About 80% of black babies are born to unwed moms
Report: These children face life with greater disadvantages.
By Tim Evans
January 24, 2008
About eight in 10 black children in Indiana are born to unwed parents -- a
start to life that sets them up for problems during adolescence and beyond,
according to an Indiana Black Expo report.
Indiana's black youths fare significantly worse than Hoosier youths in general
across 18 indicators of well-being, such as graduation rates and poverty
levels, and do worse than black youths in the U.S, according to the report
being released Friday.
Tanasha Anders, acting president and chief executive of Indiana Black Expo,
said the problem comes down to education -- making sure young people finish
school and understand the consequences of having a baby.
"Everything else is a domino effect," she said.
The explosion of births to unwed parents is driving many of the state's social
problems, such as increases in poverty and child abuse and the growing cost of
public aid, said Bill Stanczykiewicz, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth
Institute. He added that the problem is not exclusive to any one race.
Indiana's out-of-wedlock birthrate is at an all-time high, with unwed mothers
accounting for nearly 40 percent of all births, he said. Nationally, about 36
percent of all births are to unwed mothers.
Stanczykiewicz said the situation is among the toughest social issues to
address.
"It is very difficult, even for well-meaning people, to get together and talk
about how we talk to people about their sex lives and how to parent children,"
he said.
Another complicating factor is that a growing number of the single-parent
births are to young adults, instead of teens, and that requires a new and
different kind of message. But finding a way to address the situation is
critical, he said.
Child Trends, a nonpartisan national children's research organization, reports
children born to single mothers are more likely to:
. Live in poverty and experience social and emotional problems.
. Have low educational attainment, engage in sex at younger ages and have a
premarital birth.
. Enter adulthood neither in school nor employed, or have lower occupational
status and income, and more troubled marriages and divorces than those born to
married parents.
The issues that spin out of struggling single-parent families show up
throughout the new Black Expo report, including the teen birth rate of 81 per
1,000 for blacks. That is almost twice the state's overall teen birth rate of
43.5 per 1,000.
About 35 percent of black children live in families headed by married parents,
compared with 69 percent of all Indiana children, according to the report.
Among other factors the report examines are median family income,
homeownership, neglect cases, and graduation and unemployment rates.
To address the growing out-of-wedlock birthrates, the Black Expo report calls
for increasing resources for sex education programs with proven track records
and public education campaigns that promote healthy marriage.
Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, which advocates for
traditional families and values, blames the sexual revolution, no-fault divorce
and the more recent discussions about same-sex marriage and other "marriage
substitutes."
"That all sends a message that marriage doesn't matter," he said.
Smith said the situation leaves his organization playing defense and offense.
The institute is helping pastors strengthen marriage and fighting trends such
as cohabitation, while developing programs that enrich and support marriage.
"There are fewer and fewer successful role models for young people, and we are
trying to do something about that," he said.
While the battles over social values are being waged in churches and the
Statehouse, Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana,
said young people need accurate and comprehensive education about sex and
family planning.
"We're failing," she said, "and the consequences are abysmal."
Cockrum said Indiana is struggling, at least in part, because of the state's
strong conservative bent and a belief that information about sex should be
taught by parents.
That philosophy shows up in state requirements for insurers: States such as
California, Washington and Wisconsin require insurance companies to provide
coverage for contraception; Indiana does not. And Indiana's Medicaid program --
which pays for more than half of all births in the state -- does not provide
family planning services. At least 25 other states do.
Public education is working in other places, Cockrum said. Since Oregon
instituted a comprehensive approach to sexuality education, she said, the teen
pregnancy rate has fallen 27 percent and is below the national average. During
the same period, the number of high school students who said they were sexually
active decreased.
Black Expo's Anders said officials hope the new report, based on data from
2004-05, will be a call to action for families, civic and faith groups, public
agencies and political leaders.
While the percentage of black children raised in single-parent families
historically has been higher than that for whites, Anders said there has been a
tradition of extended families stepping up to help.
"The questions are: 'Where is that extended family now?' and 'What else can we
do?' " she said.
Indiana comparisons
Blacks in Indiana Indiana overall Blacks in U.S. Year
Families headed by married parents 34.9% 69.1% 36.4% 2005
Families headed by single fathers 8.2% 7.7% 8.6% 2005
Families headed by single mothers 56.9% 23.2% 55% 2005
Unemployment rate for ages 16+ 15.6% 6.9% 13.2% 2005
Median household income $28,760 $43,993 $30,939 2005
Children ages 0-17 in poverty 42.1% 16.7% 56.2% 2005
Households owning their home 43.0% 72.0% 45.8% 2005
18-year-olds with high school diploma* 53.2% 77.5% 73.3% 2004
Students in gifted and talented programs** 4.3% 11.5% 9% 2006
Infant deaths 1.7% 0.8% N/A 2004
Babies born at low birth weight 13.7% 8.1% 13.4% 2004
Babies born pre-term 13.9% 10.2% 17.7% 2004
Babies born to unmarried parents 77.9% 38.8% 68.8% 2004
Number of libraries per 1,000 children age 0-19 2.3 0.3 1.4 2005
Number of teen births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 80.9 43.5 63.1 2004
*Estimate based on 2004 National Center for Education Statistics data and 2004
American Community Survey population data. Calculation by the Indiana Youth
Institute. **U.S. comparison statistic is for 2005.
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