Minnesota
Families and Poverty
Editors:
Mary A. Sutherland, Research Assistant, and Jean W. Bauer, Professor,
Family Social Science Department, University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota Extension Service, Specialist Research Report,
February 1993 (reviewed 2001; interesting to compare with current data)
February,
1993
"Families
are the primary environment for nurturing children, but we must remember
it is the way a family functions, not the way a family looks, that is
important to children" (1).
Family
structure is changing due to divorce, remarriage and never married women
who are having children. In Minnesota, the percent of married couples
with children has declined since 1980, while the number of single-parent
families has grown 42 percent (1). Most often, this family unit will
be headed by a female. One of the most important issues that is a reality
for these women is dealing with poverty.
This
report is intended to provide you with information regarding families
in Minnesota, and especially those in poverty. Minnesota has been cited
many times as being a desirable environment to raise children. Many
families in Minnesota are doing fine; however, statistics are showing
that there is a steadily-increasing group of families with children
who are not.
- Child
poverty in Minnesota has increased in the past ten years by 78 percent,
meaning that one child in five is now living in poverty (1).
- Eighteen
percent, or 69,000 children, have no health insurance coverage (1).
- Of
the 50,000 Minnesota families using food shelves in 1990, 65 percent
had children under age 18 (1).
- The
number of children in foster care has risen from 11,681 in 1986 to
15,332 in 1990. Foster care will cost the state $105 million and the
state will only be spending $15 million on efforts to keep children
in the home (1).
- The
ratio of Minnesota's children of color in foster care to Minnesota's
white children in foster care is 7 to 1, compared with a national
average of 2 to 1 (2).
- The
percent of children of color in foster care is 33 percent of the total
number of children in foster care (2).
- American
and American Indian children are more likely than white children to
die before the age of four (3).
- Poverty
is defined at the federal level by using a set dollar amount by which
if you fall below, you are poor, and if you are above it you are not.
In 1992, a family consisting of an adult and two children was considered
to be in poverty if their income was $11,570 (11).
The
number of all children in poverty was 21.8% in 1991, the number of children
in poverty under the age of six was 24.6%. This was greater than any
other year in the past two decades.
In
the United States, the portion of children living in families below
half of the poverty line was 44%. Families with incomes less than $5,785
were considered the poorest of poor.
Aid
to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) is a federal-state program
that provides cash assistance and employment and training services to
eligible families. AFDC assists families whose income and resources
do not provide a "reasonable subsistence compatible with decency
and health" (MN Statute 256.74). A family qualifies for AFDC if
it has income and assets within certain limits and meets the technical
and procedural requirements established by Congress and the State Legislature.
Families with a gross income in excess of 185 percent of the AFDC standard
for a family of like size are ineligible. If a family's net monthly
income (after subtracting work expenses and allowable disregards) is
less than the state need standard for a family of like size, then the
unit will be eligible for AFDC, if all other requirements are met. The
need standard for a family composed of one adult and two children is
$532 per month (effective July 1990). The family's income must be below
that amount in order for the family to be eligible (4).
AFDC
assistance requests have also increased over the last ten years to 109,922
in 1990. In 1992, a family collected the same AFDC monthly assistance
standard as in 1986. For example, a single parent with two children
received $532 a month or $6,384 a year. Adjusting for inflation from
1986, today this benefit is like $378 in 1986. To be the same as the
standard was set, a family would need to receive $686 in 1992.
Nationally,
in 1988, single-parent female headed households accounted for 17 percent
of all families; and 21.5 percent of households with children are headed
by a women. Of these, 44.7 percent were in poverty compared with 7.2
percent of married couple families (5). In 1990, 7 percent of all families
were in poverty (6). The largest group of this 7 percent were female-headed
households (48%), followed closely by married couples (46%), and the
fewest being male-headed households (7%). The 1991 AFDC breakdown of
participation by location was 19% suburban, 52% urban, and 29% non-urban,
(10) indicating that poverty is not confined to inner cities. Ten of
the poorest counties in the State of Minnesota are rural (7).
