College Brings Significant Benefits to Single Mothers and Society

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Single mothers who complete BAs earn $610,300 more over their lifetimes and are 69 percent less likely to live in poverty than single mothers with only high school, with AAs also bringing big benefits, according to new analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR).

The analysis finds that investments in services such as child care and case management boost graduation, and if expanded, would lead to increased lifetime earnings and lower poverty among single mother graduates, more than paying for themselves through higher tax contributions and savings on public benefits if single mothers graduate. Since not all single mothers graduate, however, institutions must focus on increasing their completion to ensure that investments in their success pay off.

IWPR estimates that at current rates of completion, single mother graduates enrolled in 2011-12 will contribute $7.8 billion more in taxes over their lifetimes than had they only completed high school.

Single mothers' own investments in college pay off when they graduate, yielding $8.50-$16.50 in lifetime earnings for every dollar they invest.

"Investing in single mothers' college completion is an underutilized strategy for reducing poverty and closing postsecondary achievement gaps," said IWPR Vice President and Executive Director Barbara Gault.

There are roughly 1.3 million single mothers enrolled at two- and four-year institutions, with Black and Native American women more than twice as likely as Whiten to be parenting in college.

"Single mothers in college recognize the large economic payoffs of college but struggle to graduate. This analysis shows that short-term investments in helping single mothers reach the college finish line pay off for everyone," said economist and IWPR Study Director Jessica Milli, Ph.D., a report co-author.

Investing in Single Mothers' Higher Education: Costs and Benefits to Individuals, Families, and Society, was supported by the ECMC Foundation, with additional support from the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), a non-profit organization, conducts and communicates research to inspire public dialogue, shape policy, and improve the lives and opportunities of women of diverse backgrounds, circumstances, and experiences. IWPR also works in affiliation with the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics at American University.

SOURCE Institute for Women's Policy Research

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