New Surveys Suggest Low-Income Teen Parents Not Receiving Welfare and Other Assistance They Need

4/29/2002

From: John Hutchins of the Center for Law and Social Policy, 202-906-8013 or jhutchins@clasp.org

News Advisory:

Two new surveys to be released tomorrow suggest that some low-income teen parents are not receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits and other public assistance for which they appear eligible. As Congress considers the reauthorization of TANF, too little attention has been paid to the needs of low-income teen parents, a particularly vulnerable population about which we don't know enough. In fact, federal and state data collection about teen parents and TANF remains inadequate, according to one of the surveys.

The reports will be released at two briefings, which are open to the press:

9-10 a.m., Capitol Building, Room SC-6 2-3 p.m., Capitol Building, Room HC-9

During welfare reform in 1996, policymakers recognized that concentrating on teen parents was critically important: although teen parents represent only about five percent of the overall TANF caseload, historically about 50 percent of adult welfare recipients began parenting as teens. The 1996 law created special rules for teen parents, generally requiring them to live at home or in supervised settings and to stay in school/training in order to receive benefits. However, the new surveys suggest that these rules are having the unintended consequence of turning away needy teens who are not in school or not living at home, rather than giving them the opportunity to come into compliance.

Two reports are being released:

-- Knocking on the Door: Barriers to Welfare and Other Assistance for Teen Parents by Deborah L. Shapiro and Helene M. Marcy, the Center for Impact Research, Chicago -- A survey of low-income teen mothers in Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago.

-- Add It Up: Teen Parents and Welfare...Undercounted, Oversanctioned, Underserved by Janellen Duffy and Jodie Levin-Epstein, the Center for Law and Social Policy -- A survey of state administrators in 33 states, including data on teen mothers from 11 states.

For information about these events or to receive embargoed copies of the reports, contact John Hutchins, Communications Director, CLASP, 202-906-8013, jhutchins@clasp.org.