An international study published on April 27 found that children in the U.S. are more likely to be raised by a single parent than in other industrialized nations, and their parents are likely to be among the working poor. In fact, the trend appears to contribute to the rising rate of children in poverty in the country. Many of the struggles single parents face have a direct connection to the other parent's not sharing child custody.

For example, the study found that 35.8 percent of single parents in the U.S. were employed, well above the 21.3 average for the 27 countries studied. However, American single parents were also more likely to be at or below the poverty line. According to a senior economist with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the group that wrote the study, one reason for this is that a large portion of single parents' income is eaten up by child care. Such costs would be lower if the other parent helped take care of the child.

The study found that 25.8 percent of children in the U.S. live in single-parent households, the highest rate among the 27 countries. The next-highest rate was Ireland, with 24.3 percent.

The difficulty hard-working single parents face in providing for their children on their own takes a toll on state and federal budgets. The study found that U.S. agencies spent $160,000 per child, the highest rate among the surveyed countries. Much of this money goes toward financial relief programs, some of which would likely be unnecessary if the other parent were in the picture.

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Report: 1 in 4 children in US raised by a single parent, higher than other developed nations," Christine Armario, April 27, 2011