Demonstrating the urgent need for broad national action and collaboration between private and public leaders in our communities, The White House Council for Community Solutions released an analysis showing that in 2011 alone, taxpayers shouldered more than $93 billion to compensate for lost taxes and direct costs to support the young people disconnected from jobs and school. At least one in six young adults is disconnected from education and work, according to this report. Projections show that over the lifetime of these young people, taxpayers will assume a $1.6 trillion burden to meet the…
One in six newborns were born poor over the past 40 years, and nearly half remained poor half their childhoods. These persistently poor children are nearly 90 percent more likely than never-poor children to enter their 20s without completing high school and are four times more likely to give birth outside of marriage during their teenage years. Children whose parents did not complete high school are less likely to complete high school themselves. This paper examines the magnitude of child poverty, family characteristics related to childhood poverty persistence, and childhood poverty's lasting…
Nearly half of children born to poor parents remained poor half their childhoods. Black children are especially disadvantaged: two-thirds of poor black newborns are persistently poor. Children who are poor early in life (age 0-2) are 30 percent less likely to complete high school than those first poor later in childhood, even after controlling for poverty duration and other factors. Reaching vulnerable children at birth is vital, as a childs early environment can affect brain development. This factsheet summarizes the report Child Poverty and Its Lasting Consequence". (Author abstract)
This publication offers information for parents and caregivers on adolescent cognitive development and offers tips for social service agents and parents on how to encourage healthy cognitive development.
High rates of incarceration in the United States have motivated a far-reaching literature examining the effects of parental incarceration on child wellbeing. Although a growing body of evidence documents challenges facing the children of incarcerated men, most incarcerated fathers lived apart from their children before their arrest, raising the question of whether they were sufficiently involved with their families for their incarceration to affect their children. We use the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=4,071) to examine father involvement among incarcerated fathers, both…
This tip sheet reviews the concept of parenting styles, including two key elements of parenting: parental responsiveness (i.e., warmth or supportiveness) and parental demandingness (i.e., behavioral control). (Author abstract)
This fact sheet presents many of the factors that youth and young adults, along with the safety-net service providers who work with them, need to be aware of in order to help build the healthy dating friendships that can lead to healthy long-term marital friendships. (Author abstract)
This tip sheet outlines the usefulness of marriage and relationship education as a strategy for helping families, possibilities for integrating such efforts in Head Start settings, and best practices to consider when exploring partnerships between marriage and relationship education and Head Start. (Author abstract)
This tip sheet discusses how marriage and relationship education can assist youth as they initiate and manage their romantic relationships. It also provides helpful information for safety-net service providers on selecting appropriate programs and resources, as well as on engaging youth during the process. (Author abstract)
This fact sheet features a comic strip of two women discussing how they help their children learn to make decisions for themselves. The story offers several strategies that parents can use to help their children and adolescents learn how to make healthy decisions for themselves. Note: PDF version available.