[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 64 (Thursday, April 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S5512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    BISHOP'S VIEWS ON WELFARE REFORM

 Mr MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, Howard J. Hubbard, Bishop of 
Albany, recently presented his views on welfare reform in the diocesan 
newspaper, the Evangelist. The bishop served for 4 years as chaplain at 
Community Maternity Services, a diocesan program for pregnant teens and 
their children, so his statement is based on practical experience. 
Having worked with many welfare mothers at CMS, he refers to a number 
of them by name in his reflections. Bishop Hubbard has been in the 
trenches, as they say, so I believe my colleagues would do well to 
examine his views on the subject.
  Mr. President, I ask that Bishop Hubbard's column be printed in the 
Record.
  The column follows:

          His Experiences Give Bishop Ideas on Welfare Reform

                     (By Bishop Howard J. Hubbard)

       The present debate over welfare reform is very complex. 
     Most everyone agrees that the current system isn't working. 
     There seems to be a consensus as well that a major focus of 
     attention must be the growing number of women, especially 
     teenagers, having children out of wedlock.
       Teenage pregnancy is a national crisis. Teens and their 
     children are in danger of failing to develop to their full 
     potential; and too often, they become dependent, rather than 
     contributing, members of society. Adolescents who have 
     children are still children themselves.
       In the past decade, teen pregnancy in particular and child 
     care in general have become key elements of our national 
     agenda. Teenage sexual activity and childbearing have 
     increased in recent years, and a growing proportion of births 
     to teenagers takes place outside of marriage:
       In 1989, more than one million U.S. babies were born to 
     unwed women;
       Almost 350,000 of those babies were born to women under the 
     age of 20;
       Nearly three-fourths of American children growing up in 
     single-parent families experience poverty for some period 
     during their first ten years;
       Becoming a parent as a teenager increases the chances that 
     a mother will not complete high school, that she will fare 
     poorly in the job market, and that she and her children will 
     live in poverty.
                          thought and emotions

       On the rational level, policymakers are seeking to address 
     the aspects of the welfare system which foster dependency and 
     contribute to a permanent underclass where lack of family 
     stability, child abuse, drug usage and inferior education 
     perpetuate the vicious cycle of poverty.
       On the emotional level, however, there is the cry of 
     frustrated citizens who feel that they are bearing the brunt 
     of a system out of control.
       That mentality--which is so often heard on the talk shows 
     or reflected in letters to the editor--was captured in 
     caricature form by Saundra Smokes in her Jan. 29 column in 
     the Albany Times Union: ``Get those baby-making, lazy welfare 
     mothers out of here and let them take their school-lunch-
     eating, government-dependent children with them. Put them in 
     orphanages, put them anywhere, just get them out of here.''


                           meeting the women

       As one who served as chaplain for four years at Community 
     Maternity Services (CMS), our diocesan program for pregnant 
     teens and their newborn children, I think it is important to 
     get beyond the stereotypes. Then we can reflect carefully 
     upon who these women are and what motivates their behavior 
     before arriving at solutions. Let me share a few snapshots of 
     the young women I came to know at CMS:
       Sharelle was in a series of foster homes (her mother was 15 
     when she had Sharelle) and is now living on her own with her 
     infant son. She dropped out of school, and her only hope is 
     to meet someone who will support them.
       Gail represents the young girls who had abortions in the 
     past year. She made no plans for future sexual overtures and 
     carried within her a gnawing need to bring the baby back. 
     Pregnant again a year later, she thought maybe this was God's 
     way of letting her repent. She thought her penance was to be 
     a perfect mother to this child.
       Tammi was an unpopular and unattractive teen who was 
     unhappy with herself. She would respond to any attention from 
     any of the young men of her acquaintance. She felt terribly 
     lonely the morning after.
       Amy, almost 16, has been dating Joe, 18, for a year Amy's 
     parents have not talked to her about sexuality; much of what 
     she has learned has come from afternoon soaps. By the time 
     Amy and Joe had promised each other it wouldn't happen again, 
     she was pregnant.
       Cheryl was active in CYO, played her guitar at Mass and was 
     the pride of her family. She fell madly in love with Tom. 
     They occasionally agreed to intercourse because ``love gives 
     all'' and because ``maybe virginity is selfish.'' She prayed 
     that soon she would be able to talk her boyfriend out of 
     this; but before she could, she was pregnant.
       While those young women come from a variety of economic and 
     social backgrounds, they all show the same characteristics: 
     lack of self-esteem, poor and no communication with parents, 
     and a desire to escape their present situation by pursuing 
     the type of happiness and fulfillment that MTV or the soaps 
     promise.