Homelessness
is also a national growing problem. Over one-third of the homeless are
believed to be families with children - one out of every four homeless
individuals is a person under the age of 18 (7). In Minnesota, a 1991
study found that approximately 22% of the homeless were families with
children (8).
Poverty
grew in both central cities (7%) and suburbs (12%) in 1991. The number
of poor and the poverty rate in non-metropolitan areas remained the
same (9).
Consider
these income figures from the latest 1990 Census (12):
- The
median household income for the United States was $31,750.
- The
median household income in the United States for female-headed families
was $18,060.
- In
Minnesota, the median household income was $30,909.
- The
median household income in Minnesota for female-headed families is
currently not available from the Census Bureau.
- In
Minnesota, a mother on AFDC with two children has an annual income
of $6,382.
Female
single-parent homes account for 120,000 of the families in Minnesota
and continue to be the fastest growing family form. These families must
deal with inadequate income because on average, women earn one-third
less income than men. Child support may alleviate some of these problems
for women; however, it is reported that only 36 percent of child support
payments are actually paid (1).
IMPLICATIONS
FOR HELPING
In
1991 a Governor's Task Force, "The Action for Children Commission",
investigated the environment for families and children in Minnesota.
The Task Force noted that Minnesota needs to address the changing family
form, today and in the future. In order to address these problems everyone
should take on a part of the solution. This committee came up with several
goals and recommendations that the State should set for families in
Minnesota:
- Families
should have access to basic needs - food, clothing, housing and health
care.
- Children
should be provided with a high quality education to ensure future
success.
- Support
should be available to families at all levels of society - individual
to governmental.
- Young
persons should be encouraged to contribute their time and talent to
their community in order to enhance self-esteem and competence.
- The
cultural diversity within Minnesota should be greatly valued. Policies
for families should recognize this diversity and build on their strengths.
- Emphasis
should be placed on providing a continuum of services.
The
focus needs to be shifted from crisis management to prevention.
- Services
must be designed to allow families to help themselves.
- Communities
and neighborhoods must become active participants in providing support
to families.
"Blaming
problems on families because of culture, economic circumstance, or marital
status must end. The primary responsibility for raising healthy children
continues to rest with families; they cannot accomplish this alone"
(1). The committee believes the government's responsibility is to enhance
the ability of parents to provide both financial and emotional support
for children. Business, civic and community groups must act together
to provide this support for families and children. Viewing children
as a valuable human resource will provide them with many opportunities
for growth and development; thus, providing Minnesota with quality adults
in the future.
REFERENCES:
(1)Kids
Can't Wait - Action for Minnesota's Children: A Report to the Governor
and People of Minnesota from the Action for Children Commission, February,
1992.
(2)Minnesota
Department of Human Services. Minnesota Minority Foster and Adoptive
Care, 1989. State of Minnesota, 1991.
(3)Minnesota
State Planning Agency. Minnesota's Children: Indicators and Trends.
State of Minnesota, 1991.
(4)Bellis,
M. and Chun, R. (1991) Minnesota Welfare: A guide to public assistance
programs in Minnesota, January, 1991. St. Paul, MN: Research Department,
Minnesota House of Representatives.
(5)U.S.
Census Bureau (1989). Money, Income and Poverty Status in the United
States; 1988. (Current population reports, Series P-60, No. 166) Washington,
DC: US Government Printing Office.
(6)Legislative
Commission on Economic Status of Women, November, 1992.
(7)Children's
Defense Fund, (1990) S.O.S. America: A children's defense budget, Washington,
DC: Author.
(8)Wilder
Foundation, Telephone conversation 2/2/93.
(9)Greenstein,
B., & Jaeger, A. (1992). Center on Budget and Policy. Number in
poverty hits 20-year high as recession adds 2 million more poor, analysis
finds. Washington, DC.
(10)Minnesota
Department of Human Services, Minnesota AFDC, 1991.
(11)Federal
Register, 57(31) 5455-5456, February 12, 1992.
(12)U.S.
Census Bureau (1990). Money, Income and Poverty Status in the United
States: 1989. (Current Population Reports. Series P-60). Washington,
DC: US Government Printing Office.
