Children residing with no parent present

Although foster care and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families “child-only” caseloads have fallen from heights in the 1990s, detailed household relationship data from panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) establish that the share of children residing with no parent present (NoPP) has been rising for decades. Characteristics of NoPP children and the composition and poverty rates of their households are traced over time. Most NoPP spells are found to last 2 years or more. Special attention is paid to “informal care” children, the majority of NoPP children not in contact with foster care or income support programs designed to assist children with no parent present and provide access to health care. By several measures of well-being, informal care children occupy a margin between all children and other NoPP children. Children residing with only one parent are at higher risk of entering NoPP status than those with both parents present.

Research highlights► Survey changes masked increases in children residing with no parent present (NoPP). ► Most are in informal care, not kinship foster children or TANF “child-onlies.” ► Most NoPP spells eventually will last at least two years. ► Informal care children appear marginally better off than other NoPP children. ► The risk of NoPP status is higher for children living with only one parent.