Financial well-being of single, working-age mothers of children with developmental disabilities.
Single mothers of kids with developmental disabilities are broke, not unmotivated—connect them to financial tools.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Goodwin et al. (2012) sent surveys to single mothers who have a child with a developmental disability.
They asked about income, savings, and bills.
Then they compared these moms to other single mothers and to married parents.
What they found
The moms of kids with disabilities had far less money and almost no savings.
They were more likely to fall below the poverty line and to carry debt.
How this fits with other research
Emerson (2003) saw the same money gap in a big UK sample, so the problem is not just in the U.S.
Siu et al. (2011) seems to disagree: their survey said paid work boosts mothers’ health.
The two studies do not clash. H et al. looked at health, not pay. A job helps mood, but low wages still leave moms poor.
Agarwal et al. (2023) adds the next step: even worried parents rarely open ABLE savings accounts. They need help to start.
Why it matters
You may see a mom who is always late with paperwork or misses sessions. Before judging, ask about money stress. Link her to a family support planner who can explain ABLE accounts, Medicaid buy-ins, and child-care vouchers. One short referral can cut her financial load and keep the child in therapy.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Understanding the financial well-being of single mothers who care for children with developmental disabilities is important to ensure that public policies can be effectively targeted to support these vulnerable families. The authors analyze data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to describe income poverty, asset poverty, income, net worth, and liquid assets of U.S. single, working-age mothers (n = 242) of children and adult children with developmental disabilities. The well-being of these mothers was compared to the situation of married mothers of children with developmental disabilities (n = 345) and of single mothers who did not have children with developmental disabilities (n = 6,547). Compared with both married mothers of children with developmental disabilities and single mothers without children with developmental disabilities, single mothers of children with developmental disabilities had markedly worse financial well-being across a range of income- and asset-based measures. Single mothers caring for children with developmental disabilities face adverse financial well-being as compared with other mothers. Policy makers should consider targeted measures to improve the financial well-being of these parents.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-117.5.400