Children in single-parent families by race
KIDS COUNT is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track the well-being of children in the United States. By providing high-quality data and trend analysis through its KIDS COUNT Data Center, the Foundation seeks to enrich local, state and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children — and to raise the visibility of children’s issues through a nonpartisan, evidence-based lens.
In addition to including data from the most trusted national resources, the KIDS COUNT Data Center draws from more than 50 KIDS COUNT state organizations that provide state and local data, as well publications providing insights into trends affecting child and family well-being. Through its National KIDS COUNT Project, the Foundation develops and distributes reports on important well-being issues. Much of the data from these nationally recognized publications, including the KIDS COUNT Data Book, are featured on the KIDS COUNT Data Center. The Annie E. Casey Foundation was started in 1948 in Seattle, WA, by UPS founder James E. Casey.
Non-partisan data reported in a ten-year span from 2007-2016 by AECF’s “Kids Count” Data Center indicates that Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, bi-racial and mixed children (Two or more races) have the highest percentages of single parents. From a ten year span dating 2007-2016, an average of 66.2% of Black or African American children lived in single parent households.
An average of 40.8% of Hispanic or Latino children came from single parent households during the same timeframe. White (non-Hispanic) children averaged 24.3%, an average of 16.4% for Asian and Pacific Islander children, an average of 51.9% for American Indian children, and 41.8% for bi-racial, and mixed (Two or more races) children of single parent households.
During the Obama administration, from 2009-2016, Black or African American children had the highest rate of children in single parent households, while the rate of Hispanic or Latino children consistently increased without decreasing. Evidently, Obama’s message of “hope and change” for America did not inspire functional parenting for black and Hispanic households.
