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This measure would proclaim March 21, 2015, as Single Parent Day.

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WHEREAS, On March 21, 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Single Parent Day and the Congress has designated each March 21st thereafter in commemoration of single parents; and

WHEREAS, President Reagan, in his proclamation, recognized that single parents can and do provide children with the financial, physical, emotional, and social support they need to take their places as productive and mature citizens. He further noted, that with the active support of friends, relatives, and local communities, they can do even more to raise their children in the best possible environment; and

WHEREAS, Single parenthood is very common in the United States. At a given time in 2013, 28 percent of children were living with a single parent. One-half or more of todays children will likely spend at least part of their childhood in a single-parent family; and

WHEREAS, Most single parents are single mothers. In 2013, 77 percent of single parents were single mothers, and 85 percent of the children living with a single parent were living with their mother; and

WHEREAS, The majority of single parents have been married or are married but separated. In 2013, 55 percent of the children in single-parent families were living with a parent who was separated, divorced, or widowed, and 45 percent with a never-married parent; and

WHEREAS, Most single parents have no more than two children. In 2013, 56 percent of single parents had one child and 30 percent had two children; and

WHEREAS, Low wages are very common for United States single parents, and much more common for single parents than for other United States workers. In 2009, 39 percent of employed single mothers were in low-wage employment, with low wage defined as an hourly wage less than two-thirds of the median hourly wage; and

WHEREAS, Single parents struggle to pay for child care. In many cases, the average cost of child care is out of reach for a single parent, especially for those with two or more children; and

WHEREAS, The poverty rate for children in single-parent families is triple the rate for children in two-parent families. In 2012, 42 percent of children in single-parent families were poor, compared to 13 percent of children in two-parent families; and

WHEREAS, Child poverty is linked to poor health and school dropout; to negative adult outcomes including joblessness, and to reduced economic output estimated to be about 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product; and

WHEREAS, The employment rate for single parents in the United States is above the average single-parent employment rate in comparison to high income countries. Despite the above average employment rate, the poverty rate for single-parent families in the United States is far above the average poverty rate for single-parent families in comparison to high income countries; and

WHEREAS, National Single Parent Day was created to honor and recognize the hard work, devotion, and sacrifices of single parenting; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That Saturday, March 21, 2015, be observed as Single Parent Day; and be it further

Resolved, That the California Legislature encourages all Californians to recognize the value and contributions provided by single parents; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.