Chapter 1: Children and Families
1.1 Child Population
Definition
Child population is the absolute number and percentage of the total state population under age 18.
Findings
In 1997, New Hampshire's 296,100 children comprised 26% of the total state population.[1] These children were evenly distributed among the five economic clusters of towns in the state.[2]
The New Hampshire child population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. While 96% of our children are white, the nonwhite population is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. Indeed, projections are that the Black and Hispanic child populations will each grow by 21%, the Asian and Pacific Islander child populations will grow by 30%, and the Native American population will grow by 17% by the year 2005.[3]
As the race and ethnicity of our children change, so do the demographics of the population at large. Children are becoming a smaller percentage of our state population. Although the absolute numbers of are not expected to change much from 1995-2020, the projected increase of 14,000 children (4.8%) compares to projected increases of all adults by 247,000 (29.0%), adults 65-74 by 61,000 (81.3%), and adults 75 and older by 32,000 (51.7%).
Figures 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 display the percentages of the state's population that were children in 1970, 1995, and the projections for 2020.[4]
Figure
1-1
Figure 1-2
Figure 1-3
Significance
Although a shift in the demographics of the state means a decline in children as a percentage of the total population, the total number of children continues to grow. This means a growing demand for existing support services and a need for continued investment in local and state infrastructures for children and families. Recommendations for specific action set forth in the Children's Agenda 2000 include:
ü Increased interagency collaboration to meet the needs of children;
ü Provision of necessary funding for child and family support services;
ü Creation of and support for community based programs and resources for children and youth;
ü Opening community buildings, including school buildings, to child and youth activities.
Whatever the proportion of children to the general population, their wellbeing is vital to the well being of every community in the state. The public and private sectors need to be vigilant that, as children become a smaller percentage of the population, their needs do not receive less attention and fewer resources. Failure to support our children today would have a negative impact on the quality of all of our lives and could translate into higher costs in the future as children with unmet needs age into adults who may be unprepared to meet the social, educational, and economic challenges of the next decades.
Highlights
Ø One generation ago, in 1970, children age 0-17 constituted more than one-third of the population. Today children constitute one-quarter of the population. By 2020, children will constitute only slightly more than one-fifth of the population.
1.2 Child Births
Definition
Child births counts the absolute number of live births to New
Hampshire residents.
Findings
The total number of births to New Hampshire women has
fallen in recent years. In 1989, the
number of births reached a peak of 17,801.
That number has decreased each subsequent year until 1997, when
there were 14,275 births to New Hampshire women.
Child
births in New Hampshire have contributed significantly to the population
increase over the last decade.[5] Figure 1-4
displays the number of births beginning in 1970.[6]
Figure 1-4
Figure 1-4 also displays, as horizontal lines, the current school-year placement of children born in the last twenty years. Children born in New Hampshire in the peak year of 1989 entered fifth grade in the fall of 1999. The decline in births after 1989 means that the total number of children enrolling in early school grades has begun to decline and will continue to do so for at least the next few years. Junior high schools and middle schools, however, have just begun to see the larger numbers born in the late 1980s. Increases in high school enrollments will continue for the next three or four years before beginning to level off.
Significance
Because births are by far the largest contributor to the
population of children, trends in births can provide insight into future needs,
particularly with respect to the demand for education services. In New Hampshire, elementary school
enrollments are declining, while enrollments in middle and high school are
increasing.
With a growing number of children attending secondary
schools, additional resources need to be devoted by both the public and the
private sector to support New Hampshire youth.
To ensure that all of the children in our state have the opportunity to receive an adequate education, the Children's Agenda 2000 calls for full funding of the current educational funding law and support of the constitutional right of all students to an adequate education.
1.3 Children Living With Single Parent
Definition
Children living
with single parent counts the number and percentage of children
under age 18 who live in families headed by one parent, either father or
mother, without a spouse present in the home.
Findings
Over the past decade, New Hampshire has seen a substantial
increase in the percentage of children living with a single parent, from 16.5%
in 1988 to 24% in 1996. This change follows a national increase from 23% in
1988 to 27% in 1996. The Center for Demographic Policy in Washington, D.C.
estimates that 60% of all children in the country will spend some part of their
childhood in a single-parent family.[7]
Figure 1-5 shows the percentage growth of families with
children headed by a single parent in New Hampshire compared to the national
percentage growth over the same time period.[8] Historically, New Hampshire has been
one of the states with the lowest proportion of children in single parent
households. But the gap between the
national average and New Hampshire is narrowing.
