STUDIES INDICATE KIDS IMPACTED BY FAMILY STRUCTURE

In terms of family, what was once considered "broken" is now all too common in American life.

Products of a so-called broken home one fractured by divorce or never formed by marriage aren't necessarily prohibited from leading fruitful lives.

However, a growing body of research indicates children who come from single-parent households are more likely to encounter social challenges ranging from educational inadequacy to teen pregnancy.

What was long viewed as the traditional family unit father, mother, their natural offspring still holds true in the majority of American homes. Still, the changing nature of the American family has eroded the numbers.

Consider these facts compiled by the Washington-based Family Research Council:

Less than 60 percent of American children live with both biological parents.

The number of children living with their mother only grew from 5.1 million in 1960 to 13.9 million in 1990.

The poverty rate for these children (53 percent in 1990) is five times the rate for children living with two parents.

More than 27 percent of America's children are born into single-parent homes; in the black community, it is 68 percent.

More than half the children in single-family homes live in poverty, which is five times the rate for other children.

The impact of these grim statistics can be significant, according to local authorities. A stable family unit can make all the difference.

"(Children) need active parents now. Their circumstances can't wait," says Larry Hamilton, assistant professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Southeast Missouri State University.

Hamilton, who has studied extensively in the area of children's issues, maintains that the breakup of a family due to divorce is particularly traumatic for children.

"Studies show that children (whose parents divorce) do even worse when the non-custodial parent doesn't keep in contact," said the educator. "Just because you're divorcing doesn't mean the parenting ends."

Some research bears out Hamilton's contention. A study published in a 1990 psychiatric journal indicates that at least a third of children who experience a parental separation show a "significant decline" in academic performance lasting at least three years.

Divorce laws began changing in the 1960s in the United States, ushering in "no-fault" provisions. According to the Family Research Council, the number of children affected by divorce has increased from 300,000 in 1950 to more than 1.04 million in 1988.

Hamilton sees some signs for optimism in the area of divorce. America's divorce rate peaked in 1979 at about 5.3 per thousand population, stabilized for a number of years and fell early this decade to about 4.7 per thousand.

In addition, children are getting additional protection in divorce cases from more stringent enforcement of child support decrees and more effective laws mandating family mediation, said Hamilton. Also, a number of support groups, such as the national Kids In The Middle organization, work to represent the interests of children in a divorce circumstance.

People in law enforcement also see a significant pattern in children that come from fractured family situations.

A Bureau of Justice Statistics study notes that 70 percent of the juveniles in state reform institutions grew up in single-parent or no-parent situations.

"I would say more than half, and maybe more like 70 percent (of those who face criminal prosecution), come from non-traditional family units," said Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney.

"More importantly in my mind, more than 80 percent had alcohol or drugs involved. The less parental supervision, the more likely the young person will get hooked, but that isn't always the case. Crime is certainly not limited to non-traditional families."

Ruth Waldon, chief juvenile officer of the 32nd Judicial Circuit, which encompasses Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties, says she sees no predominance of children from non-traditional families involved in the juvenile system.

"Crime deals with all sections of society," she said.

Waldon believes that parental involvement is important in working with juveniles who have been involved in crime. Again, she believes it matters little if the household has two parents or one ... only that a parent gets involved.

"A lot of it depends on what kind of commitment a parent wants to make with their child," she said. "It varies from family to family."