Earlier today, the U.S. Census Bureau issued an updated its annual Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support with data for 2007. According to the report, almost half of all 13.7 million custodial parents received the full child support owed and almost two-thirds of the total dollar amount was paid. However, nearly a quarter of all custodial parents lived below poverty levels.

Have you ever wondered about your share in the total U.S. population? Who are the single parents in our society? Is the general perception of the low income, isolated single parent accurate? How many single parents are there? How much money do they earn? What are the average child support payments?

These are just a few questions not only Lisa and I may have been wondering about. The bad news here is that there are virtually no easily accessible sources to get straight-forward answers to these questions. The good news, however, is that answers are available, if you are willing to dig deep into databases and if you are willing to spend some time researching. We have started that research and examined the most recent public data.

Market research firm Statscan is shedding some light on the work schedules and changes in earnings in traditional and single parent households. According to the report, the share of single mothers working full time has increased substantially over the past 25 years. The pay rate, however, has not been on the same pace.

I am always a bit skeptical of how useful statistics are to prove a certain point that comes down to individuals, but we all have to admit that they are interesting nevertheless. These new numbers recently released by the census bureau provide some information on divorce and marriage rates.

MrCustodyCoach posted an interesting number about child abductions the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between 300,000 and 400,000 children are abducted by parents each year. And no, the majority of these “kidnappings” do not happen during the divorce battle.

The writer concludes that the patterns of behavior ”are indicative of the reality that mothers are overwhelmingly the primary or sole custodial parent.” So, what do you do to protect your kid and yourself from parental abductions? MrCustodyCoach has a few simple tips what you can do. A useful read if you believe your former spouse could “kidnap your child”.