To help provide information on states' experiences related to the goal of reducing nonmarital births, and the factors that helped shape state policies, this study examines, in two parts, state perspectives and experiences regarding nonmarital birth policy since the passage of PRWORA.

This brief looks at child welfare agencies' reliance on kin, that is, relatives, to care for children who may otherwise need to be in state custody. In most states, these agencies use voluntary kinship arrangements on a fairly limited basis when caseworkers believe that children face low risk of abuse or neglect. Agencies are confronted by many challenges, including whether to remain involved with a family and how to provide assistance to them.

BSF works with state/local partners to develop or refine interventions to promote healthy marriage among interested unwed parents at or near the birth of their child.

Authored by Kelly Noonan, Rider University, National Bureau of Economic Research; Nancy E. Reichman, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; and Hope Corman, Rider University, National Bureau of Economic Research. In this report, the authors estimate the effect of poor child health on the labor supply of new fathers post- welfare reform, using a national sample of mostly unwed parents and their children--a group at high risk of living in poverty. The researchers address the potential endogeneity of child health and find that having a young child in poor health reduces the father's probability of being employed by eight percentage points and that it reduces his work effort by over five hours per week. These results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that young children with serious health problems are likely to receive lower levels of health investment than their healthier peers.

Authored by Hope Corman, Rider University, National Bureau of Economic Research; Nancy E. Reichman, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; and Kelly Noonan, Rider University, National Bureau of Economic Research. In this report, the authors estimate the effect of poor child health on the labor supply of mothers post welfare reform, using a national sample of mostly unwed parents and their children-a group at high risk of living in poverty. The researchers address the potential endogeneity of child health and find that having a young child in poor health reduces the mother's probability of working by eight percentage points and her hours of work by three per week when she is employed. These results suggest that children's health problems may diminish their families' capacity to invest in their health.

This research brief outlines the "Building Strong Families" project, which aims at helping new, unmarried parents gain the skills necessary to build healthy marriages. The project was created with expected outcomes to enhance the wellbeing of children in low-income families.

From the National Poverty Center, this article addresses the importance of living arrangements for children as emphasized in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Authors utilize longitudinal data to determine the effects of living arrangements on economic conditions for children and vice versa.

This special report is on family structure and children's well-being. It provides family structure breakouts for five indicators selected from the Population and Family Characteristics, Health, and Education sections of America's Children.

From the DC Kids Count Collaborative, this fact book reports on the wellbeing of children and families in Washington DC. It includes a report card that compares data from 2004 and 2005. For 2005, 22 out of 40 indicators changed for the better for children of DC, and 17 out of 40 changed for the worse.

Research from the National Center for Children in Poverty recently found that more than two out of every five children live in low-income families in the State of New York. Additionally, the income gap between the wealthiest families and the lowest-income families, residing in New York, is the largest in the nation. Despite receiving public benefits, including food stamps, public health insurance, and federal, state, and local income tax credits, many low-income families still struggle.