Fourfold Rise of Children in Fatherless Homes Reported

The proportion of American children growing up in homes without a father has quadrupled since 1950, leaving millions of children in neighborhoods where most families are headed by women, the Annie E. Casey Foundation reported today.

The foundation reported that in 1994, 19 million, or 24%, of children were living in families without fathers present. In 1950, 6% of children were living in mother-only households.

“This is a dramatic demographic trend that has significant impact on the lives of these children,” said Douglas Nelson, executive director of the foundation. Not only are children in families without fathers present much more likely to be poor, he said, but “the time, the emotional support provided by a second parent seems to also contribute to self-esteem, security and aspiration in children.”

The report said children who grow up without fathers are five times more likely to be poor, twice as likely to drop out of high school and much more likely to end up in foster care or juvenile justice facilities. Girls who are raised in single-parent families are three times more likely to become unwed teen-age mothers, and boys without fathers at home are much more likely to become incarcerated, unemployed and uninvolved with their own children.

The report comes as Congress is deciding whether and how to revamp the nation’s welfare system, a debate that has been driven to a large extent by concern over how to reduce the number of children born to single mothers.

But that debate, said Nelson, has focused too much on creating incentives and sanctions for poor mothers and too little on the role of fathers. He called for social workers and policy-makers to include fathers in their efforts to improve the lives of children.

The report also urges improved educational opportunities, citing the deterioration in the economic circumstances of young men as an important cause of fatherless families.

“Almost no one volunteers for roles and duties they cannot fulfill,” the report said. “And the simple truth is that disadvantaged young men who do not have the examples, education or opportunity to succeed in today’s economy are not prepared to contribute as providers, protectors and mentors to their children.”

The emergence of neighborhoods in which fatherless households are the norm creates a setting where many children simply do not see fathers playing a central role in family life, Nelson said. That, he said, becomes a powerful influence over what children grow to believe is a father’s role and responsibilities.

Economic conditions as a cause of fatherless families have been downplayed by many conservatives, who argue that the problem stems largely from cultural decline and disintegrating values.

The Casey Foundation report does not dismiss the role of changing culture, but it emphasizes the link between the inability of many young men to earn a living wage and their absence from the family.

The Casey Foundation of Baltimore, which focuses on issues affecting disadvantaged children, based its annual “Kids Count” report on census and other data.