Subsidized Housing and Low-Income Mother’s School-Based Parent Involvement: Findings from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study Wave Five

• Published in: Child & youth care forum Vol. 48; no. 3; pp. 323 - 338
• Main Authors: Lechuga-Peña, Stephanie, Becerra, David, Mitchell, Felicia M., Lopez, Kristina, Sangalang, Cindy C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Affordable housing; Barriers; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Children; Family roles; Hepatitis C; Housing policy; Housing subsidies; Low Income; Low income groups; Mobility; Mothers; Original Paper; Parent Participation; Parents & parenting; Poverty; Psychology; Public Housing; Public policy; Relocation; Residential preferences; Social research; Social services; Social skills; Socioeconomic status; Subsidies; Welfare Recipients; Well Being; Working Hours; Working mothers; School-based parent involvement; Low-income mothers; Subsidized housing and barriers
• ISSN: 1053-1890; 1573-3319
• DOI: 10.1007/s10566-018-9481-y

Background School-based parent involvement is associated with child academic outcomes, positive behaviors, and social skills. Research on school-based parent involvement among low-income mothers is limited and even less understood for low-income mothers who receive financial housing assistance. Objective This study examined the association between low-income mothers who receive housing assistance and school-based parent involvement when their child was 9-years-old. We investigated whether there is a difference in parent involvement for low-income mothers who receive a government housing subsidy (Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and those who reside in a public housing project. Potential barriers to parental involvement are discussed. Method Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, Wave 5 (N = 1351), the current study employed multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses to examine the above associations. Results Low-income mothers who receive an HCV are less likely to be involved in their child’s school-based activities than low-income mothers who live in a public housing project. Potential barriers to parental involvement include frequent housing moves and increased work hours. Conclusions Findings suggest housing type has an important role in school-based parent involvement for low-income mothers. As housing policies move toward deconcentrating poverty by way of government housing subsidies, unintended consequences need to be considered. Considerations should include low-income mothers’ experience of frequent housing mobility and increased work hours as barriers to school-based parent involvement. Additional services and resources beyond financial housing assistance are essential to improve parent involvement among low-income mothers.