Child-Care Support by Nonresident Fathers: Are More Fathers Better?

Abstract

We examine whether low-income mothers receive child care from their children’s nonresident fathers or nonresident fathers’ relatives, particularly asking whether mothers who have children with more than one nonresident father are more or less likely to receive child care. Using data from the Survey of Wisconsin Works Families, we find that about 44 percent of low-income mothers of children with nonresident fathers receive some child care from nonresident fathers or nonresident fathers’ relatives. Logit analyses show that those who have children with more than one nonresident father are more likely to receive child care than those who have children with a single nonresident father. The research shows that it is important to count child-care provision among the types of support that nonresident fathers provide and that, when examining assistance mothers receive from nonresident fathers, we should consider the package of support that a mother receives from all nonresident fathers and their relatives.