Paper26

Slide1: 

Measuring Fertility Using the American Community Survey by Jane Lawler Dye and Tavia Simmons Population Association of America Annual Meeting March 29-31, 2001

Slide2: 

The American Community Survey (ACS) is designed to provide economic, social, demographic, and housing information to communities in the United States every year. Between November 1998 through October 1999, 31 sites were surveyed for the ACS. Data are available for sites with populations of 65,000 or more. The ACS allows us to study small geographic areas throughout the United States in detail and in a timely manner. Never before have we been able to analyze such data to the extent now possible, especially on issues, such as fertility, that are important to both government and private organizations. There is no fertility question on the 2000 Census. Vital statistics, the best source of fertility data, cannot provide detailed information on the characteristics of mothers.

Measuring Fertility: 

Measuring Fertility The ACS asks women between the ages of 15 and 50: “Has this person given birth to any children in the past 12 months?” ACS provides a good estimate of fertility. ACS estimates of the number of births in 1999 are not statistically different from the number of births reported by Vital Statistics for 1998, in all but 3 counties (Figure 1). Data from both sources also produced very similar patterns in fertility rates for each county (Figure 2). The average nonmarital birth rate for the ACS sites was 41.9 per 1,000 unmarried women ages 15-44, slightly lower, but similar to the national nonmarital birth rate of 43.9 for 1999 (NCHS, 2000) (Figure 3). Note: Estimates from surveys are not based on complete counts of the population and are therefore, by their nature, subject to some variability.

Slide4: 

Figure 1. Number of Births in the Past 12 Months for Selected Counties: 1998 Vital Statistics and the 1999 American Community Survey

Slide5: 

Figure 2. Fertility Rates for Selected Counties: 1998 Vital Statistics and 1999 American Community Survey

Characteristics of Mothers in Four Counties: 

Characteristics of Mothers in Four Counties With this data, researchers will be able to study fertility in conjunction with other circumstances that are important in the lives of women, children and families. For example, we present fertility data, characteristics of women, and resources available to new mothers in four counties from different regions of the United States: San Francisco County, California Broward County, Florida Franklin County, Ohio Harris County, Texas

Slide8: 

Broward County Franklin County Harris County San Francisco County American Community Survey 1999: Four Selected Sites

Mothers Differ by Area: 

Mothers Differ by Area Fertility rates in 1999 by race and Hispanic origin (Figure 4): In Harris county, Hispanic women were more likely than others to have had a birth in 1999. In San Francisco, Asian women were least likely to have given birth compared to other women. Other characteristics of women with a recent birth (Figure 5): Harris County had a relatively high proportion of teen mothers in 1999. Franklin County had a large proportion of nonmarital births. In Harris county, many new mothers had not completed high school and were living in poverty. Almost half of women with a recent birth in Harris county were not in the labor force.

Economic Resources Differ by Area: 

Economic Resources Differ by Area The majority of women with a recent birth acquire most of their economic resources through earnings. For example, in Broward county and Franklin county more than 70% of women with a recent birth earned income in 1999 (Figure 6). In San Francisco, where housing is expensive, a relatively large proportion of new mothers (20 percent) received housing assistance compared to the other three areas. Very few mothers with infants received any welfare or public assistance, less than 8 percent on average for all of the ACS sites. Surprisingly few mothers with a recent birth reported having other income in 1999, a category which includes child support. Only 10 percent received other income on average, while 31 percent on average were unmarried and potentially eligible to receive child support.

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Detailed Portrait Harris County, Texas is located in the Houston metropolitan area. Service providers and state legislators may have specific concerns that can be explored with data from the American Community Survey. The following detailed portrait provides an example of the degree to which fertility can be studied in a particular geographic area.

Nativity of Mothers:Harris County, Texas : 

Nativity of Mothers: Harris County, Texas This area had a large proportion of foreign born mothers with infants in 1999, 37.2 percent (Figure 7). Eighty percent of foreign born women with infants in this area in 1999 were Hispanic (Figure 8). More than half of these foreign born mothers with infants came to the United States within the last 10 years (Figure 9).

Risk factors:Harris County, Texas: 

Risk factors: Harris County, Texas What risk factors were foreign born and native mothers with newborns exposed to? Almost all foreign born women with a recent birth in 1999 spoke a language other than English at home (Figure 10), suggesting that bilingual services may be in demand. A relatively high proportion of native born mothers, on the other hand, were unmarried. Teenage childbearing seems to be unrelated to nativity in this area. Regardless of nativity, more than one in ten of these mothers were teenagers. More than half of foreign born mothers and 28.6 percent of native born mothers had not completed high school (Figure 11). Foreign born mothers were more likely to be in poverty and less likely to be in the labor force than native born mothers.

Available Resources:Harris County, Texas: 

What economic resources are available to new mothers in Harris County, Texas? A smaller proportion of foreign born mothers had earned income compared to native mothers (44.2 vs. 65.5 percent) (Figure 12). Receipt of food stamps, welfare and other income (including child support) was also less likely among the foreign born compared to native born mothers. This could be partly due to language difficulties. Foreign born mothers, however, were more likely to receive housing assistance than native born mothers (65.0 vs. 50.0 percent). This difference could be due to the tendency of immigrants to move to neighborhoods or households already established by prior immigrants from the same region of origin. Available Resources: Harris County, Texas

Conclusions: 

Conclusions ACS provides an important and accurate source of information about special populations in local areas. Local governments and social service organizations could use the ACS to determine the needs of their citizens and to target help, how and where it is needed. In 2001, ACS data will be available for all counties with populations of 65,000 or more.

Slide25: 

A Useful Tool The ACS is capable of providing focused, standardized reports on a wide variety of topics of interest. These data can be used to analyze topics across geography, time and subpopulations for in-depth understanding. For more information about the ACS go to: www.census.gov/acs/www/index_main.