The broad ethnic category “Hispanic” comprises several distinct subgroups. We report findings for Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, other Central and South Americans, and other Hispanics.^[6] These groups vary substantially not only in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics but also in the likelihood of being a part of the child support population. Within these subgroups, there are important differences by nativity as well. Thus, to understand more fully the Hispanic child support population, it is necessary to develop a portrait of each of these distinct subgroups. In this section, we develop these portraits.

Because sample sizes in the Current Population Surveys (CPS) are not particularly large for some subgroups, we have combined CPS samples from 1994 through 1999 (hereafter referred to as the late 1990s) to develop estimates of the characteristics of Hispanic custodial parents and nonparent custodians. By combining surveys across the late 1990s, our final sample consists of almost 8,000 Hispanic custodial parents and 1,700 Hispanic nonparent custodians (see Table 3.1). Sample sizes are sufficient to consider characteristics of all custodial parent subgroups, though the Cuban sample will not support detailed cross tabulations. For nonparent custodians, sample sizes for Cubans and other Hispanics are not large enough to support developing profiles. Thus, our profile for nonparent custodians combines all Hispanic subgroups together.

First we consider the characteristics of custodial parents. Second, we consider the characteristics of nonparent custodians.

By 1998, the number of Hispanic custodial parents had reached 2.1 million. Almost one in every ten Hispanic adults is a custodial parent, a proportion substantially higher than among whites and substantially lower than among African Americans. The majority of Hispanic custodial parents are of Mexican descent,^[7] with Puerto Ricans and Central/South Americans together comprising about a quarter of the total (see Figure 3.2). The numerical dominance of Mexicans among custodial parents simply reflects their numerical dominance among the population of Hispanics in the United States. The majority of Hispanics in the United States are of Mexican descent, comprising six of every ten Hispanics over the age of 15. The likelihood of being a custodial parent varies substantially by Hispanic subgroup: less than 5 percent of Cubans over the age of 15 were custodial parents in the late 1990s, compared to almost 15 percent among Puerto Ricans (see Table 3.2). These differences reflect differences in divorce and nonmarital childbearing between the subgroups.

The majority of Hispanic custodial parents are immigrants, with almost 60 percent foreign born. About four of every five Central/South American custodial parents are immigrants, whereas almost all Puerto Rican custodial parents were born in the United States (see Table 3.3).^[8] For each subgroup, immigrants were less likely to be custodial parents than U.S. born residents. Thus, the dominance of immigrants among Hispanic custodial parents is solely a function of their greater numbers in the adult Hispanic population of the United States, and not due to greater probabilities of being a custodial parent among immigrants as compared to Hispanics born in the United States.

Hispanics in the United States are a young population. Most Hispanic immigrants arrived in the United States in the last two decades, and came to the United States at young ages. Relatively high rates of fertility among Hispanics also leads to a young population, with many children and young adults. In the late 1990s, about two of every five Hispanic custodial parents was in his/her teens or twenties. Mexican and Puerto Rican custodial parents have the youngest age structure, while Cubans have the oldest (see Table 3.4).

Like other custodial parents, the vast majority of Hispanic custodial parents are custodial mothers. In the late 1990s, 85 percent of Hispanic custodial parents were custodial mothers. Custodial fathers comprised only 10 percent of Cuban and Puerto Rican custodial parents, 15 percent of Central/South American custodial parents, and 17 percent of Mexican custodial parents.

We can examine the geography of Hispanic custodial parents in two ways: first by considering where certain subgroups are most likely to reside (e.g., where do most Mexicans live), and second by considering the ethnic distribution within a region (e.g., which subgroup is largest in the Midwest). As shown in the top half of Table 3.5, Mexican custodial parents are most likely to live in the West, Puerto Rican custodial parents are most likely to live in the Northeast, and Cuban custodial parents are most likely to live in the South. For every Hispanic subgroup except Mexicans, the Midwest is the least favored region. The bottom half of Table 3.5 shows the subgroup distribution of Hispanic custodial parents within each region. In the Midwest, South, and particularly in the West, Mexican custodial parents represent the largest single group. In the Northeast, Puerto Ricans are the single largest subgroup among Hispanic custodial parents.

Hispanic custodial parents are concentrated in metropolitan areas. In the late 1990s, 90 percent of Hispanic custodial parents lived in a metropolitan area, compared to 76 percent for all custodial parents. Not only are Hispanic custodial parents concentrated in metropolitan areas, within metropolitan areas Hispanic custodial parents are concentrated in the central cities. Indeed, while the rest of the custodial parent population in the United States has largely become a suburban population, Hispanic custodial parents are still more likely to live in central cities than in any other type of location. As shown in Table 3.6, the type of location varies tremendously for Hispanic subgroups.

