Foreword

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Snapshots of America's Families II is the Urban Institute's first look at the well-being of children and adults through the lens of the 1999 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF). Snapshots II presents a picture of how the experiences of American families have changed in the first few years following federal welfare reform and other major policy changes. This new information will broaden the nation's understanding of the experience of low-income families and the challenges they face. Snapshots II offers national and state-specific portraits of family well-being that can inform future debates on welfare, health care, and the social safety net in America.

The American economy was extremely strong between 1997 and 1999, a fact reflected in Snapshots II. In general, nonelderly Americans were better off financially in 1999 than in 1997, with broad-based reductions in poverty rates, more work among single parents, and more families stating that they were able to afford food. Employer-sponsored health insurance coverage expanded for adults as they moved into higher paying jobs where they were more likely to be offered health insurance.

There was a small decline in the percentage of children living in single-parent households. This change occurred in conjunction with an increase in the percentage of children living in two-parent homes, but also an increase in the percentage of children living without either of their parents.

Snapshots II also reveals the limitations of economic growth in improving the well-being of America's families. Economic strength did not reduce the percentage of children without health insurance coverage. Gains in coverage due to the new State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) seem to have been offset by losses of coverage due to welfare reform. Families did not report any improvements in their ability to afford housing.

Broad economic gains and small shifts in family structure have not yet translated into greater well-being for children overall. Family environment measures, such as parents reading to children and taking them on outings, are unchanged. Children's well-being, as measured by behavioral or emotional problems and various school-related behaviors, also remains the same. Possibly, these conditions are slow to change, or perhaps they are responsive only to much larger economic and social shifts.

National trends relating to well-being may mask different effects for specific groups. For example, little evidence points to greater well-being for blacks, even where overall trends for the nation are positive. Health insurance coverage for Hispanics remains substantially less common than it is for whites or blacks.

In 1997 we showed that the circumstances low-income families face differ markedly from those faced by families with higher incomes. The 1999 data show that this continues to be the case, although on some measures of child well-being, conditions are improving for low-income children while they are worsening slightly for those with higher incomes. We also documented vast differences across states in the well-being of children and adults in 1997. This continues to be true in 1999.

All in all, data from the 1999 NSAF paint a picture of economic strength among America's families, but provide limited evidence of either broad improvement or deterioration in other measures of well-being. Snapshots II shows that neither the greatest fears nor the greatest hopes of dramatic social change due to devolution, welfare reform, the new SCHIP program, and other recent initiatives have been realized. Additional analyses will explore the relationship between recent policy changes and the data presented here. A third round of the NSAF, planned for 2002, will shed additional light on these issues.

Note: The Portable Document Format (PDF) of this report includes all tables and charts.

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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