EMBARGOED UNTIL: DEC. 19, 1995 (TUESDAY) Public Information Office CB95-226 301-457-3030 *REVISED* 301-457-4067 (TDD) Amara Bachu 301-457-2416 OVER HALF OF WIC MOTHERS ARE MARRIED, CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS EMBARGOED UNTIL: DEC. 19, 1995 (TUESDAY) - About 1.3 million or 55 percent of the nation's 2.4 million mothers receiving aid in the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) in 1993 were married, according to a study released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The study is entitled "Mothers Who Receive WIC Benefits-- Fertility and Socioeconomic Characteristics" (SB/95-29). It finds that 308,000 mothers receiving WIC were teenagers, under age 20. Amara Bachu, the report's author says, "The findings suggest that WIC benefits in 1993 were provided to a wide range of American families." The Census Bureau collected WIC benefit data in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) between June and September 1993. Other findings: - The average age of WIC mothers at the time of their first child's birth was 20 years compared with an average age of 22 years among mothers not receiving WIC benefits. - Overall, mothers receiving WIC benefits had an average of 2.2 children each--not different from mothers not receiving these benefits. - About one-half of WIC mothers were high school graduates, while about 34 percent had less than a high school diploma, and 20 percent had attended college for at least one year. About 16 percent of mothers not on WIC had not finished high school. - About one in 16 White mothers of childbearing age were WIC recipients, compared with one in 10 African American mothers. This brief is the third in a series of three on mothers who participate in Federal welfare programs. The first dealt with recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), while the second focused on mothers who received food stamps. As with all surveys, the statistics are subject to sampling variability, as well as other errors.-X-Editor's note: media representatives may obtain a copy of the brief from the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030; fax 301-457-3670; or e-mail: pio@census.gov; or contact Fax-On-Demand at 301-457-4178, Document No. 1116. Other orders should be directed to the bureau's FastFax on 1-900-555-2Fax (there is a nominal fee); Customer Services Office on 301-763-INFO(4636) or fax: 301-457-3842.
