5 Facts about Low-Income Latino Families

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Understanding the Latino family is vital as organizations work to improve the health of Latino kids, two-thirds of which live in low-income homes, NBC News reports.

That’s why a new report provides a snapshot of these families.

The report, by the National Research Center On Hispanic Children and Families, indicates that family structure looks vastly different depending on if parents were U.S.- or foreign-born, and most Latinos kids are born into two-parent households.

Here are five key facts from the report, highlighted by NBC News:

-Most births to low-income Hispanics occur in some type of co-residential union, especially among those who are foreign-born. Sixty seven percent of Latinas are either living with a partner or married when their first child is born.

-About half of low-income Latina women—both U.S.-born and foreign-born —report a birth by age 20.

-By age 20, well over half of low-income Hispanic U.S.-born or foreign-born women are either married or living with someone in a co-residential union.

-Low-income foreign-born Hispanics are more likely to be married than any other group. Thirty six percent of foreign-born women were married compared to 26 percent of U.S.-born; in men it was 35 to 24 percent.

-Only one-in-ten foreign-born Hispanic males report having children with more than one woman, compared to 30 percent of U.S.-born Hispanic males.

“As Latinos increasingly represent a larger segment of the country, these patterns provide important context and information for programs and services seeking to improve the wellbeing of low-income Hispanics,” according to a blog post about the report.