In this article the authors call attention to the 1965 report, "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," published by then Assistant Secretary to the Labor Department, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Fifty years later, these authors suggest that, in retrospect, Moynihan understood that the emerging pattern he noted was troubling above…

In his 1965 report on the black family, Daniel Patrick Moynihan highlighted the rising fraction of black children growing up in households headed by unmarried mothers. He attributed the increase largely to the precarious economic position of black men, many of whom were no longer able to play their traditional role as their family's primary…

In Ireland, historically and in the current era, family has been a central concern for society and the State. This article provides a descriptive overview of family life in Ireland and of major family-related changes over the past 40 years. It presents a general framework of analysis within which these changes can be understood, considers the…

Since welfare reform in 1996, marriage has been promoted as a means to reduce welfare dependency and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Despite extensive public and academic discourse surrounding marriage promotion, a basic factor preceding and predicting marriage--expectations to marry--has received little attention. Using insights from the life course…

The promotion of marriage and two-parent families became an explicit public policy goal with the passage of the 1996 welfare reform bill. Marriage has the putative effect of reducing welfare dependency among single mothers, but only if they marry men with earnings sufficient to lift them and their children out of poverty. Newly released data from…

Adolescent pregnancy has occurred throughout America's history. Only in recent years has it been deemed an urgent crisis, as more young adolescent mothers give birth outside of marriage. At-risk circumstances associated with adolescent pregnancy include medical and health complications, less schooling and higher dropout rates, lower career…

Researchers in many fields agree. The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society as a whole are strongly influenced by the early experiences of children, when the foundation for effective cognitive and social skills and abilities are developed. Children who have developmental delays or disabilities require and often…