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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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Legal Momentum

The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund

 

WORST-OFF: SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES IN THE UNITED STATES: A Cross-National Comparison of Single Parenthood in the U.S. and Sixteen Other High-Income Countries [20 December 2012]

http://www.legalmomentum.org/our-work/women-and-poverty/resources--publications/worst-off-single-parent.html

or

http://www.legalmomentum.org/our-work/women-and-poverty/resources--publications/worst-off-single-parent.pdf

[full-text, 38 pages]

 

“Worst Off – Single-Parent Families in the United States, A Cross-National Comparison of Single Parenthood in the U.S. and Sixteen Other High-Income Countries” is an exhaustive, critical analysis of data and information drawn from a broad range of sources including government agencies, social scientists, and academic researchers worldwide.  The scope of the report, with its impressive compilation of data and statistics, is a significant addition to the literature on social policies and an incisive analysis of the current circumstances and needs of single parents in the U.S. – the overwhelming majority of whom are single mothers.

 

Countries compared in the report include Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.  The report addresses the prevalence of single parents; employment and wage rates; poverty rates; and healthcare coverage.  It also examines public income supports such as child allowance, advanced maintenance, unemployment insurance, and social assistance as well as government support for combining jobholding and family caregiving through policies such as early childhood education and entitlements to paid parental leave, paid sick leave, and paid annual leave

 

Press Release 20 December 2012

LEGAL MOMENTUM RELEASES GROUNDBREAKING REPORT ON SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES

Study Compares Economic Status of Single-Parent Families in U.S. and Other High-Income Countries

http://www.legalmomentum.org/news-room/legal-momentum-releases.html

 

 

CONTENTS

A. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1

B. SINGLE PARENTHOOD

1. Single Parenthood Is Common In High-Income Countries, And Is Especially Common In The U.S. .................................................................................................................................3

2. Who Are Single Parents? The Majority Are Married But Separated Or Have Been Previously Married. Most Are Single Mothers. ....................................................................4

C. EMPLOYMENT

1. U.S. Single Parents Have Above Average Employment Rates And An Exceptionally High Share Of Full-Time As Opposed To Part-Time Employment. ...............................................6

2. U.S. Single Parents Have High Rates Of Low-Wage Employment. .................................8

D. SUPPORT FOR COMBINING JOBHOLDING AND CAREGIVING

1. There Is An Entitlement To Paid Parental Leave In All Comparison Countries, But Not In The U.S. ..................................................................................................................................9

2. There Are Entitlements To Paid Annual Leave, Holidays, And Sick Leave In Comparison Countries, But Not In The U.S. .............................................................................................11

3. Early Childhood Education Starts Earlier In Comparison Countries Than In The U.S. ...13

E. HEALTH CARE

1. There Is Universal Health Care Coverage In All Comparison Countries, But Not In The U.S. ..........................................................................................................................................15

F. INCOME SUPPORT PROGRAMS

1. Parents Receive Child Allowance In All Comparison Countries, But Not In The U.S. ...15

2. Single Parents Receive Advance Maintenance In The Majority Of Comparison Countries, But Not In The U.S. ...............................................................................................................18

3. Unemployed U.S. Single Parents Have Low Rates Of Unemployment Insurance Receipt. ...................................................................................................................................19

4. Social Assistance For U.S. Single Parents Is Exceptionally Meager. ..............................22

G. POVERTY

1. U.S. Single-Parent Families Have Exceptionally High Poverty Rates. ............................24

2. “More Marriage” Is Not A Realistic Program For Reducing U.S. Child Poverty Rates. .27

3. “More Jobs” Is An Insufficient Response To U.S. Single Parent Poverty. ......................28

H. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................29

REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................30

 

 

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