Welfare Continues to Drive New Births

A decade after the passage of welfare reform in 1996, the birth rate among U.S. women receiving public welfare during 2006 was three times higher than that of women not on welfare, reports the Census Bureau.

According to the Census' report, Fertility of American Women: 2006, women age 15 to 50 receiving public assistance had a birth rate of 155 births per 1,000 women, compared with 53 births per 1,000 women not receiving welfare.

The report also showed that 57 percent of women who gave birth during 2006 were employed.

Also See: Welfare Reform in the United States