Determinants of Out-of-Home Living Arrangements for Children: To What Extent Do Family Resources, Family Structures, and Public Policies Make a Difference?

Lawrence M. Berger, Princeton University
Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University

A large and growing number of children in the U.S. spend some part of their childhood in living arrangements that do not include their birth parents. This paper uses data from the NLSY to estimate the effects of income and poverty, family structure, and income support policies on the probabilities that children are living in various out-of-home settings. Results suggest that lower-income, single-parent, and mother-partner families are more likely to have children living out-of-home in a given year. Higher AFDC/TANF benefits are associated with decreases in the probability that a family has a child living in a child welfare service setting, but increases in the probability that a family has a child living with relatives. Higher foster care payments are associated with increases in out-of-home placements. This research holds implications for predicting the ways in which changes in policies that affect family resources and structures may influence children’s living arrangements.