The University of Texas at Austin

Cynthia Osborne joined The University of Texas at Austin in 2005 as an Assistant Professor at the LBJ School and as an affiliate of the UT Austin Population Research Center. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of social policy, poverty and inequality, family and child well-being, family demography, and school entry among disadvantaged children.

Prior to joining the LBJ School faculty, Osborne was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University, where she worked on the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey of New Parents. She holds a Ph.D. in demography and public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, a master's in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and a master of arts in education from Claremont Graduate University. Previously, Osborne was a middle school teacher in a low-income community in California.

Education

Ph.D. in demography and public affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 2003; M.P.P., John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1999; M.A. in education, Claremont Graduate University, 1995; B.A. in economics and psychology, Claremont McKenna College, 1991

Current Positions

Evaluator of the Parenting and Paternity Awareness (p.a.p.a.)Texas high school curriculum and the No Kidding curriculum to reduce teen pregnancy; Director of the new Family Impact Seminar series sponsored by the Center for Health and Social Policy (CHASP); Evaluator/consultant for the Raising Texas Comprehensive Children's Initiative at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission; Research advisory group member for the Texas Healthy Marriage
Initiative, Twogether Texas; Executive member of the Center for Health and Social Policy (CHASP) at LBJ; Research affiliate and governance committee member at the
Population Research Center; Research affiliate and steering committee member at the Center for Women and Gender Studies

Previous Positions

Postdoctoral research fellow, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University (2003-2005); teacher, Foothill Middle School California (1994-1996)

Osborne, Cynthia & Lawrence Berger. Parental Substance Abuse and Child Health and Behavior. Journal of Family Issues, 30. 341 – 370.

Berger, Lawrence, Marcia Carlson, Sharon Bostezck & Cynthia Osborne. Parenting Practices of Resident Fathers: The Role of Marital and Biological Ties. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 625 – 639.

Osborne, Cynthia, Wendy Manning, & Pamela Smock. Married and Cohabiting Parents’ Relationship Stability: A Focus on Race and Ethnicity. Journal of Marriage and Family,
69, 1346 - 1367.

Osborne, Cynthia, & Sara McLanahan. Partnership Instability and Child Well-being.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 1065 - 1083.

Osborne, Cynthia & Jean Knab. Young Children’s Health and Behavior Following Welfare Reform. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(6), 762 – 781.

Slack, K., K. Magnuson, L. Berger, J. Yoo, R. Coley, R. Dunifon, A. Dworsky, A. Kalil, J. Knab, B. Lohman, & Cynthia Osborne. Family Economic Well-Being Following the 1996 Welfare Reform: Trend Data from 5 Non-Experimental Panel Studies. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(6), 698 - 720.

Osborne, Cynthia. Marriage Following the Birth of a Child Among Cohabiting and Visiting Parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 14-26.

2006 Osborne, Cynthia & Jane Lincove. Final Evaluation Report on the Texas Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Initiative. Prepared for the Office of Early Childhood Coordination, Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (*INVITED)

2009 Osborne, Cynthia. Understanding Unmarried Families. Association of Family and
Conciliation Courts conference, October, Houston, TX.
2009 Osborne, Cynthia. Changing Families, Changing Risks? Cumulative Risk Factors and
Family Instability Among Urban Children. Accepted to Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April, Detroit, MI.

2009 Osborne, Cynthia & Nina Palmo. Do Children Benefit if Their Unmarried Parents Marry? A Focus on Young Children’s Behavior. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April, Detroit, MI.

2009 Osborne, Cynthia, Lawrence Berger, & Katherine Magnuson. Partnership Instability and Changes in Mothering Behaviors with Young Children. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April, Detroit, MI.

2009 Osborne, Cynthia. Changing Families, Changing Risks? Cumulative Risk Factors and
Family Instability Among Urban Children. Biennial Meeting for the Society for Research in Child Development, April, Denver, CO.

2009 Osborne, Cynthia & Nina Palmo. Do Children Benefit if Their Unmarried Parents Marry? A Focus on Young Children’s Behavior. Biennial Meeting for the Society for Research in
Child Development, April, Denver, CO.

2009 Cooper, Carey, Cynthia Osborne, Audrey Beck & Sara McLanahan. Partnership
Instability and Child Well-being During the Transition to Elementary School. Biennial Meeting for the Society for Research in Child Development, April, Denver, CO.

