Press Releases

WASHINGTON - Single mothers without work and welfare income reached its highest level in recorded history, according to data released today by the Children's Defense Fund. The number of jobless women with children not receiving welfare rose by 188,000 in one year, leaving a record three quarters of all single mothers without public assistance and causing a sudden surge in extreme child poverty. Single parents and their children entered the 2001 recession with less protection from a failing economy than in any recession in the last 20 years. Congress is working on a revision of the 1996 welfare reform law set to expire in September that could make the problem worse.

# # #

• Full Report: The Unprotected Recession: Record Numbers of Families Have No Work and No Welfare in 2001
  (Adobe PDF : 11 pages : 173 KB)

# # #

The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds.