DOCUMENT RESUME ED 379 395 UD 030 324 AUTHOR Nunez, Ralph da Costa An American Family Myth: Every Child at Risk. TITLE Homes for the Homeless, Inc., New York, NY. INSTITUTION PUB DATE Jan 95 NOTE 10p. AVAILABLE FROM Homes for the Homeless, 36 Cooper Square, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10003. PUB TYPE Evaluative/Feasibility (142) Reports EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS At Risk Persons; Children; Disadvantaged Youth; Elementary Secondary Education; *Family Structure; *Homeless People; Low Income Groups; *One Parent Family; Predictor Variables; Social Problems; Social Services; *Social Structure; *Urban Problems; *Values; Welfare Recipients ABSTRACT A study on family structure and values among the poorest of all welfare recipients, homeless families found that not only has the traditional family structure broken down, but that there are stark contradictions between the reality of the lives of homeless women and the values they hold. The traditional family may actually be obsolete for this population. One finding is paramount, however, and that is that education is a strong predictor of the stability of family structure and of a family's ability to rise out of poverty and become independent. It will be useless to attempt to instill values through placement of children in orphanages or by placing financial sanctions on single mothers. Instead, it is important to develop viable policy options that enable families to stay intact and become self-sufficient. The reality is that poor single mothers still want to live independently and responsibly for their children. Education is the key to escaping welfare. The American Family Inns concept is endorsed as a way to keep families together and provide education for mothers and their children. Two figures and one table illustrate the discussion. Contains three references. (SLD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** An American Family Myth: Every Child At Risk "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U.S. DEPARTISS-Wir OF ESUCATIOR ONce co Eevrmoro. imn +.4 nom.errera MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMAT.CN 1? lkinta? CENTER JUNO nal OW, 03CoMMI MO,0OLVE0 ATTn realwe0 ,,inn Try DIOn Or oriprnwoon lionte46-4p Ilarieh6 o,,ormrhrg neon na0. 10 rmorove M,^01 CINIMWS 'KVA feoroouct.on gualny Parrs 01 OS. Of =morn sumo in mei oacw. TO THE EDUCATIONAL. RESOURCES Necorns, y myrsiorr °troy. ,Ten 00 INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).- OERI 0r DOICY 1,0114KY, BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 a report or HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS p At eighteen, Tanya is the mother of a two-year old son who has never seen his father and never known a home. Although she grew up in a working poor family, today she is homeless. She represents the Watched-Down Generation'. ... Values, Values, Values In essence, the results of this study demonstrate Today the staggering numbers of single mothers that for America's poorest, the family has become a and pregnant teenagers have been the driving force loosely knit, transitory group. And unless education behind a growing clamor to restore family values.* Ever since Former Vice President Quayle focused is emphasized, children may age to adulthood with- popular attention on this issue, illegitimacy has out the critical skills, values, and self-esteem typi- been blamed for the drama tic increases in sub- cally instilled in a traditional family structure. stance abuse, school dropout rates and crime. The The challenge that emerges, then, is not simply to reality of American family life today, however, is attempt to instill "values" through the placement tar more complex than the simplistic picture painted of children in orphanages or the financial sanctions by rhetoric and anecdote. Our nation's poorest of single mothers, but rather to develop viable remain so unless we families are at risk, and Nvill policy options which enable families to stay intact make a serious attempt to understand and address and become self-sufficient. the crisis of stability that faces them. Today one in every four The Obsolete Family? children is born to a single mother One third of those mothers The typical homeless family today consists of an unmarried 20 year-old mother with one or two or 500.000are teenagers. children under the age of 6, probably fathered by different men. In all likelihood she never completed In response, Homes for the Homeless and its high school, never worked to support her family, research division, the Institute for Children and and had at least one abortion by age 16. There is a one Poverty conducted a study on family structure and in fh'e chance that she was in foster care as a child; if values among the poorest of all welfare recipients: so, she is more than twice as likely as other homeless homeless families.' The study found that not only has mothers to have an open case of child abuse or the traditional family structure broken down, but neglect with a child welfare agency. with this erosion have come stark contradictions between the reality of homeless women's lives and While some will argue that this snapshot reflects the values they hold. In fact, preliminary findings a deterioration in tannin oalues, what it also depicts of the study suggest that the traditional family man a fundamental change in the make-up of is be obsolete for this population. Of all the findings, America's poorest families. While homeless moth- however, one trend is paramount: education is a ers may believe in the ideal of the traditional strong predictor of the sta' ility of family structure familychildren living with their married par- and of a family's ability to rise out of poverty and ents- -for most, it has little connection to their become independent. current reality. For these mothers, marriage has all but disappeared, and single-parent households Family voluoi, as discussed here are deleted at, attitude. and have become the norm. Today, 87 percent of these Opii11011S toward: marriage, parenthood, edu. anon, employment, independence and responsibility. Ihe purpo,o of this paper is to mothers have never been, and perhaps never will provide preliminary research which dcmomtrates the paradoxes be, married. In fact, homeless children today are inherent in Lundy values, particularly within the ontext of home- mother. and children on public ,ra-krance. Further research three times more likely than non-homeless chil- h' necessary to gam a more "Ad undcrstandinn of the LaMe, dren to be born to single mothers. and el Mut,. of the complex trends highltghled in Ihts paper. January 1995, Homes for the Homeless, Inc. 3 An American Family Myth: Every Child At Risk their belts, and further Over the last decade. the rate of births the children of "notched" the working poor down the social and economic to unwed teenagers increased ladder. by a daunting 120 percent. Regardless of whether they grew up in families Just as significant is the steep decline in their age. dependent on public assistance or in working Only a decade ago, the average age of a homeless poor families, life for all these women quickly mother was 35today it is only 20. Young and on became uniform: their own, these mothers never had a chance to develop skills or create the value system necessary percent didn't plan their first pregnancy; 71 to build a stable, supportive environment for their 63 percent gave birth in their teens: children. By all accounts, these families are in the midst of crisis. 21 percent gat,e birth bit age sixteen; 56 percent have had at least one abortion; The "Notched-Down" Generation 30 percent had an abortion by age sixteen. The childhood histories of these mothers provide As for their children: startling new insight into the changes in their family structures and values. Many assume that Close to half have had no contact with today's single mothers must have been raised in their fathers: equally poor and fragmented families and were Three in four receive no financial support not exposed to traditional family values such as front their fathers; marriage or a strong work ethic. However, the st tidy 'tinny all are groicing up dependent Roughly 50 percent of fauna that this was not the case. on, iblic assistance. the mothers were themselves horn into two-parent households. Moreover, more than half of the moth- Pushed into dependency at such an early age, ers grew up in families that were self-sufficient and these mothers have either never acquired or have received public assistance. no disregarded traditional family values for them- It is this neglect of values that places yet selves. Children who grew up in families another generationtheir childrenat risk of that were not recieving dependency. public assistance found themselves '`notched-down" the social and economic ladder Far From Reality Beliefs & Values.. . into dependency and homelessness. Not surprisingly, with the rise in single-parent families has come a shift in beliefs about marriage, These women and their children represent a dis- family and independence. Homeless mothers' heartening phenomenon in our society: the: are beliefs about themselves are frequently contra- the "notched-down" children of the working poor. dicted by both their own lives and the more Like their middle class counterparts, they had to traditional values they wish to impart to their accept a lower standard of living than their par- children. ents. For the middle class, that decline meant smaller incomes, smaller homes and fewer chil- While almost two-thirds agree that marriage has a dren. For those from working poor familieswho positive effect on children, barely half feel it is were already living at the fringe of povertyit important to be married. They have adopted the meant dropping out of school, having a child, attitude that marriage is "no guarantee for the moving onto public assistance and even becom- ideal family." Most did not want to marry the ing homeless. Intentionally or not, the economics father of their child, and didn't. of the 1980s forced many Americans to tighten l'age 2 January 1905 An American Family Myth: Every Child At Risk Whether if was ever an option for them or not, marriage with a traditional family structure: responsibility. self- is simply not the answer for these young women. sufficiency, independence, and commitment to family. Interestingly enough, this change in values may Most significant is that, in direct contradiction to have stemmed from being a member of the their own lives, over 80 percent of mothers feel Whether they grew up it is important for their children to be married "notched-down generation". . on public assistance or in working poor families, before they have children of their own. Although virtually all of the homeless mothers today receive most mothers were under age 18 when they had public assistanceAid to Families with Depen- their first child, they feel that their children should dent Children (AFDC). Because AFDC is driven wait until at least age 25 before starting their by the presence of children in the household and own families. Perhaps envisioning brighter fu- not by marriage, single women who have a child tures, these mothers want their children's decisions are guaranteed a steady income. With their own on marriage and family to be decidedly different from welfare check, mothers need no longer depend on their own. a husband to support their family. They are, in a sense, the "Murphy Browns- of poverty. Homeless mothers are under the illusion that they are the The critical difference between the character of Murphy Brown and these mothers, however, is "Murphy Browns" of poverty that although homeless women can hear chil- 'My child and I are making it alone'. dren alone, they have neither the skills to sup- In reality, they are lost in port them independently nor to raise them to be the cycle of dependency. independent. And unlike their middle class coun- terparts who may receive alimony or child sup- The reality is that they still aspire to live indepen- port enabling them to work, these young mothers dently and responsibly, if not for themselves, then receive no supports, and have few choices. With- for their children. And although many argue that out a complete education and work experience, these mothers are content to simply live off of they are unequipped to succeed. And although welfare, the majority declared that they plan to be homeless mothers may not depend upon a wage- off of public assistance in 2 years, and 90 percent earner in the family, they have become dependent intend to get full time employment to support on public assistance. Unless their current circum- their family. stances change dramatically, they may never be able to break the cycle of poverty. Experience dictates, however, that these mothers