To Grandma's house we go
McCloskey, Liz Leibold
OF SEVERAL HIMPS Liz Leibold McCloskey TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE WE GO REFORMING WELFARE he grandmothers all agree on one thing: you can get the attention and support of District of Columbia...
...OF SEVERAL HIMPS Liz Leibold McCloskey TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE WE GO REFORMING WELFARE he grandmothers all agree on one thing: you can get the attention and support of District of Columbia social services when you know how to work the system...
...Restoring old-fashioned values of prudence and responsibility, with a little guilt thrown in, might take us back to family arrangements that place the child at the center...
...Remember the old settlement houses...
...Second, there is the generically liberal view that more and more girls become pregnant because they lack adequate education and birth control, a view that drives proposals for more funding for afterschool programs and family planning clinics...
...Having an additional child would end in eviction from the home...
...Critics ask how much the federal government can require from beneficiaries of federal programs and federal dollars...
...Whatever view you choose, changing this system presents the perennial dilemma of any reform initiative: How do you change the system but continue to respond to the immediate problem...
...But federal money is itself a hook, as evidenced by clear precedents in the field...
...get to the emergency placement hearing, which will be held within twenty-four hours...
...Some Democrats balk at the suggestion, arguing that if it is a home in which sexual abuse, child abuse, and drug or alcohol abuse are found, then it is no place for a baby...
...Conservatives fought the proposal, arguing that it was soft on crime and rewarded criminals...
...The obvious solution—they should not have sex—is certainly not fashionable (or legislatable...
...One model for group homes already exists in the form of alternatives to prison for convicted women and their children...
...Other solutions line up roughly around two views...
...These programs, most notably in California, attempt to provide a stable, caring, stimulating environment for children along with pediatric care, parenting classes, substance abuse treatment, support groups, counseling, and educational and vocational training...
...They would see that babies and children received their vaccinations and other care, while mothers were counseled and tutored...
...But if you continue to help, you sanction teen-agers having a child out of wedlock...
...The House Republican welfare reform bill requires teen-age mothers to live in their parents' homes if they want benefits...
...Before Congress began its holiday recess, an amendment was offered to the crime bill in the Senate that would fund a select number of these prison programs...
...But surely some homes would be suitable, and perhaps tying teen-age benefits to living with your family would end the "independence" incentive, or provide an extended family for the baby...
...Perhaps part of the answer lies with the example of the grandmothers...
...The "grandmothers" and "grandfathers" would be a stable and steady presence for both mothers and children...
...But it also means that your mother and father are too young, too addicted, or too overwhelmed to take care of you...
...social services late in the day...
...Parenting skills could be both taught and observed...
...When Senator Daniel Moynihan's (DN.Y...
...And, unlike proposals to open modern-day orphanages or twenty-fourhour preschools, group homes would keep children and mothers together, while helping the mothers to grow up and even move out of poverty...
...The homes could be run by the older women and men of the neighborhood (not necessarily grandparents, but grandparently) who would be paid a re6 spectable salary...
...They deserve a fair start in life...
...Cooperative baby-sitting among the young mothers would allow them to go to school, to work, or to job training...
...And the clincher: Teen-age mothers would not be eligible for welfare benefits unless they lived with their parents or in such a group home...
...Every troubled neighborhood should have group homes for pregnant teen-agers and teen-age mothers...
...This question of coercion may ignite the real debate, if it takes place...
...If you cut off welfare payments for single mothers, the children are still there needing food, clothes, and a place to live...
...Support groups could help the moms both share their anxieties and face up to their responsibilities...
...Louis, or Harlem, you are lucky if you have a resourceful grandmother who fiercely loves you, even if it means leaving you at social services for the night...
...They have the authority to stop behavior that jeopardizes the welfare of a child...
...The question is whether we think that having a baby as an unmarried teen-ager, when there is no chance the parent(s) can support the child, is wrong...
...demonstrate your commitment to caring for the child and the mother's unwillingness to do so...
...D 7...
...Their combined wisdom might bring some discretion, common sense, and good judgment into the lives of these young mothers and their children...
...You cry all the way there on the bus, and you cry all the way home," say the grandmothers, but it works...
...It is likely that any Clinton reform plan will include a similar measure...
...Community-based church organizations or social service agencies could sponsor and run the homes with federal support (much as foster-care homes are run...
...A way must be found that does not encourage teen-age childbearing, but which takes each new baby's welfare seriously...
...Senator Moynihan recently argued that our social problems are largely a result of "defining deviance down," or lowering the threshold on our social agreement about what is wrong (The American Scholar, Winter 1993...
...If you are a child who lives in Anacostia, or East St...
...supporters argued that children should not suffer for their parents' crimes...
...First, there is the genetically conservative view that girls become pregnant because welfare payments act as an incentive by giving them resources and independence they would not otherwise have...
...If you can stand the wrenching pain of it, what you do is leave your daughter's child at the doorstep of D.C...
...Rather than caseloads, social workers and public health workers would have a "houseload...
...As welfare reform comes up in Congress, this question about young parents, especially teen-agers unprepared and unequipped for parenthood, looms large...
...This is where I see the real value, practically and symbolically, of keeping the grandmothers in the picture...
...Strict discipline would be enforced: no drinking, no drugs, no sex...
...When living with the family is impossible or seems unwise, there is much to be said for group homes, which would provide social, medical, and moral interventions...
...The fathers of the children could participate in structured activities at set times, but they would not be able to saunter in and out at their leisure...
...The same arguments would be replayed if group homes for teen-age moms were ever seriously considered...
...and the judge, relieved, will temporarily place the child in your home— with support...
...But in this case, liberals would label the plan patronizing or unfairly restrictive of a woman's reproductive freedom when no crime has been committed...
...Funding for such a comprehensive program could be drawn from funds that now go to support young mothers and their children...
...Charles Murray's solution is to cut off welfare for single, teen-aged mothers...
...Family Support Act became law in 1988, welfare benefits were linked to participation in job training or education programs...
Vol. 121 • February 1994 • No. 3
