Changes_in_the_Family

Changes in the Family MAIN FINDINGS  Out of Australia's 4.6 million children aged under eighteen, 1.1 million children live with only one of their natural parents, usually as a result of relationship or marriage breakdown.  18 per cent of children were in one-parent families and 8 per cent were in step or blended families.  The vast majority of children, who had a natural parent living elsewhere, were in the sole care of the parent with whom they lived, while 3 per cent of children had parents who shared care more evenly between them.  Younger children were likely to visit the parent they did not live with more frequently than older children.  42 per cent of families (199,200 one-parent families and 53,700 step and blended families) received cash child support from the other parent .  A further 16 per cent of families received support such as clothing, pocket money and assistance with school fees.  41 per cent of families received no child support from the other parent.  Around one-third of all families receiving cash child support received, on average, $100 or less per month per child.  For one-parent families, the median income for families receiving child families, child, support, children, per, family, parent, cent, receiving, received, step, parents, one-parent, live, couple, blended, while, survey, relationship, marriage, information, breakdown, between, natural, million, median, life-stage, income, findings, elsewhere, detailed, cash, care, arrangements, aged, age, youngest, younger, without, whom, visiting, visit, vast, useful, under, type, time, through, tables