2008 Osborne, Cynthia & Jane Lincove. LBJ’s Legacy in Contemporary Social Welfare Policy: Have We Come Full Circle? LBJ Centennial Symposium On “Policy Challenges for the New President and the LBJ Legacy,” December, Austin, TX.

2008* Osborne, Cynthia. President’s Panel on Disciplinary Diversity at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy and Management, November, Los Angeles, CA.

2008* Osborne, Cynthia. Policy Perspectives on Changing American Families. Texas Office of the
Attorney General, September, Austin, TX.

2008* Osborne, Cynthia. Preliminary Overview of the p.a.p.a. Curriculum: Why Do Students
Need p.a.p.a.? Western Interstate Child Support Enforcement Council, Keynote Address, September, San Antonio, TX.

2008* Osborne, Cynthia. Fragile Families: Who Are They? And How Can We Help? Title VI-D Child Support Forum on Access and Visitation, September, Austin, TX.

2008* Osborne, Cynthia. The Earliest Influences on Children’s Healthy Development, at the Preschoolers Left Behind Conference, May, Austin TX.

2008 Cooper, Carey, Cynthia Osborne, Audrey Beck & Sara McLanahan. Partnership
Instability and Child Well-being During the Transition to Elementary School. Annual
Meeting of the Population Association of America, April, New Orleans.

2008 Fomby, Paula & Cynthia Osborne. The Relative Effects of Family Instability and Mother/Partner Conflict on Children’s Externalizing Behavior. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April, New Orleans.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (CONTINUED)
2008* Osborne, Cynthia. Is Marriage Protective for All Children? Cumulative Risks at Birth and Subsequent Child Well-Being. Center for Family and Demographic Research Seminar
Series, Bowling Green State University, February.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Fragile Families: Who Are They? And How Can We Help? Title VI-D Child Support Forum on Access and Visitation, Austin, TX.

2007 Osborne, Cynthia. Is Marriage Protective for All Children? A Cumulative Risk
Perspective. Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and
Management, November, Washington, DC.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia & Sara McLanahan. Family Instability and Children's Socio-emotional Development at School Entry. Population Research Center, University of Texas at
Austin, October.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Educational Payoffs to Investments in Early Childhood. Educational
Policy and Planning Program P-16 Forum. University of Texas at Austin, October 22.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Communication Patterns Between Teen Parents. Lifting Teen Families: Strengthening Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Teens conference sponsored by the
St. David’s Community Health Foundation, October 4-5, Austin, TX.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Links Between Early Father Involvement and Subsequent Family Formation. The First Nine Months of Fatherhood conference sponsored by the
Texas Office of the Attorney General, August 20-21, Houston, TX.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Why Do We Need Healthy Marriage Programs? Texas Healthy
Marriage Initiative Summit, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, June,
Austin, TX.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Is Marriage Protective for All Children? Cumulative Risks at Birth
and Subsequent Child Behavior. Welfare Reform Evaluation Conference. Administration
for Children and Families, June, Washington DC.

2007* Knab, Jean, Irv Garfinkel, Sara McLanahan, Emily Moiduddin, & Cynthia Osborne.
The Effects of Welfare and Child Support Policies on the Timing and Incidence of
Marriage Following a Nonmarital Birth. Conference entitled Ten Years After: Evaluating
the Long-Term Effects of Welfare Reform on Children, Families, Welfare, and Work. University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research. April, Lexington, KY.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Is Marriage Protective for All Children? Cumulative Risks at Birth
and Subsequent Child Behavior. National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan.
March, Ann Arbor, MI.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Gender, Equity, and Social Policy. Social Models Conference: A
Comparison of the United States and Europe. University of Texas at Austin. February,
Austin, TX.

2007* Osborne, Cynthia. Demographic Trends Affecting Women: What is Hopeful? What is
Problematic? Annual Leadership Texas Conference, January, Austin, TX.

2006 Berger, Lawrence, Marcia Carlson, Sharon Bostezck & Cynthia Osborne. Parenting
Practices of Biological and Social Fathers. Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, November, Madison, WI.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (CONTINUED)
2006 Osborne, Cynthia & Jean Knab. Young Children’s Health and Behavior Following Welfare Reform. Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, November, Madison, WI.

2006 Slack, K., K. Magnuson, L.Berger, J. Yoo, R. Coley, R. Dunifon, A. Dworsky, A. Kalil, J. Knab, B. Lohman, & C. Osborne. Family Economic Well-Being Following the 1996 Welfare Reform: Trend Data from 5 Non-Experimental Panel Studies. Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, November, Madison,WI

2006* Osborne, Cynthia & Jean Knab. Welfare Reform and Young Child Health and Behavior. Invited to present at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, March, Los Angeles, CA.

