakers have historically put more resources into elementary and secondary education than early childhood, support for the youngest learners is on the rise. From 2006 to 2013, foundations over all gave at least $4.6 billion to support early-childhood education, according to data from Candid. From 2014 to 2021, that sum grew to $7.1 billion.

As more donors have contributed, they’ve found new ways to link arms and help more people. Grantmakers now support the child-care and educator workforce through the Early Educator Investment Collaborative and home-based child-care providers through Home Grown. Collaboratives, including Blue Meridian and Pediatrics Supporting Parents, have zeroed in on well-child appointments in the pediatrician’s office as a key moment to support healthy social and emotional development. Dozens of foundations have pooled their resources through organizations such as Alliance for Early Success and the First Five Years Fund, advocacy groups working to get more government funding at the state and federal levels.

Photo Credit - Partners in Health

CLICK BUTTON BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

ORIANA GONZALEZ, AXIOS

The six states with the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation each quickly banned abortion following the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, fueling concerns about more children being born in areas with poor health outcomes and with fewer safety net programs for mothers and children.

Why it matters: U.S. women already were likelier to die during or after pregnancy than anywhere else in the developed world, and public health experts predict things will get worse in the post-Roe landscape as health providers weigh legal exposure against clinical decisions.

Driving the news: Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi top the CDC's list of states with the highest maternal mortality, each with more than 30 deaths per 100,000 live births. Each had "trigger" laws, or abortion bans that took effect in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court eliminating a federal right to the procedure.

• Maternal death rates in states with "trigger" laws are on average almost two times higher than those in states with laws protecting abortion access.
• Most of those states are identified as having "maternity care deserts" that lack hospitals offering obstetric care, birth centers and no obstetric providers.
• The combination of more restrictive abortion laws, more births and insufficient care could leave those states "completely unprepared for the ramifications in the lives and health and wellbeing of women and children and families that these bans are going to cause," said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, which advocates for access to abortion care.
• The maternal death rate in the U.S. could increase by 24% if a nationwide abortion ban was enacted, according to a University of Colorado study.
• If abortion was illegal in the 26 states that have either already banned abortion or are likely to do so, there would have been 64 more maternal deaths in 2020, the research — which is not yet peer-reviewed — found.

CLICK BUTTON BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

K. QUERRY-THOMPSON, KFOR-NEWS

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (KFOR) – Some full-time employees of the Cherokee Nation will soon be able to enjoy a new family leave policy.

On Thursday, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner announced the creation of a new family leave policy providing all qualifying parents who work for the Cherokee Nation fulltime with paid time off for the birth of a child or adoption through the tribe’s Indian Child Welfare department.

The policy also expands the tribe’s existing paid foster parent leave by adding an extra five days of leave.

“The benefits of offering paid leave for families has been well-established,” Chief Hoskin said. “We know it’s crucial to provide new parents with paid time off as they experience the birth of a child, and for years the Cherokee Nation has provided eight weeks paid leave for mothers who work for the tribe. Our new policy ensures we not only continue offering our maternal leave, but that we have found a way to recognize and support the many wonderful ways our employees’ families can be structured. Our employee families are modern in that sometimes they include parents who, under more outdated policies, might not have received a leave option. Our policies also did not provide leave for adoption, so it was time for us to recognize those needs and really set the tone for celebrating our employees and their families.”

Under the new Cherokee Nation Family Leave Policy, qualifying parents who do not currently qualify for maternity leave now have up to two weeks of paid leave, payable at 100 percent of their salary, for the birth of a child or adoption of a child.

Cherokee Nation government employees qualify for the new family leave if they have worked regular fulltime for the tribe for at least one year from the date of the child’s birth or adoption. If the child is adopted, the adoption must be completed through Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare.

Photo Credit - KFOR News

CLICK BUTTON BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

SARA HEATH, XTELLIGENT HEALTHCARE MEDIA

As part of their pursuit of understanding and addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), medical professionals should also consider adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

According to data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, 34.8 million children across the US are impacted by ACEs, known as traumatic events experienced during childhood.

Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 61 percent of adults can recount at least one ACE from their childhood, and about one in six were able to report they’d experienced four or more types of ACEs.

And considering the downstream impacts adverse childhood experiences can have on adult health, these issues are costly. CDC said the economic and social cost of ACEs rounds out to hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The agency said reducing ACEs in North America by 10 percent could result in $56 billion in cost savings each year.

Below, PatientEngagementHIT defines ACEs, outlines the consequences of adverse childhood experiences, and reviews the current state of ACE mitigation strategies.

WHAT ARE ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EVENTS (ACES)

According to the CDC, ACEs are “potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years).”

ACEs often relate to experiences of neglect, abuse, and family dysfunction, but according to Carmela Sosa, MD, the medical director of the Guilds Center for Community Health with Valley Children’s Hospital, ACEs can also be more expansive. Serious issues with common social determinants of health, like housing insecurity or food insecurity, can also make for potentially traumatic events.

“ACEs are just one piece of the complex interplay that makes up SDOH, and all are beyond a child’s control,” Sosa wrote in a resource for Central California Pediatrics.

EXAMPLES OF ACES

There is no exhaustive list of adverse childhood experiences, according to the CDC. However, some common adverse childhood experiences may include:

• Experiences of abuse, violence, or neglect
• Witnessing community or family violence
• Having a family member attempt or die by suicide
• Growing up in a household with substance use or mental health problems
• Family instability, like parental separation or household members being incarcerated

It’s important to note that many ACEs can compound. A child may experience abuse while also experiencing homelessness. Just like other social determinants of health, ACEs are complex and require serious study.

Photo Credit - Getty Images

CLICK BUTTON BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE