The purpose of this indicator is to identify the percentage of children who are experiencing household instability due to parental employment insecurity. This data has been designated on a national level as one of several key indicators of well-being by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. The data is collected through the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and counts those children that live in either a single-parent or a married-couple household, whose parent(s) have not worked at least 35 hours per week each or at least 50 weeks out of the 12 months prior to being surveyed.

Data from 2014 showed the first decline in employment insecurity since the data was first gathered in 2008. To understand why these numbers look the way they do, racial disaggregations must be considered. The Non-Hispanic White population has fared best for employment status when compared to other ethnic/racial disaggregations, with employment never exceeding 20% over the last 7 years. Meanwhile, the percentages of Black and Hispanic children living in employment insecure households have never dropped below 43% and 41% respectively. This gap in sustainable family employment creates a cascading effect on a variety of other achievement gaps, inherently stunting the stability and success of Connecticut’s children.

A 2012 UMass Boston report by the Center for Social Policy noted a national trend in the available labor force and its impact on families. The decline in sustainable manufacturing careers, which are being replaced with a rising number of low-wage service jobs (fast food, retail, home healthcare aids, etc.) impedes the ability of parents to provide healthier food options, encourage their children to be engaged in after school activities, provide social interactions due to toxic scheduling, and to save for secondary education. For families with multiple children, it is often necessary for either a relative or the oldest child to take on a parenting role. Placing such stress on the eldest child hinders their likelihood of success in school, increases the likelihood they will engage in risky behaviors like smoking, drinking and sexual activity, and can drive them to drop out of school early. Multiple indicators across the four domains of the CT Kid’s Report Card are inherently impacted by the security of stable parental employment. With private industry trends making it more competitive to achieve the full-time employment and the wages needed to sustain a family, governmental initiatives at the state and federal level have sought to cover the remainder.

State-level welfare for families at risk experienced one of its most recent reforms through the establishment of an Earned Income Tax Credit in 2011, aiding low to moderate income working families. Another legislative action signed into law encourages young individuals with families to return to or advance their education by qualifying such activities into categories that provide both federal and state assistance. Continued efforts from a variety of legislative committees in consultation with state agencies and policy advocates can ensure families and those who want to have families can do so without fear of economic hardship.

• Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors
• Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund
• Annie E. Casey Foundation.

• Advocate for a two-generation strategies regarding children´s education. (COC & Annie E. Casey Foundation)
• Create policies that equip parents and children with the income, tools and skills they need to succeed. (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
  • Structure public systems to respond to the realities facing today’s families.
  • Promote collaboration and align policies and programs through interagency commissions and innovation funds.
  • Use existing child, adult and neighborhood programs and platforms to build evidence for practical pathways out of poverty for entire families.
  • Incentivize community colleges and employment and job-training agencies to partner with organizations focused on benefit access and child care to help parents who are trying to further their education.
• Sustain economic supports like the Earned Income Tax Credit. (COC)
• Utilize of the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to more accurately depict how families are really faring and what programs are working. (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
• Support access to high-quality early education programs to ensure that low income children are on the path to success.
• Invest in effective job training and postsecondary education so more parents can access better-paying jobs. (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
• Expand and simplify enrollment processes for programs that help families make ends meet such as SNAP and subsidies for child care and housing. (Annie E. Casey Foundation).
• Build on programs that work such as Head Start and education and job training programs for parents. (Annie E. Casey Foundation)

Strategies provided by the Commission on Children (COC) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.