Table of Contents

State of the Family in Washington

The United States Family Belonging Index is 46 percent, with a corresponding Family Rejection Index of 54 percent, based on 2008-2012 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The action of parents determines the Family Belonging or Rejection Index within a nation, region, state, or racial or ethnic group—whether they marry and belong to each other, or whether they reject one another through divorce or other means. Rejection leaves children without married parents committed to one another and to their children.

The Index of Family Belonging is determined by the fraction of children aged 15 to 17 in a given area who live with both their biological parents, who have been married since before or around the time of their birth.

1. Index of Belonging

Washington has a Family Belonging Index of 47.5 percent. In other words, 47.5 percent of Washington teenagers aged 15 to 17 have lived with their always-married parents since their birth, whereas 52.5 percent of these adolescents were raised in a non-intact family. Washington ranks 20th on the state ranking of the Index of Belonging and Rejection.1)

Washington State Ranking

2. Outcomes by Index of Belonging

Washington Outcomes

2.1 Youth Outcomes

Washington Youth Outcomes

3. Mapping Washington

See Effects of Family Structure on Policy Outcomes

3.1 Family Intactness

Fraction of Families Intact Washington Family Intactness

3.2 Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Births

Fraction of teenage out-of-wedlock births out of all births Washington Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Births

3.3 High School Graduates

Fraction of 19- to 20-year-olds who are high school graduates Washington High School Graduates

3.4 Employment

Fraction of 25- to 54-year-old men working Washington Male Employment

3.5 Earnings

Average earnings per 25- to 54-year-old male Washington Male Earnings

3.6 Homeowners

Fraction of households owning a home Washington Homeowners

3.7 Poverty

See Effects of Family Structure on Poverty

Fraction of the overall population below poverty Washington Overall Poverty Fraction of 25- to 54-year-old females below the poverty line Washington Female Poverty Fraction of minors below the poverty line Washington Minor Poverty

3.8 Government Dependence

See Effects of Family Structure on Government Dependency and Effects of Welfare on Families

Fraction of households receiving food stamps Washington Food Stamp Recipients Average TANF and State Welfare Transfers per 25- to 54-year-old females Washington TANF and State Welfare Transfers Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-olds Washington Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-old male Washington Male Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old male Washington Male Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old female Washington Female Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

3.9 Healthcare

See Effects of Family Structure on Healthcare Coverage

Fraction of 25- to 54-year-olds receiving public healthcare Washington Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of minors receiving public healthcare Washington Minor Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of 25- to 54-year-olds covered by private healthcare Washington Private Healthcare Coverage Fraction of minors covered by private healthcare Washington Minor Private Healthcare Coverage

1)
This entry draws heavily from original research found in Index of Family Belonging and Rejection: State by State (2011), Family Intactness: Influence on Major State Social Policy Outcomes, and Family Intactness and Public Policy Outcomes by State.