                               solutions

       There is no simple or single solution to their situations. 
     Each woman differs in terms of specific barriers she faces 
     and resources she should have available to promote her self-
     sufficiency and to guide her to social and economic 
     independence.
       But, based upon my years of experience with these young 
     women and so many others in similar straits, as well as 
     documented research, I believe that any program of welfare 
     reform designed to address their needs constructively must 
     take into account several factors:
       1. Welfare programs are not among the primary reasons for 
     the rising number of out-of-wedlock births.
       Greg Duncan and Jean Yeung, in a comprehensive report 
     titled ``The Extent and Consequence of Welfare Dependents,'' 
     conclude that ``most research examining the effects of higher 
     welfare benefit levels on out-of-wedlock childbearing finds 
     that benefit levels have no significant effect on the 
     likelihood that black women and girls will have children 
     outside of marriage, and no significant effect, or only a 
     small effect, on the likelihood that whites will have such 
     births. We strongly urge the rejection of any proposal that 
     would eliminate the safety net for poor children born outside 
     of marriage. Such policies do more harm than good.''
       In the short term, that means that more, not less, in 
     assistance may be the appropriate and most effective approach 
     in dealing with these women.
       2. Policies and programs of intervention with mothers and 
     their children must be cognizant of and sensitive to the 
     unique circumstance and diverse needs each faces.
       For example, there is a difference between the 19-year-old 
     who has two years of college credits and needs some 
     assistance in caring for her one-year-old son as she seeks 
     employment or job training, and the 17-year-old who is a high 
     school dropout and who has a learning disability as does her 
     two-year-old child.
       Therefore, public policies and programs to assist single-
     parent mothers must be tailored to fit specific needs, and 
     will require appropriate goals and realistic individualized 
     time frames for achieving such.
       3. The major goal in working with pregnant women, 
     especially adolescents, is to educate for the purpose of 
     reducing teen pregnancies, and to facilitate movement to 
     maturity, independence and non-repetitive behavior (which 
     would include personal support, daycare and adoption options, 
     etc.).
       Those goals can best be accomplished, through building 
     parenting skills, connecting families with resources in the 
     communities where they live, and promoting a partnership with 
     parents for the full and healthy development of their 
     children.
       4. Quality, affordable and accessible daycare and health 
     care as well as ongoing education or job training are 
     prerequisites for success.
       5. There must be a strong moral component in any program 
     for single mothers as well as a values-laden dimension which 
     promotes marriage, family life, caring, truth-telling, the 
     goodness of sexuality, and the importance of its discipline 
     and the value of schooling and work.
       6. There must be a pragmatic component which addresses 
     handling finances, child care, house management, cooking, 
     shopping, responsible decision-making and personal 
     relationships.
       7. Where possible, birth fathers must be part of the 
     program, which should include a focus on their rights and 
     responsibilities, especially their responsibility for 
     supporting their child, at a minimum financially.


                             church's role

       For all this is work, there cannot be hidden agendas on the 
     part of government, families, social agencies and the 
     teenagers involved. Rather, there must be a forthright 
     presentation of issues and interactive responses that are 
     proactive.
       The Church--through the efforts of Catholic Charities--
     stands ready to participate in such a program of welfare 
     reform. To do less is to try to address a complex and multi-
     casusal problem by settling for a massive and unwieldy system 
     that, in the long run, falls painfully short of its 
     goals.
     

                          ____________________