WASHINGTON >> Evelyn Dortch left her husband more than a decade ago, got a college degree and now makes enough to support her four children and stay off welfare. Single-parent poverty
levels fell in 1990s,
census indicatesStill, more than a third of
The numbers
families led by single mothers
live below the poverty lineAssociated Press
The 2000 census showed poverty rates declined during the 1990s for families led by single mothers like Dortch. Welfare reform, a booming economy, greater acceptance of single mothers in the workplace and crackdowns on deadbeat dads contributed to the trend, experts say.
Still, more than one-third of families led by single mothers still live below the poverty level, census data show. Many who left welfare rolls in the 1990s simply nudged themselves up to "working poor" status and are particularly vulnerable to the economic slowdown, said William O'Hare of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a child advocacy group.
Dortch makes just $22,000, barely above the poverty line, but she calls herself a "welfare success story." She collected welfare off and on until 1999, when she graduated from college with a social work degree.
Now she works full time at a community development outreach program and plans to move her children, who are 11 to 16 years old, out of public housing in St. Albans, W.Va.
"Education was my ticket out of poverty and to gaining my self-respect," she said. "When (Congress) considers welfare reform, education needs to be the first priority, not employment."
The census showed 34 percent of households led by a single mother with a child under 18 lived in poverty in 1999, an improvement from 42 percent in 1989.
For all families, poverty rates improved from 10 percent to 9 percent, while the rate for all residents improved from 13 percent to 12 percent.
"But the question is whether these lower rates are sustainable," said Jill Miller of the advocacy group Women Work!, which coordinates job training and education programs. "Our concern is that we see women who work two or three jobs who managed to get themselves out of poverty, but at a very high cost."
Diana Hernandez said things have gotten worse for her. She divorced in 1996 and raises her 3 children in temporary housing in San Leandro, Calif.
"In 1990, I was fine. It's the last six years that have been difficult," Hernandez said.
She said the $79 in monthly child support from her ex-husband barely helps pay for food. She skims money off utility bill payments to afford things like her son's Little League uniform.
"The big issue for me is child care -- not having it," said Hernandez, who is taking college classes. Hernandez hopes lawmakers offer more child care help to single parents.
Paying for housing is a problem for many single mothers.
"Rents skyrocketed during the boom period and are still up there, putting housing well out of reach in single-earner households," said Nancy Schlintz, director of the Family Emergency Shelter Coalition that helped Hernandez.
Poverty levels differ according to a household's makeup. For instance, in 1999, the poverty threshold for a family of five, including four children, was $19,578. By comparison, the threshold for a three-person household with one child was $13,410.
The poverty rates for households led by single mothers improved throughout the country except for the District of Columbia, where it worsened slightly, and Hawaii, where it remained relatively unchanged.
Poverty data for single mothers refers to women who live with either their own child or a related child. Previous surveys show most of these children are the women's offspring.
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The percentage of families led by single mothers in 1999 and 1989 that lived below poverty level. The data comes from the census category "Female householder, no husband present, with related children under 18 years." Below the line
State 1999 1989 Hawaii 29.5 29.8 Alabama 44.6 52.1 Alaska 23.7 28.0 Arizona 32.1 40.0 Arkansas 43.7 52.1 California 32.5 36.1 Colorado 26.1 38.8 Connecticut 26.6 34.0 Delaware 26.3 31.8 D.C. 37.3 33.0 Florida 32.8 38.6 Georgia 35.3 44.3 Idaho 35.3 42.3 Illinois 32.1 43.2 Indiana 30.4 39.7 Iowa 30.5 45.1 Kansas 29.7 40.0 Kentucky 42.7 51.8 Louisiana 49.4 60.1 Maine 36.4 41.6 Maryland 23.4 29.1 Massachusetts 31.2 39.4 Michigan 31.5 48.1 Minnesota 25.0 40.0 Mississippi 48.1 61.4 Missouri 33.5 42.0 Montana 41.6 49.3 Nebraska 31.0 39.5 Nevada 26.3 31.1 New Hampshire 23.5 25.4 New Jersey 27.4 32.8 New Mexico 41.6 50.2 New York 38.8 43.4 North Carolina 34.3 41.1 North Dakota 38.7 50.4 Ohio 34.6 46.4 Oklahoma 39.8 48.3 Oregon 33.3 40.0 Pennsylvania 34.9 42.4 Rhode Island 40.1 41.7 South Carolina 37.7 45.8 South Dakota 37.9 48.8 Tennessee 37.6 45.2 Texas 36.2 43.6 Utah 29.0 38.9 Vermont 31.0 36.4 Virginia 29.8 36.4 Washington 30.8 39.5 West Virginia 48.8 55.0 Wisconsin 28.4 43.3 Wyoming 38.1 45.4 United States 34.3 42.3 Source: U.S. Census Bureau