This data, which is collected from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) measures the percentage of children under the age of 18 who live with their own single parent in either a family or subfamily. From 2005 to 2014, there has been a gradual increase in the percent of children in single parent households in Connecticut. All races saw an increase except for Black children, whose population experienced a 1% point decline. Single parent households are most prevalent in Connecticut’s cities. Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, Bridgeport, and New Britain have been ranked amongst the top 101 cities in the U.S. with the highest percentage of single-parent households. These rankings align with data that shows Hispanic and African American children are more likely to live in single-parent households (and more likely to live in larger cities) than their White No-Hispanic counterparts.

According to Kids Count Data Center, “Children growing up in single-parent families typically do not have the same economic or human resources available as those growing up in two-parent families.” These economic hardships and a lack of comparable resources subsequently have a significant impact on the quality of parenting and exposure to certain stressors. These impacts have been linked in regularly published studies to single-parent children engaging in more risky behavior, including sexual intercourse, drug/alcohol use, fights or carrying a weapon to school, and feelings of depression or hopelessness.

In order to positively alter those outcomes for children, policymakers have actively sought to improve the financial positions of both low-income and single parents. One recently considered proposal is the expansion of the Care 4 Kids program, which assists families in paying for child care costs while enrolled in high school or attending an institution of higher education. Other short-term governmental assistance programs for single parents, notably mothers, include Women in Transition (WIT), Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

• Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Department of Children and Families
• CT Voices for Children
• Commission on Children
• The MOMs Partnership

• Reducing the occurrence of both teen births and out-of-wedlock births by mothers. (The Heritage Foundation)
• Improving the educational outcomes of spouses prior to marriage or childbearing. (The Heritage Foundation)
• Increase the value of EITC (Earned Income Tax Credits) for married couples with children. (The Heritage Foundation)
• Involve fathers in parental training.(HHS)
• Provide emotional education skills.(HHS)
• Establish multi-generational households as an alternative to single-parents households. (Vanderbilt University)

Strategies collected from The Heritage Foundation, the U.S. Department of Human Services Administration for Children and Families (HHS), and Vanderbilt University