Figures show struggle worsening for single mothers

Single mother of three Tameka Morris helps sons Tyler, 6, and Taylor, 9, shop for new shoes at an outlet store in Houston. Single mother of three Tameka Morris helps sons Tyler, 6, and Taylor, 9, shop for new shoes at an outlet store in Houston. Photo: Michael Paulsen Photo: Michael Paulsen Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Figures show struggle worsening for single mothers 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Tameka Morris thought going back to school to earn a nursing degree in 2010 would help her get a full-time job and earn enough money to support her three children.

Since graduating in May, however, she's been unable to capitalize on her education. Employers want more experience than she had accumulated, or job opportunities were too far away for her to consider because of transportation issues.

The single mother survives by working two to three temporary home health jobs. In a good month, she earns about $900.

"After paying rent, utilities and a few groceries, that's it," said Morris, 24, who does not receive any public assistance.

In the wake of the recession, 41 percent of households headed by single women with children live in poverty - nearly triple the national poverty rate, according to 2010 census data.

And while the economy in Texas has recovered more quickly than in the rest of the country, the state's single mother poverty rate is just as high at 42 percent.

"The economic effects of the recession hit everyone, but single moms were hit the hardest," said Olivia Golden, a researcher at the Urban Institute.

Single mother poverty, while not new, is drawing increasing concern because it means more children are living in poverty, researchers say. Most poor children live with single mothers.

Over the past few decades, meanwhile, the proportion of births to unmarried women has increased to 41 percent. The fastest growing segment is mothers in their 20s, according to a recent Child Trends study. About 42 percent of births in Texas in 2010 were to unmarried mothers.

Utilities shut off

Low wages, limited public assistance and insufficient child care subsidies make it difficult for many single mothers to improve their lives. They are more likely than other poor people to face hardships such as food scarcity and eviction.

In June, Morris' utilities were shut off and her pantry was bare. With $72, she had to choose between paying the utility bill or buying groceries.

She dipped into her emergency fund - a jar with loose change - and came up with an additional $15 to get the lights on and dinner for her sons, 9, 6 and 1.

Morris had her first child at 16 and lived with her boyfriend for three years. She earned a two-year degree in health sciences and worked as a medical assistant, earning enough money to buy a condominium and car.

Her life changed in 2009 as Houston absorbed the effects of the economic downtown. Her hours at work decreased, forcing her to find another job. The commute to her new job in Montgomery County took time away from her children.

That same year, a car accident left her badly injured, and she lost her job. Months later, Morris landed a temporary full-time job, only to have it end five months later. That's when she decided to go back to school.

A year later, while pregnant, Morris was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She received Medicaid for four weeks before it was canceled without explanation. She was two weeks into chemotherapy treatment. The young mother used the $500 she had in savings and money from her temp jobs to pay for treatment.

The tumor is gone, but Morris now has small cell lung cancer, the result of delayed treatment of the cervical cancer, she said.

"I'm lucky to still be here," Morris said.

Despite the tight job market, more poor, single mothers are working today than two decades ago, largely because of 1996 welfare reforms that tightened eligibility rules and required recipients to work.

Many poor, single moms work in low-wage jobs that typically lack benefits such as sick leave and flexible hours. When they earn just a little over the minimum income level, the safety net erodes.

Welfare reform "had the impact of pushing more people into low-wage jobs, but it did not change their ability to support themselves," said Randy Albelda, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. "Single moms and low-wage jobs is a match made in hell."

Michael Clement, coordinator of employment readiness services at Family Services of Greater Houston, said many single moms are limited to part-time work because they can't afford day care. Some women have lost their jobs because they had to tend to a sick child.

No political will

Zulema Perez, 29, works two part-time jobs to take care of her five children. Her ex-husband doesn't pay child support, so she relies on food stamps.

She barely earns enough to pay her $650 monthly rent and other bills, she said.

Perez dropped out of school in ninth grade and later received a high school diploma through home schooling, she said. She wants to study nursing, but that would require working more hours to pay tuition and child care.

"Sometimes I think I'm in a big hole and I can't see the light," Perez said. "But then I know God is big and there's something big for me."

Little is being done about single mother poverty, partly because there's no political will to address the issue and because it opens the door for moral judgments, researchers say.

"We're not that interested in poverty in the United States," Albelda said. "With single mother poverty, you can be interested but you have to be willing to address the other problems. It would take a real change in the way we think about child care, collective responsibility, quality early education and after-school care."

But Robert Rector, a researcher with the Heritage Foundation, said safety net programs have done nothing more than sustain child poverty, which is, in essence, single mother poverty. He said the solution is marriage.

"The welfare state has been about picking up the pieces from non-marital births, and it's not working," Rector said. "The reality is that you can't create a substitute father."

renee.lee@chron.com