What constitutes a family? A multi-cultural perspective

Transcription

1 What constitutes a family? A multi-cultural perspective Speakers: Maria Cancian Dr. Thomas Meysen Tish Keahna Moderator: Scott cade

2 Changing Families and Changing Policy Maria Cancian NCSEA Policy Forum Workshop February 7, 2014, Washington, DC Research Training Policy Practice

3 A simple intact family

4 Resident mother, nonresident father 1 child support order 1 full sibling

5 Resident mother with 2 nonresident fathers 2 child support orders 1 half-sibling

6 Two resident mothers with 2 nonresident fathers 3 child support orders 2 half-siblings (1 in same home)

7 Measuring the frequency of complex families We rely on data from the WI Child Support Enforcement (CSE) system that lets us follow families over time Primary analysis focuses on nonmarital births 41% of U.S. births in 2010 to unmarried parents Our data include: 7,999, 8,897, and 10, 385 first-born children of unmarried mothers in Wisconsin born in 1997, 2002 and 2007 We follow each cohort through 2012 (15, 10, 5 years) These data have advantages (e.g. broad coverage and ability to track complex families) and limitations (e.g. only children with paternity establish or with order post-divorce)

8 Percent of All Births The proportion of nonmarital births in the U.S., by race/ethnicity Black Hispanic 20 White Source: Authors compilation of Birth Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Center for Disease Control and Prevention

9 Most children born to unmarried parents in will be part of complex families

10 No increase in transitions to family complexity among first born nonmarital children Dad half sibs Mom & Dad half sibs Mom half sibs Only Full Sibs No siblings

11 Ex: child support paid/received for a simple and simply complex family Assume a Percent-of-Income guideline of 17%, 25% and 29% for 1, 2 or 3 children Simple family with 1 mother, 1 father, 2 children: Peter earns $10,000*/year and had two children with Mary The children live with Mary Mary should receive $2500/year from Peter Simply complex family: 1 mother, 2 fathers, 2 children: Peter and Paul each earn $10,000*/year and have 1 child with Mary The children live with Mary Mary should receive $3400, $1700 from Paul, and $1700 from Peter (If Peter and Paul each have a second child with another mother, they will each owe $3111, total *Note most states have special procedures for low-income cases like this one; for simplicity we ignore these adaptations here

12 Conclusions Complex families are common, especially among the most economically vulnerable We need to reconsider policies with complex families in mind, but no simple solution given tradeoffs Complex families are disproportionately poor => CP often particularly needs support, and NCP often limited ability to pay Questions include: Should orders be set considering children of the Couple, CP, or NCP? Should CS obligations depend on whether the child was born first or last? Do we care most about being fair to resident parents? Nonresident parents? Children?

13 For more information This presentation draws from research with Daniel R. Meyer and additional collaborators. Related papers and reports: The Evolution of Family Complexity from the Perspective of Children (Demography 48: , 2011, Cancian, Meyer & Cook) Who Owes What to Whom? Child Support Policy Given Multiple-Partner Fertility (Social Service Review 85: , 2011, Cancian & Meyer) Related research supported by: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families and Wisconsin Department of Children and Families/Bureau of Child Support Opinions are those of the authors and not necessarily the sponsoring institutions

14 What Constitutes a Family? A Multi-Cultural Perspective Dr. Thomas Meysen German Institute for Youth Human Services and Family Law, Heidelberg

15 Marriage and Divorce Rates in the EU eurostat Oct. 2012, Crude marriage and divorce rates, EU-27, Crude marriage rate Crude divorce rate (1)

16 Germany: pct. children born out of wedlock Langmeyer & Wapler 2013: based on Federal Statistical Office

17 Germany: breadwinners by gender, pct. of population at age from 15 to 65, 1959 to 2012 Jurczyk & Klinkhardt 2014, based on Federal Statistical Office 2013, micro-census

18 Income Shares Model on its way up Norway as probably most successful system worldwide: after implementation of income shares model significant further improvement of performance 80% of cases with full payment monthly 15% of cases with partial payment monthly Sættem, de Jongh Bekkali, Saue & Rustad 2013

19 Income Shares Model on its way up

20 Parenting time and calculation of child support broad discussion in child support systems throughout Europe Examples: United Kingdom: reduction of 1/7 for every 52 days with child Norway: reduction for every night spent with noncustodial parent from the second night on

21 Right to disestablish paternity in Europe Meysen, Eschelbach & Schmidt 2010 (legal comparison of 18 European States) Legal Father Mother Child Putative Father State 16/18: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, England/Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey 13/18: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England/Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey 18/18: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England/Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey 6/18: Belgium, England/Wales, France, Germany, Greece, Slovenia 7/18: Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey child support point of view: no multiple fathers or mothers in Europe yet

22 same-sex parentage and child support EU Charter on Fundamental Rights Art. 21 Non-discrimination 1. Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited. convergence in national family laws applicable in cross-border cases

23 What Constitutes a Family? A Native American Tribal Perspective: The Meskwaki Kinship System Tish Keahna Lac Courtes Oreilles Tribal Child Support Attorney

24 The Meskwaki Kinship System As Related by Meskwaki Tribal Member Tish Keahna 24

25 What is Kinship? 25

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30 Sister Mothers 30

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32 Meskwaki males and females have different kinship relationships Please note the charts vary by gender 32

33 Meskwaki Male Kinship Chart 33

34 Meskwaki Female Kinship Chart 34

35 In comparison to their American counterparts, the Meskwaki have a far greater number of family members they are responsible for and also have more family members who are responsible for the individuals in those families. 35

36 America Responds to its Social and Legal Dilemma of Low Context Families To compensate for the Low Context nature of American families, the Fostering Connections federal legislation of 2008 addresses Fictive Kin which allows Child Welfare agencies to seek or approve placements of children in Foster Care with non-biological family members 36

37 Ke-te-bi Thank You 37