Child Poverty, Program Participation, and Intergenerational Coresidence:

The purpose of this study is to provide an assessment of poverty and program participation among children who reside in households that include elderly adults aged 65 and over. Children and the elderly draw on different pools of public support, fueling recent discussions of the intergenerational tensions regarding the appropriate resource share due each age group. Yet within family households, the "fortunes" of children may be closely tied to that of their elderly relatives. While a sizable literature documents the considerable kinship support systems that link the generations, the implications of these systems for poverty and for program participation have not been extensively considered. Given the trends and debates surrounding public support for these two broad age groups, such a consideration is of considerable policy importance. This study is based on data from the 1990 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Estimates of poverty status and participation in means-tested resource programs are generated for children, and the extent to which these outcomes are associated with elderly coresidence is considered. The results suggest that children who have at least one elderly individual living with them have lower rates of poverty and economic hardship, but that this benefit occurs only for children living with single parents. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income represent the most significant sources of elderly income for this group. As a result of these contributions, children of single parents living with at least one elderly person have a rate of poverty that is a third lower than their counterparts with no elderly coresidents. Living with an elderly individual also is associated with higher chances of living in an owned home as opposed to either public or private rental housing, and, for children living with both parents only, a higher rate of participation in the food stamp program.