This issue brief is the first in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and…

This issue brief is one in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and…

This study focused on the factors that urban and suburban black families have found to be supportive of stability and mobility. All of the families involved were middle income blacks. They all had school aged children under 18 years of age living in the home. Three hundred and five parents were interviewed representing 178 family units. The sample…

Urban League says capitalizing on family strengths can help solve social problems. (Editor)

This longitudinal study investigated two issues regarding child poverty dynamics: whether long-run transitions out of poverty have changed and whether the events associated with exits from poverty have changed over time. The study contrasted mobility patterns of young children over the 1970s with patterns over the 1980s, examining which poor…

The internal factors found to be supportive of family stability and mobility in 178 black middle income families in urban and suburban mid-Atlantic areas were examined in this study. The following variables were studied: (1) mobility patterns over three generations, (2) family structure, (3) kinship help network, (4) decision making patterns in…

In light of the progress that black Americans as a group have made during the last two decades, a survey was conducted to examine socioeconomic and attitudinal differences within the black community. In this report, the following findings are highlighted: (1) there are subgroups of blacks that are clearly definable by income, education, family…

Argues that in most black families, whether low income or not, both spouses share decision making and the performance of expected tasks: national data show that over 70 percent of the heads of black families are males, and that the husband's earnings surpass the wife's in most low income black families. (Author/JM)

Analysis of census data indicates that the proportions of children in both the wealthiest and poorest families increased during the 1980s, associated with increasing female-headed families and changing patterns of maternal employment. Moreover, increasing racial differences in family structure exacerbated income inequality between African-American…

This supplementary analysis to "Declining Share of Children Lived with Single Mothers in the Late 1990s" employs an alternative methodology to provide a clearer picture of changes in living arrangements within different income groups. The original study concluded that children were significantly less likely to live with single mothers in…

Compares the strength of four demographic variables (income level, gender, ethnicity, and household composition) as predictors of three forms of children's school-based competence (peer relations, behavior or conduct, and academic achievement). Income level and gender were the strongest predictors of children's competence. (PCB)

Rural families from specific areas in 5 southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas) were sampled to determine the extent of economic and social preparation for old age and retirement. Family characteristics and economic status were compared by race (white and Negro) and residence (farm versus nonfarm). Attempts were made to…

FOR THE LOWER CLASS NEGRO MALE TO BE RESTORED AS HOUSEHOLD HEAD, AS THE MOYNIHAN REPORT RECOMMENDS, HE MUST OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT WHICH PERMITS HIM TO BE THE ONLY FAMILY BREADWINNER. CONSIDERING THE DISTINCTIVE HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT THE NEGRO FAMILY HAS HAD TO FACE, AND THE WEAKENING EFFECTS OF ITS MATRIARCHAL ORIENTATION, AMONG NEGROES FEMALE…

These three issues of 2000-2001 "Focus" present a collection of papers focusing on issues related to poverty. The first issue discusses child support enforcement policy and low-income families, highlighting such issues as fragile families and child wellbeing; low-income families and the child support enforcement system; child support…

Disability increases and decreases among selected families of different ethnic types in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas were investigated relative to increases in: education of the homemaker, level of family income and occupation of main income source, and size of family. Sample populations were metropolitan Texas blacks (n=294), Hawaiian…