Today more American children are growing up without their biological father in the home than at any other point in American history. Trends such as divorce and remarriage, as well as more children being born outside of marriage, result in a diminishing role of fathers in the daily lives of their children. Over twenty-five million American children (or 33.5 percent of children in the U.S.) live absent their biological father. (Krieder, 2005). Click here for more information.

National changes in children’s living arrangements have also caused a shift in the traditional paradigm of the mother, father, and child household. Of the 73.2 million children under 18 years old living in the United States in 2004, 67.7 percent (49.6 million) were living with two parents, 27.9 percent (20.4 million) were living with a single parent, and 4.3 percent (3.1 million) were living with neither parent. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005).

Father Facts: Fifth Edition, a publication from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2007, discusses how these living situations may impact children:

• Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional, or educational neglect. (America’s Children, 1997).
• Analyzing a group of 8th graders who initially resided with both biological parents, children in households that had experienced a change in family structure had school dropout rates two to three times higher than peers whose families did not change. (Pong, 2000).
• Children in father absent homes are five times more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 percent of children in female-only households. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003).

A number of studies also suggest that non-resident fathers present a unique population that requires special consideration:

• About half of all non-custodial fathers have ties to another set of kin and a quarter have three or more kids in their lives. These children include non-resident biological children of all other past/present mates, biological children and stepchildren who may reside with the father, and step children who live elsewhere. Eight percent of all non-resident fathers are living with biological children they fathered prior to their current residency and another 26 percent live with stepchildren. About 14 percent of non-resident fathers are living with women who are also nonresident parents, and 42 percent have biological children with their current spouse or partner. (Manning, 2003).
• For post-divorce, non-resident fathers, lower levels of involvement with their children are related to ongoing conflict with the residential mother, greater geographical distance from the children, and a lack of clarity regarding the nature of the fathering role. (Leite, 2002).

The Urban Institute’s National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF) provides additional information, generally, on children’s living arrangements. NSAF data from 2001 shows that half of children living in families whose income is below the federal poverty line live with their mothers, but not their fathers. However, NSAF data shows that minor gains were made in terms of the number of those children who received child support. Thirty-six percent of those children received support payments in 2001 compared to 31 percent in 1996. The Urban Institute notes that although these are statistically significant gains, over 60 percent of poor children do not receive child support from their fathers who live outside the home. (Sorenson, 2003).

References

America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.

Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW), CASCW Practice Notes, The Fatherhood Factor in Permanency Planning, Practice Notes, Issue No. 15, March 2004.

Krieder, Rose M. and Jason Fields. Living Arrangements of Children: 2001. Current Population Reports, p. 70-104. Table 1. Washington, DC.: US Census Bureau, 2005.

Leite, Randall W. and Patrick C. McKenry. “Aspects of Father Status and Post divorce Father Involvement with Children.” Journal of Family Issues, 23 (July 2002): 601-623.

The Lewin Group, Inc., An Evaluability Assessment of Responsible Fatherhood Programs: Final Report, August 1997.

Manning, Wendy D., Susan D. Stuart and Pamela J. Smock. “The Complexity of Fathers Parenting Responsibilities and Involvement with Nonresident Children.” Journal of Family Issues, 24 (July 2003): 645-667.

National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI). Father Facts: Fifth Edition, 2007.

Pong, Suet-Ling, and Dong-Beom Ju. “The Effects of Change in Family Structure and Income on Dropping Out of Middle and High School.” Journal of Family Issues 21 (March 2000): 147-169

U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Survey Reports. “Household Relationship and Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years, by Age, Sex, Race, Hispanic Origin: 2004; All Races, White only, Black only, and Hispanic only.” Table C2. Published July 29, 2005.

America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.

Sorenson, Elaine. “Child Support Gains Some Ground” in Snaphots3 of America’s Families. Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2003.