Figure
1-5
Growth in single-parent families may be attributed in part to births to unmarried women. The numbers and percentage of live births to women not married at the time of delivery has risen dramatically over the last twenty years. In 1970, such births constituted only 6.5% of all births in the state. By 1997, this number had risen to 26.8%.[9]
The rate at which children are born to single mothers is directly related to the economic condition of the communities in which the mother lives, as shown in Figure 1-6.[10] Approximately 1 in 3 births in the poorest cluster of towns are to single mothers, versus 1 in 9 births to single mothers in the wealthiest cluster of towns. This difference in birth rates between clusters has grown wider over the last 27 years.
Figure 1-6
Significance
Single-parent families may exist
for many different reasons-- divorce or separation, death of a parent, or birth
or adoption by a single parent. Regardless of the cause, the children of these
families share certain characteristics. Statistically, children living in
single-parent families are more likely to live in poverty than children from
two-parent households.[11]
For children living in families headed by women, the risk of poverty is even
greater.[12]
In 1999, the national KIDS
COUNT data book listed the absence of a parent as one of six indicators
closely correlated to children at high risk.
Children who have four or more of the six listed indicators-– the
absence of a parent, parent education level below high school, family living
below poverty level, parents lacking steady, full time employment, family
receiving welfare benefits, and child lacking health insurance-– are vulnerable
to school and economic failure. Indeed,
a child growing up in a single parent family who also meets three of the other
criteria is:
·
twice as likely as a
four-year-old to have difficulty concentrating as a child of the same age group
from a family with no risk factors;
·
three times as likely as a
four-year-old to have difficulty communicating as a child of the same age group
from a family with no risk factors;
·
five times less likely
as a four-year-old to have very good health as a child of the same age group
from a family with no risk factors;
·
twenty-six times more likely
as a 16-19-year-old to become a high school drop-out as a child of the same age
group from a family with no risk factors;
·
one hundred and sixty times
more likely as a teenage female, age 15-19, to become a teen mother as a female
of the same age from a family with no risk factors.[13]
Bullets
Ø From 1988 to 1996, New Hampshire saw a 45% increase in the percentage of children living with a single parent, compared to a 17% increase nationwide.[14]
Ø
Ø The higher incidence of births to single mothers in poor versus wealthy communities threatens to perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
1.4 Children Experiencing Divorce of Parents
Definition
Children
experiencing divorce of parents are
children under age 18 whose parents are divorced at least once during their
childhood.
Findings
From 1993 through 1997,15,728 divorce decrees were issued in
New Hampshire, involving 28,484 minor children— an average of 5,700 children each year.[15]
Figure 1-7 depicts the divorce rate in New Hampshire during 1993-95.
Figure 1-7
If the number of children affected by divorce were to
remain constant (with about 5,700 children affected each year), and no child
experienced more than one divorce, approximately 32% of the state's children
would experience the divorce of their parents before turning 18.
This estimate varies by county, as shown in the following
table. Children living in Belknap County have the highest risk of experiencing
divorce before adulthood (45%), while children living in Rockingham County have
the lowest risk (28%).
