FAMILY RISK INDEX
A new statistical measurement, called a family risk index, paints a portentous view of the future by assessing the percentage of American families that begin under adverse circumstances.
The authors found that 45 percent of the children born into new families had one of three disadvantages: either their mother had not finished high school, was not married or was a teen-ager. The report said 24 percent of the new families had two of these disadvantages and 11 percent had all three.
In virtually every category, minorities fared worse.




