Laurie C. Maldonado

Molloy University · Social Work

single-parent families, U.S. policy, high-income countries, economic well-being, lesson drawing

This conclusion engages two questions catalyzed by the articles in this volume. First, which policies are effective in reducing economic hardship among single-parent families overall and minimizing disparities across subgroups? Second, what are the prospects for related reforms in the United States? We draw four lessons from the articles in this vo...

This chapter sets out to examine how family policies differently affect the poverty rate of single-parent families versus couples with children and also probes whether or not there is a premium—or penalty—for single parents. This is based on a literature review and analysis of a number of comparative family policy data infrastructures. Although sin...

One of the most pressing challenges of single-parent families is the concern for their socioeconomic well-being. Single-parent families are more likely to be poor than two-parent families, and there is growing concern about the rising inequality among family types. Much research has focused on how children fare in single-parent families and whether...

Single parents face a triple bind of inadequate resources, employment, and policies, which in combination further complicate their lives. This book - multi-disciplinary and comparative in design - shows evidence from over 40 countries, along with detailed case studies of Sweden, Iceland, Scotland, and the UK. It covers aspects of well-being that...

Single-parent families and their high poverty rates remain a genuine concern in OECD countries. Much of the research has focused on “redistribution” through income taxes and transfers as an effec- tive strategy to reduce poverty. In this research brief, we adopt this traditional approach, and then push forward a focus on “market” strategies that fa...

Social investment is an emerging paradigm for European welfare states, often described as an abandonment of tax-benefit systems with generous income ‘transfers’ in favour of ‘in-kind’ policies and services.The position of single-parent families directly relates to one of the major critiques of the social investment strategy. Despite efforts to impr...

This study examined towhat extent family policies differently affect poverty among single-parent households and two-parent households. We distinguished between reconciliation policies (tested with parental leave and the proportion of unpaid leave) and financial support policies (tested with family allowances). We used data from the Luxembourg Incom...

The position of single-parent families directly relates to one of the major critiques of the social investment strategy. Despite efforts to improve employment and make work pay to prevent poverty, European welfare states have witnessed disappointing trends in poverty (Vandenbroucke and Vleminckx, 2011). Cantillon (2011) argued that social investmen...

Single-parent families and their high poverty rates remain a genuine concern in OECD countries. Much of the research has focused on “redistribution” through income taxes and transfers as an effec- tive strategy to reduce poverty. We adopt this traditional approach, and then push forward a focus on “market” strategies that facilitate single parents’...

The wellbeing of single-parent families is a vitally important issue for the United States. Half or more of the children growing up in the U.S. today will spend some, and in some cases all, of their childhood in a single-parent family.This report compares U.S. single-parent families with single-parent families in 16 other high-income countries. We...