Summarizes data from 1990 Current Population Survey supporting three general conclusions: (1) parental employment and children's poverty are linked in married-couple and female-headed families; (2) child poverty rates are insensitive to parental employment; (3) black-white differences in child poverty are not result of racial differences in…

Examines aspects of mother-only families. Finds high economic insecurity in mother-only families because of low earnings, lack of child support and meager public benefits. Argues that struggle of mother-only families reflects societal struggles around changes in women's roles, relationship between state and family, and class and racial inequality.…

Most of the nonmetropolitan poor live in a household with at least one worker. In 1987, 70% of nonmetro poor family heads who were not ill, disabled, or retired worked for at least part of the year, and 24% worked full time, year-round. The employed proportion of the poor was significantly larger in nonmetro than metro areas. Despite a lengthy…

Noting that the preceding two decades have seen a dramatic growth in the proportion of families that are headed by women, this book explores the causes and implications of this development. The book bring together information on the past and present prevalence of mother-headed families in different countries. It then considers the various…