Puerto Ricans are particularly concentrated in central cities, while Cubans are most likely to live in the suburbs. Mexicans and other Spanish custodial parents are more likely to live in rural areas than other Hispanic custodial parents, though the percentages are small.

Compared to other custodial parents, Hispanic custodial parents are more likely to have never married and less likely to be currently married. Puerto Rican custodial parents have especially low levels of current marriage, with almost half never married. Cuban custodial parents are more likely to be divorced than are other Hispanic custodial parents (see Table 3.7).

The number of children in households with a custodial parent is slightly higher for Hispanics than for other ethnic groups. As shown in Table 3.8, Puerto Rican custodial parents have the greatest number of children living in their households, while Central/South Americans have the fewest.

Public assistance utilization among Hispanic custodial parents has declined substantially over the past five years. In 1994, 35 percent of Hispanic custodial parents reported receiving public assistance, compared to only 17 percent in 1999 (see Figure 3.3).^[9] While all the subgroups experienced dramatic declines in public assistance utilization, the rates of use remained much higher for Puerto Ricans than for the other subgroups. For Mexicans and Central/South Americans, public assistance utilization rates were about the same for immigrants as for U.S. born custodial parents, whereas rates were much higher for Cuban and other Spanish immigrant custodial parents than U.S. born custodial parents of those groups. For all groups, custodial fathers had very low rates of public assistance utilization, about one-fifth those of custodial mothers. Separated and never-married custodial parents use public assistance at a rate four times higher than currently married custodial parents.

Labor force participation rates have been increasing dramatically for Hispanic custodial parents, but still remain lower than for non-Hispanic custodial parents. By 1998, 72 percent of Hispanic custodial parents were in the labor force, compared to only 61 percent in 1995. Labor force participation rates for custodial parents of any race or ethnic group in the United States had reached 79 percent by 1998. Labor force participation rates are substantially higher for Cubans than for other Hispanic custodial parents, and are substantially lower for Puerto Ricans. Even with their relatively low labor force participation rates, Puerto Rican custodial parents experienced the most dramatic increase in labor force participation in the late 1990s; in 1995, less than half of Puerto Rican custodial parents were in the labor force, by 1999 about two of every three Puerto Rican custodial parents were in the labor force. Since Puerto Rican custodial parents are more likely to have received public assistance than other Hispanic subgroups, the substantial increases in labor force participation among Puerto Rican custodial parents is at least partly a result of welfare reform and its work requirements.

Poverty rates are notably high for Hispanic custodial parents. In 1998, 43 percent of Hispanic custodial parents lived in poverty, compared to 30 percent for all custodial parents. Poverty rates for Hispanic custodial parents are more than three times higher than for the overall population of the United States (see Figure 3.4). These very high poverty levels, combined with the fact that over 70 percent of Hispanic custodial parents are in the labor force, suggest that a large share of Hispanic custodial parents are among the working poor. Among Hispanic subgroups, poverty rates are especially high for Puerto Ricans (more than half were in poverty in 1998) and somewhat lower for Cubans (though still above the average for all custodial parents in the United States). Mexicans and Central/South Americans have poverty rates similar to those for all Hispanic custodial parents.

Low levels of educational attainment are one reason Hispanic custodial parents have such high poverty rates. As shown in Table 3.9, in the late 1990s almost half of all Hispanic custodial parents had not graduated from high school. Only Cubans had high school completion rates that were close to those of all custodial parents.

These low levels of educational attainment are remarkable, and only partly attributable to immigrant populations. As shown in Figure 3.5, immigrants are much less likely to have graduated from high school than U.S. born Hispanic custodial parents. This is true for each of the subgroups, with seven of every ten foreign-born Mexican custodial parents not having completed high school. But even among U.S. born Hispanic custodial parents, over one-third have not graduated from high school, and only U.S. born Cubans have very high proportions of high school graduates.

In 1998, Hispanics comprised 18 percent of all nonparent custodians. While our projections indicate that the growth rate of Hispanic nonparent custodians will be lower from 1998 to 2009 than in the preceding ten years, Hispanic nonparent custodians will still be one of the fastest growing segments of the child support population in the United States. Between 1998 and 2009, we project an increase of over 50 percent for Hispanic nonparent custodians, reaching a population of over 600,000 by 2009.