2005* Osborne, Cynthia & Lawrence Berger. “Parental Substance Abuse and Child Well-being:
Are the Kids Better Off if He's Not Around?” Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. October.

2005 Osborne, Cynthia. Cumulative Risks on Child Health and Development by Family Structure, Education, and Race. Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, April, Atlanta, GA.

2005 Osborne, Cynthia. Cumulative Risks on Child Health and Development by Family Structure, Education, and Race. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of
America, March, Philadelphia, PA.

2004 Osborne, Cynthia, & Sara McLanahan. The Effects of Partnership Instability on
Parenting and Young Child Health and Behavior. Annual Meeting of the National
Council on Family Relations, November, Orlando, FL.

2004 Berger, Lawrence, & Cynthia Osborne. Do Alcohol, Cigarette, and Drug Prices Impact
Prenatal Substance Use and Child Health and Development? Annual Meeting of the
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, October, Atlanta, GA.

2004 Osborne, Cynthia, & Sara McLanahan. Partnership Instability and Child Well-being.
Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, October, Atlanta, GA.

2004 Osborne, Cynthia, Wendy Manning, & Pamela Smock. Instability in Fragile Families:
The Role of Race-Ethnicity, Economic, and Relationship Quality. Annual Meeting of
the American Sociological Association, August, San Francisco, CA.

2004* Osborne, Cynthia. Marriage Following the Birth of a Child Among Cohabiting and Visiting Parents. Invited to present at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Welfare Reform Evaluation Conference, May, Washington DC.

2004* Osborne, Cynthia. Fragile Families: Who Are They and What Do We Know About Them? Invited to present at the Texas Fragile Families Initiative, May, Austin, TX.

2004 Osborne, Cynthia. The Relationship between Family Structure and Mothering Behaviors within Race and Ethnic Groups. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April, Boston, MA.

2004 Osborne, Cynthia. The Effect of Family Structure on Mothering Behaviors within Race and Ethnic Groups. Eastern Sociological Society, February, New York, NY.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (CONTINUED)
2004* Osborne, Cynthia. Is Marriage the Answer? Evidence Underlying the Assumptions of the National Marriage Initiative. Invited to present at the AmeriCorps*VISTA National Conference on Strengthening Families, January, Jackson, MS.

2003* Osborne, Cynthia. Is Marriage the Answer? Evidence Underlying the Assumptions of the National Marriage Initiative. Invited to present at the Nebraska Marriage Initiative Conference, November, Lincoln, NB.

2003* Osborne, Cynthia. The Role of Marriage in Strengthening Families: Evidence
Underlying the Assumptions of the National Marriage Initiative. Invited to present at
the AmeriCorps* VISTA National Conference on Strengthening Families, September, Philadelphia, PA.

2003* Osborne, Cynthia. The Diverse Nature of Unmarried Families: The Importance of
Marriage Expectations. Invited to present at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Welfare Reform Evaluation Conference, May, Washington DC.

2003 Osborne, Cynthia, Sara McLanahan, & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. Child Behavior in Married and Cohabiting Families: The Importance of Marriage Timing. Annual Meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, November, Vancouver, BC.

2003* Osborne, Cynthia, Sara McLanahan, & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. Is There an Advantage to Being Born to Married versus Cohabiting Parents? Differences in Child Behavior. National Poverty Center’s Conference on Marriage and Family Formation Among Low-Income Couples, September, Washington, DC.

2003 Osborne, Cynthia. Differences in Union Transitions by Living Arrangement. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, May, Minneapolis, MN.

2003 Osborne, Cynthia. The Effect of Family Structure and Family Instability on Mothering Behaviors. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, May, Minneapolis.

2003 Osborne, Cynthia, Sara McLanahan, & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. Differences in Child Behavior in Married and Cohabiting Families. Annual Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, April, Tampa, FL.

2003 Osborne, Cynthia. Union Transitions of Unmarried Parents: What Explains the Differences by Living Arrangement? Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, February, Philadelphia, PA.

2002 Osborne, Cynthia. A New Look at Unmarried Families: Diversity in Human Capital, Attitudes, and Relationship Quality. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, May, Atlanta, GA.

2001 Osborne, Cynthia. Diversity Among Unmarried Parents: Human Capital, Attitudes, and Relationship Quality. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, (requested), August, Germany.

Demographic Analysis
Education Policy
Family and Child Welfare
Urban Policy
Welfare