Related UI Researchers

Publications on Children

The ability of employed parents to meet the health needs of their children may depend on their access to sick leave, especially for low-income workers. By examining access to paid sick leave and paid vacation using the 2003-2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, the authors find that low-income families are less likely to have access to paid leave, especially if the family lacks a full-time/full-year worker. Among children whose parents have access to paid sick leave, parents are more likely to take time away from work to care for themselves or others.

During the 1990s, the federal government promised low-income families that work would pay. Parents moved into jobs in response to new welfare rules requiring work, tax credits and other work supports that boosted take-home pay. Unfortunately, the record shows that low-income families have not progressed much. Many don't bring home enough to cover the everyday costs of living. This paper synthesizes the current status of low-income families along with the findings from a set of essays that address key shortcomings in the safety net. The paper summarizes ideas for policies that would make work pay in today's economy.

One-third of America's families with children are low income, meaning their incomes fall below twice the federal poverty level. Although four in five of these families work, many don't bring home enough to cover the everyday costs of living. In this essay, Acs and Turner outline their proposals to enhance low-income families' purchasing power and reduce unusually high housing costs through a package of reforms and policy initiatives that tackle both the income side and expenditure side of family budgets.

Parents in low-wage jobs lack both the time and resources needed to fill their dual roles of worker and parent. In this summary, the authors outline a “family security” approach that would help parents fulfill their roles effectively. They suggest policies for enabling parents to improve prospects for their children and combine work with child rearing. Among the recommendations are flexible and paid leave policies for working parents, guaranteed child care, and expansion of the Early Head program.

This paper is a response to New Safety Net Paper 3, "Family Security: Supporting Parents' Employment and Children's Development" by Shelley Waters Boots, Jennifer Macomber, and Anna Danziger.