    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [May 10, 1996]
    [Page 733]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Memorandum on the Welfare Initiative for Teen Parents
    May 10, 1996

    Memorandum for the Secretary of Health and Human Services

    Subject: Welfare Initiative Regarding Teen Parents

        This memorandum will confirm my directive to you to implement the
    plan I announced on Saturday, May 4, 1996, to help teen parents break
    free of the cycle of welfare dependency by living at home, staying in
    school, and getting the education they need to get good jobs.
        I direct you to exercise your legal authority to take the following
    steps to implement that plan:
           (1)  require States to submit plans describing how they will
                ensure that teen parents stay in school and prepare for
                employment;
           (2)  require teen parents who have dropped out of school to sign
                personal responsibility plans that spell out how such teens
                are going to move towards supporting and caring for
                themselves and their children, including attendance at
                school;
           (3)  allow States to reward with cash allowances teen parents who
                stay in school and graduate, as well as require States to
                sanction teens who do not;
           (4)  challenge States to use the authority they have to require
                minor mothers to live at home; and
           (5)  monitor State performance in the foregoing areas.
        You have advised me that you have legal authority to take these
    actions under titles IV-A and IV-F of the Social Security Act.
        The plan I have outlined will help assure that the welfare system
    requires teen parents to follow responsible paths to independence. Its
    swift implementation is vital to achieving our goal of further
    instilling the American values of work, family, and personal
    responsibility into our welfare system.

                                                          William J. Clinton