Jay Rockefeller: “for years, as Governor of West Virginia and as a U.S. Senator, I have advocated changes to our welfare system so that it…”

“for years, as Governor of West Virginia and as a U.S. Senator, I have advocated changes to our welfare system so that it promotes work and responsibility. I am proud to continue these efforts by joining Senator Daschle and other colleagues in sponsoring S. 8, the Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Parent Responsibility Act. This legislation is an essential step that builds on the Family Support Act of 1988 in reforming our welfare system. It emphasizes parental responsibility and makes real reforms designed to address the issues of teen pregnancy. As noted in the final report of the bipartisan National Commission on Children, unmarried teenage mothers often lack the maturity, economic means, and parenting skills to care for themselves and their children. For West Virginia, this issue is of major importance. According to the 1993 West Virginia Kids Count, births to unmarried teens has increased by 60 percent between 1980 and 1991 in my State. The percentage of births to unwed teen parents is tragically a predictor of economic hardship for both mother and child. This trend must be reversed for the sake of teens, children, and our future. This bill boldly confronts this concern by requiring unwed mothers under the age of 18 to live with an adult family member or in a supervised group home in order to receive Federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children [AFDC].”