Foundation for Child Development
Donald J. Hernandez* and Jeffrey S. Napierala*
INTRODUCTION
In new research commissioned by the Foundation for Child Development — “Children’s Experience with Parental Employment Insecurity and Family Income Inequality” — Donald J. Hernandez and Jeffery S. Naprierala have created the Index of Parental Employment Insecurity to provide a more accurate picture of the economic health of families and to invest in children’s development. Technology, globalization, and changes in the labor market require a new measurement of employment and the economic stability of American families. Linking parental employment insecurity to family income level better illuminates the economic status of children’s families. This new index reveals that middle- and low-income parents experienced income insecurity long before the Great Recession in 2008, which greatly accelerated instability and inequality in the resources parents could devote to their child’s development. It points to the opportunity to use tax policy to provide families with the help they need to invest in their children.
* Denotes CSDA Associates, Affiliates, and Staff