Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

White Deaths Exceed Births In One-Third Of U.S. States, Rogelio Saenz, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Rogelio Sáenz and Kenneth Johnson report that there were more white deaths than births in seventeen states in 2014, compared to just four states in 2004. This is the highest number of states with white natural decrease (more deaths than births) in U.S. history. Several of these states are among the nation’s most populous and urbanized. The rising number of older adults, the falling number of women of childbearing age, and lower fertility rates diminished the number of white births and increased the number of white deaths. The authors conclude with a discussion of the major …

Child Care Costs Exceed 10 Percent Of Family Income For One In Four Families, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Andrew P. Schaefer, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Marybeth Mattingly, Andrew Schaefer, and Jessica Carson analyze families’ child care expenses and identify, among families with young children who pay for child care, the share that are “cost burdened,” defined in this context as spending more than 10 percent of their gross income on child care. Using data from the 2012–2016 Current Population Survey, they present their findings by number of children; age of youngest child; parental characteristics; family income measures; and U.S. region, metropolitan status, and state. They report that about one in four families with young children who have child care costs are …

Paid Family And Medical Leave In New Hampshire: Who Has It? Who Takes It?, Kristin Smith, Nicholas Adams

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief uses data collected by the Granite State Poll in 2016 to examine New Hampshire workers’ access to paid family and medical leave and the use of paid or unpaid leave for family and medical reasons. Understanding who lacks access to paid family and medical leave benefits and the underlying factors contributing to differences in those who take time away from work for family caregiving is important. Without access to paid family and medical leave, New Hampshire’s working families may face barriers to financial stability, employment, and future opportunities.

Author Kristin Smith reports that about one-third of New Hampshire …

Overall Declines In Child Poverty Mask Relatively Stable Rates Across States, Andrew P. Schaefer, Jessica A. Carson, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Andrew Schaefer, Jessica Carson, and Marybeth Mattingly use Census data released on September 15, 2016, from the American Community Survey--the only regular source for estimating yearly child poverty rates at, and below, the state level--to examine child poverty rates across the United States by place type, region, and state. They report that between 2014 and 2015, child poverty declined nationwide across rural areas, suburbs, and cities. As before, cities had the highest child poverty, followed closely by rural areas. Suburbs had the lowest rates. In thirteen states, child poverty declined since 2014; only Mississippi saw an …

Over 80 Percent Of New Hampshire Residents Support Paid Family And Medical Leave Insurance, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Paid family and medical leave helps workers manage their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take extended time away from work while receiving some wage replacement and without the threat of being fired. Although New Hampshire currently does not have a paid family and medical leave law or program, these policies are gaining momentum across the United States. In this brief, author Kristin Smith discusses the results of a winter 2016 Granite State Poll in which New Hampshire residents were asked if they would support or oppose a paid family and medical leave law in New Hampshire providing …

Fewer Than Half Of Wic-Eligible Families Receive Wic Benefits, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Research has shown that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a successful and cost-effective program. Numerous studies find that WIC participation improves pre- and postnatal health outcomes; families’ overall nutrition; access to prenatal care, health care for children, and immunizations; and children’s cognitive development and academic achievement. Despite these important benefits, author Kristin Smith--using data from the 2015 Current Population Survey---reports that fewer than half of WIC income-eligible families with young children received WIC nutrition benefits in 2014. Among eligible families, receipt of WIC benefits was more likely among families in which the head …

Hispanic Children Least Likely To Have Health Insurance: Citizenship, Ethnicity, And Language Barriers To Coverage, Jessica A. Carson, Michael J. Staley

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This policy brief examines health insurance coverage of Hispanic children and its relationship to their citizenship status, their parents’ citizenship status, parents’ insurance coverage, language spoken at home, and their state’s Medicaid expansion policies. Using the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey collected in 2014, authors Michael Staley and Jessica Carson report that Hispanic children are less likely to have health insurance than black or white children, a gap that is explained by differences in citizenship status between Hispanic and non-Hispanic children. Noncitizen Hispanic children are nearly three times more likely to be uninsured than …

U.S. Births Remain Low As The Great Recession Wanes; More Than Three Million Fewer Births And Still Counting, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this fact sheet, author Ken Johnson discusses how since the onset of the Great Recession, there have been 3.4 million fewer U.S. births than expected. National Center for Health Statistics data for 2015 show the lowest general fertility rate on record and only 3,978,000 births last year. There were 338,000 fewer births in 2015 than in 2007, just before the Recession began to influence fertility. This decline in births is entirely due to reduced fertility rates. In 2015, the shortfall of births was nearly 600,000, and recent data provide no evidence of any upturn in birth rates. It is …

Carsey Perspective: Is The Poverty Rate 1.1 Percent?, Michael P. Ettlinger, Andrew P. Schaefer

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this Carsey Perspective, authors Michael Ettlinger and Andrew Schaefer show that while close to 15 percent of the U.S. population lives in poverty, they only fall short of the poverty line by about 1 percent of national income--suggesting that the scale of the problem shouldn't be a reason for failing to address it.
In our "Carsey Perspectives" series, we present new, innovative ideas and ways of looking at issues affecting our society and the world.

Exclusionary Discipline Highest In New Hampshire’S Urban Schools Suspension And Expulsion Found To Disproportionately Affect Disadvantaged Students, Douglas J. Gagnon, Eleanor M. Jaffee, Reeve Kennedy

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This research brief follows up on a joint Carsey/NH Kids Count publication from 2009. The 2009 study focused on larger disciplinary trends in New Hampshire schools and contextualized them in the policies, laws, and procedures that may have resulted in increased use of exclusionary discipline. The present study reports on rates of exclusionary discipline from 2010 through 2014 by school and student characteristics to better understand how and to what extent exclusionary discipline has been applied across the state in recent years.

Authors Douglas Gagnon, Eleanor Jaffee, and Reeve Kennedy report that although rates of out-of-school suspension among secondary school …

Child Poverty Higher And More Persistent In Rural America, Andrew P. Schaefer, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Andrew Schaefer, Marybeth Mattingly, and Kenneth Johnson look at both the incidence of high child poverty and at the places where such high child poverty has persisted for decades. Their analysis documents that high child poverty is growing nationwide and that rural America includes a disproportionate share of children living in counties with persistently high child poverty. Counties with persistent high child poverty are clustered in Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, much of the Southeast, parts of the Southwest, and in scattered areas of the Great Plains. More than three-quarters of counties with persistent high child poverty …

After Years Of Decline, Private Health Insurance Rates Among Children Grew In 2014, Michael J. Staley

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this fact sheet, author Michael Staley reports that rates of private health insurance coverage for children increased between 2013 and 2014 for the first time since 2008, the first year in which the American Community Survey collected data on health insurance. Between 2008 and 2014 (the most recent data), rates of children’s coverage grew nearly 4 percentage points; to 94 percent. Growth in public insurance, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), was largely responsible for these gains (up 10.8 percentage points since 2008), while rates of private insurance coverage fell concurrently (down 5.6 percentage points).

First In The Nation: New Hampshire's Changing Electorate, Kenneth M. Johnson, Dante J. Scala, Andrew Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Ken Johnson, Dante Scala, and Andrew Smith discuss demographic forces that are reshaping the New Hampshire landscape. They report that the voting population of New Hampshire is among the most mobile in the United States. More than 30 percent of the potential voters are new to the state’s electoral process since 2008. These younger voters and recent migrants have the potential to change the political landscape of the state in the coming presidential primary and November election. The new young voters tend to be more liberal than their older contemporaries. These younger voters also identify less …