Table 1-1
|
Children of Divorce by County |
|||
|
County |
Children 0-17 Involved in Divorces 1993-1997 |
Children 0-17 in 1995 |
% of Children Who May Be Involved in a Divorce Before Age
18 |
|
Belknap |
1,676 |
13,482 |
45% |
|
Carroll |
989 |
10,286 |
35% |
|
Cheshire |
1,908 |
19,464 |
35% |
|
Coos |
820 |
8,392 |
35% |
|
Grafton |
2,102 |
20,832 |
36% |
|
Hillsborough |
7,966 |
100,063 |
29% |
|
Merrimack |
3,449 |
34,584 |
36% |
|
Rockingham |
5,747 |
75,190 |
28% |
|
Strafford |
2,735 |
30,995 |
32% |
|
Sullivan |
1,092 |
10,252 |
38% |
|
New Hampshire |
28,484 |
323,541 |
32% |
The divorce rate also varies by economic cluster. In our 1996 Kids Count New Hampshire Data Book, we reported that children living in the state's poorest communities were more likely than children in wealthier towns to experience the divorce of their parents. Table 1-2 contains the numbers and percent of children in each cluster who experienced divorce from 1990-1994.[16]
Table 1-2
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Total |
|
Children Experiencing Divorce 1990-1994 |
4,428 |
4,171 |
5,042 |
5,139 |
5,180 |
23,960 |
|
% Children |
6.3% |
7.7% |
8.7% |
9.6% |
10.5% |
8.6% |
Finally, it is important to note that, as seen in Figure
1-7, the divorce rate has increased over the past two years for which data are
available, after remaining relatively constant during 1993-95. The number of
divorces granted in 1997 was 19% higher than in 1995, and the number of
children involved had increased 22% to 6,394. Close attention should be paid to
these figures in future years. If the number of children affected annually
remains above the 5,700 level, the estimates of 32% of all children
experiencing the divorce of their parents before age 18 will prove to be too
low.
Significance
Divorce
has a significant impact on children.
Over the short term, children are more likely to experience elevated
stress levels, increased illness, depression, and withdrawal.[17] While such short-term effects are generally
not seen one or two years after divorce, there may be longer-term impacts. Studies show more truancy, poorer
schoolwork, and an increase in antisocial behavior in children of divorce
compared to children of intact families.[18]
The age of the child at the time of divorce is significant,
too: younger children apparently exhibit fewer of the negative effects of
divorce than older children, who may have greater awareness of changes in
social and economic status.[19]
Nationally, teens that have lived apart from one of their parents during some
period of their childhood are at greater risk than teens that grow up with both
parents, regardless of race or maternal education. Teens of divorce are:
Ø twice as likely to drop out of school;
Ø twice as likely to have a child before age 20;
Ø
one-and-a-half times more likely to be out of school
and out of work in their teens and early twenties.[20]
While these statistics give us pause, there are hopeful
factors that appear to influence those teens that thrive in single-parent
homes. These teens report more often
than their counterparts that they feel support from their families, friends,
communities, and schools. The difference between teens who thrive in
single-parent homes and those who don't may thus lie in positive family support
systems, quality schools, and friends who are positive influences, involvement
in extracurricular activities, and involvement in religious institutions.[21]
1.5 What We Would Like to Know About Our Children and Families
KIDS COUNT New Hampshire and the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire have a goal of providing as complete and accurate a portrait of child well being as possible. To that end, this section sets out current data limitations that need to be addressed in order to ensure that state policy is based on a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the needs of our children, families, and communities.
Our first suggestion involves the current population survey. Much of Kids Count Data is drawn from the U.S. Census. The 1990 census figures are now ten years old, and results of the 2000 census will not be available until 2002 or later. The Current Population Survey completed annually by the Census Bureau could provide much more useful interim information for New Hampshire if the sample size used in this state was larger. The current sample is too small to draw conclusions about annual trends in poverty, family size and composition, income, and other factors. It is also too small to allow for any sub-state regional, county, or cluster comparisons. This could be rectified. The state could implement an identical survey annually, using the same instrument that the Census Bureau uses, or could even contract with the Census Bureau or the University of New Hampshire Survey Center for a larger sample to be taken in this state. Such a tool would allow reasonable annual updating of important demographic and economic indicators. Trends, both positive and negative, could be ascertained early. Differences among regions and larger communities could result in better targeting of programs and policies.
Our second suggestion lies in the area of divorce statistics. Current data limitations made it impossible to analyze divorce by economic cluster for KIDS COUNT New Hampshire 2000. The residence of children involved in divorce cases is recorded at the county probate courts where the cases are filed. In the past, the state collected that information for statistical research; however, it has discontinued that practice. Because each of the ten counties contains many different types of communities-- including urban, rural, and suburban-- using county level aggregates washes out any relationship that might exist among community economics, demographics, and divorce. Town-level data would allow these relationships to be explored as was done in the Kids Count 1996 data book, and for any changes to be tracked over time. The state should return to its prior practice of collecting and making this information available.
Endnotes