Child Disability, Maternal Labor Supply, and Household Well-Being

Using a 15-year panel from the Fragile Families Study, we examine the prevalence of child disability and its association with a wide range of economic and social outcomes in a dynamic context. We find the prevalence of child disability among urban families is high. Further, child disability is associated with reductions in maternal labor supply on both the intensive and extensive margins, as well as increases in benefit receipt from Supplemental Security Income and other public assistance programs. There is limited evidence that child disability is associated with changes in household income or poverty.