New Chance Program

It has cost a consortium of private and public groups $9,500 to get Brooke Flores to where she is--on the brink of completing her high school education and entering college. Without that investment, the state could expect to spend at least $51,000 over the next 20 years to support Flores and her young daughter in the welfare system.

An experimental program being tested in California as part of a national effort to move teen-age welfare mothers toward self-sufficiency has shown disappointing results in discouraging repeat pregnancies and reducing reliance on government assistance, according to findings being released today. The program, called New Chance, demonstrated substantial success in raising the education level of young mothers and modest success in improving their parenting skills.

An experimental program being tested in California as part of a national effort to move teen-age welfare mothers toward self-sufficiency has shown disappointing results in discouraging repeat pregnancies and reducing reliance on government assistance, according to findings being released today. The program, called New Chance, demonstrated substantial success in raising the education level of young mothers and modest success in improving their parenting skills.

It has cost a consortium of private and public groups $9,500 to get Brooke Flores to where she is--on the brink of completing her high school education and entering college. Without that investment, the state could expect to spend at least $51,000 over the next 20 years to support Flores and her young daughter in the welfare system.

Back in 1989, Gayle Wilson Nathanson had a $30,000 headache. Nathanson, executive director of the Youth and Family Center of Inglewood, had been awarded government grants totaling that amount, but was uncertain when the checks would arrive. In the meantime, she said there was an urgent need for a program to counsel teen-age mothers and get some of them off welfare.