Table 3.10 provides a brief profile of this population as of the late 1990s. In general, nonparent Hispanic custodians have worse economic outcomes than other nonparent custodians. For example, poverty rates for nonparent Hispanic custodians are substantially higher than for other nonparent custodians. Educational attainment levels are especially low, even lower than those of Hispanic custodial parents; two of every three nonparent Hispanic custodians had not completed high school.

Asians and Pacific Islanders are less likely than other race and ethnic groups to be a part of the child support population. For example, less than 5 percent of adult Asians and Pacific Islanders are custodial parents, slightly lower than the percentage for whites, half the percentage of Hispanics, and one-third the percentage of African Americans. Still, Asians and Pacific Islanders are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. We project that the number of Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents will increase by over 80 percent from 1998 to 2009. This rapid increase is primarily a reflection of large increases in the number of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, and not due to increases in the likelihood of being a custodial parent among Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Asians and Pacific Islanders are a diverse population. Ideally, we would be able to develop child support population estimates and projections for subgroups such as Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Asian Indian, and Southeast Asians. Unfortunately, sample size issues are problematic when considering Asian and Pacific Islander child support populations. In the late 1990s, about 3,300 Asians and Pacific Islanders aged 15 and over were included in the March Current Population Surveys each year. Of those, less than 4 percent were custodial parents, and just about 1 percent were nonparent custodians. To present characteristics of custodial parents and nonparent custodians, we therefore combine six years of Current Population Survey data (1994 through 1999), giving us a total sample of 716 Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents, and 191 nonparent custodians. With such small samples, breakdowns for subgroups are not possible. In some instances, we are able to contrast immigrant Asians and Pacific Islanders with U.S. born Asians and Pacific Islanders. Estimates for nonparent custodians are especially uncertain, and are not reported here.

Among the race and ethnic groups we consider in this report, Asians and Pacific Islanders have the lowest probabilities of being a custodial parent. Overall, only 3.6 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders aged 15 and over in the United States were custodial parents in the mid to late 1990s. These low rates are a reflection of low divorce rates and low rates of nonmarital childbearing.

Most Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents are immigrants simply because the vast majority of adult Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States are immigrants. In the United States, 75 percent of all Asians and Pacific Islanders aged 15 and over are foreign born, and 65 percent of all Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents are foreign born. Thus, while first-generation immigrants are less likely to be custodial parents than second- and third-generation Asians and Pacific Islanders, they still comprise the majority of Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents.

Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents tend to be slightly older than other custodial parents. In the late 1990s, only 24 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents were less than 30 years old, compared to 31 percent for all custodial parents. Foreign-born Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents tend to be older than those born in the United States (see Table 3.11).

The vast majority of Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents live in the West (see Figure 3.6). This reflects the geographic distribution of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The West, and California in particular, has long been the primary destination of immigrants from Asia to the United States. Subsequent generations tend to settle near their parents, where social networks and contacts are strong.

Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents are concentrated in the suburbs. Over half (54 percent) of Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents lived in the suburbs in the late 1990s. Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents are especially unlikely to live outside a metropolitan area, with only 8 percent doing so in the late 1990s.

Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents are slightly more likely to be married and slightly less likely to have never married than other custodial parents (see Table 3.12). Because these statuses are associated with economic outcomes (married custodial parents fare much better than other custodial parents, and never-married custodial parents fare the worst), some of the indicators that suggest Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents are relatively well off stem from their favorable mix of marital statuses.

Public assistance utilization rates for Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents are slightly lower than for other groups, and appear to exhibit the same strong downward trend during the mid-to-late 1990s. The decline in public assistance use seems to be greater among immigrant Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents, though small sample sizes do not allow us to attach statistical significance to the differences.

Poverty rates are high for Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents, though not quite as high as for other custodial parents. In the late 1990s, 26 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents lived in poverty, compared to about 30 percent for custodial parents of any race or ethnic group. Foreign-born Asians and Pacific Islanders had lower poverty rates than U.S. born Asians and Pacific Islanders (24 percent and 29 percent, respectively).

Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents tend to be better educated than other custodial parents. One of every four Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents has graduated from college, for example, compared to only one of every eight custodial parents of any other race or ethnic group. Immigrant Asians and Pacific Islanders exhibit a bipolar educational distribution, with a large proportion with little education (24 percent had not graduated from high school) and a large proportion with college degrees (30 percent in the late 1990s). Asians and Pacific Islanders born in the United States had very high proportions graduating from high school (92 percent), but lower percentages of college graduates (15 percent) than immigrant Asians and Pacific Islanders. Overall, these high levels of education help explain why Asian and Pacific Islander custodial parents have low poverty rates compared to other custodial parents.