Study: More births to unwed moms means more kids in poverty

A report released by The Michigan League for Human Serivices on Wednesday shows that the number of children being born to unwed mothers is on the rise, a situation that is expected to lead to economic hardships.

The report states that 40 percent of births in Michigan for 2009 were to unmarried women, a 20 percent rise from 2000.

Jane Zehnder-Merrill, director of the study said that the increase in single-mothers will lead to more children living in poverty because of a difficult economic climate, reports the Grand Rapids Press.

“This has profound implications because these moms are less likely to have access to child support, and they’re not so likely to marry as in previous decades,” Zehnder-Merrill said. “In this economy, it really takes two adults working to support a family, unless you are at the top of the income bracket.”

The Michigan League for Human Services says Republican budget cuts will only add to the difficulty of raising a child as a single parent or a low-income family and the pregnancy prevention programs being hacked away will not help slow the growing number of unmarried mothers.

The league calls for more family support services, support for Medicaid, access to family planning and a recognition that women’s health is key to infant health. Zehnder-Merrill decried state budget cuts that have reduced teen pregnancy prevention services, family planning and cash assistance programs.

“This is a very short-sighted policy because I think children are going to suffer,” she said. “We have a lot of punitive policies around single parents. We need as a community to look for ways to help these families be successful in raising their children.”