Teen mothers--citizens or dependents?

In a book that speaks clearly and forcefully to the heart of the welfare debates, Ruth Horowitz examines one of the most critical questions of welfare policy: How can a government program help one of sodety's neediest groups move from welfare dependency to employment, independence, and responsible citizenship? The setting is Project GED, a year-long government-sponsored program designed to help teen mothers earn high school equivalency diplomas and to provide job-readiness training. As a participant-observer, Horowitz followed the women through each stage of the program, recording their successes and failures, fears and dreams. In a vivid and sensitive portrait, she brings to life the human dramas at the center of their everyday lives. Teen Mothers is more than a superbly written chronicle of hard work, friendship, conflict, and learning; Horowitz identifies the reasons for the success or failure of programs such as Project GED. She found that the organization of the program itself, as well as the social workers' relationship to participants, was a crucial factor in fostering all of the skills needed to live and work as independent citizens. Successful programs, Horowitz notes, encourage the mothers to connect their identities as mothers and girlfriends with their new roles as students and workers; and a strong emphasis on decision making, cooperation, and inclusion helps young women develop the self-esteem they need to become self-reliant and civic-minded. This inside look at a social service program in action is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand, and ultimately correct, our country's failing welfare system.