probably can not achieve long-term independence A family headed by a single from welfare. Although they may desire to be- young mother is seven times come independent and self-sufficient, the obstacles ,ely to be poor more they face are far too daunting to overcome without intervention. These mothers lack not only housing than other families. and jobs, but in addition are frequently forced to and far more likely contend with a host of other problems: a lack of to end up on welfare! education, domestic violence, poor health, and sub- stance abuse. But Not My Child.. . Likewise, their independent living.and parenting Yet when mothers talk about their children, tradi- skills are stunted, further jeopardizing their tional family values are resurrected. The study revealed that despite fundamental changes in the children's chances for healthy development. With- structure of poor families and the mothers' cyni- out education, their children may grow up to perpetuate the only reality they know: dependency, chronic pov- cism toward marriage, the values they say they want erty and homelessness. to instill in their children arc' those typically associated January 1495 Page 3 '"; An American Family Myth: Every Child At Risk Education: Unlocking the Door At the Crossroads: Responsibility and Hope Most paralyzing for the notched-down genera- tion is their incomplete education. Almost two- As this study reveals, family structure has broken down and values have become increasingly at not graduate thirds of homeless mothers today it With even less than their odds with reality. from high school. In fact, most dropped out before the 10th grade, and many have less than a 6th parents had, homeless mothers are preparing to hand down this legacy to their children. Unfor- grade literacy level. tunately, while suggestions for remedying the Not surprisingly, the study revealed that the crisis of welfare are filled with the well-intentioned one in three who did graduate from high school rhetoric of "responsibility", they are often mis- tended to come from more stable backgrounds guided and shortsighted. with more traditional family values. They were Substituting harsher welfare eligibility standards more likely to have been born to married parents and more likely to have grown up in working for disadvantaged families or relocating children to orphanages and ushering parents to shelters are poor families. Furthermore, a greater percentage not positive solutions and will, in fact, result in of graduates said that they wanted to raise their children the way they were raised and that they enormous social and economic costs. Historically, orphanages or group homes have not worked and thought marriage has a positive effect on a child. presently, young single female-headed families In keeping with this, mothers who graduated were are failing. Simply put, these alternatives will only much more likely to achieve traditional goals. further "notch" young families down. Compared to those who didn't finish school, gradu- ates are: American Family Inns: A "Right" Turn But then what is to be done? For homeless families Four times more likely to have begun a family in particular, a new conceptually dynamic ap- after age 18; proach may hold the answer. In American Family Three times more likely to have married their InnsResidential Education Training (RET) Cen- child's father; ters for entire familiesparents can return to their education while children begin theirs; a young Almost twice as likely to have only once mother can become job-readied and then job trained; and independent living skills can be in- Without a doubt, education is the key to better family stilledeliminating dependence on public assis- planning, more stable family structures, and a greater chance of escaping poverty. However for homeless tance. In essence, these Inns are the "main streets" mothers, this key is missing. Unfortunately, just as of the 1990sone-stop shopping centers where all most mothers have abandoned traditional family necessary services can be cost-effectively and effi- ciently provided, under one roof. Without sepa- values, they have abandoned education, abandoned employment, abandoned ;he institution of mar- rating the family, American Family Inns can foster independence and initiativekeys to family riage, and ultimately, abandoned independence. And without intervention and assistance, a home- "responsibility". As Figure 1 illustrates, families move from education and social services to job less mother's final abandonment may be the most readiness, job training, and finally, to permanent costly: her children. housing and employment. In the last five years, the number of The infrastructure for such family-focused, resi- dential education-based facilities already exists. children placed in foster care in In New York City, Homes for the Homeless has New York City alone tripled. been operating four such American Family inns Education may not be their only chance, RET Centerssince 1986 and has served over but its their best chance! 8400 families and 18,300 children.' These centers Page 4 January 1095 An American Family Myth: Every Child At Risk Figure 1: The American Family Inn"Main Street" Residential Educational Independent Living And Work Training Programs Training Center Services Family Services Job Readiness Needs Assessment Transition to Housing Occupational Exploration Case Management Phase I Workshop Healthcare Services Move to new community 5-Day Workshop Family Literacy Programs Aftercare Services 5= Weekly Workshops Crisis Nursery Family Preservation/Reunification Job Training Housing Assistance Stabilize Employment Post - Placement /Follow -up Internships: Clerical Budget management Adult Services Phase II Daycare Secure Daycare Independent Living Skills Social Services Secure Entitlements GED Preparation Food Services Ad',ocate on client's Adult Basic Education Housekeeping behalf with employer Job Readiness/Training/Placement Maintenance Domestic Violence Counseling Securii y Services Substance Abuse Treatment Advancement Child Services Job Placement Child Development Daycare Centers Specialized Training pre-Kindergarten Programs Job Search Phase Higher Education Accelerated After-school Programs Job Development Recreational/Cultural Programs Job Referral!Placement Summer Camps have been enormously successful in not only end- ily of three on public assistanceplacing the chil- dren in orphanages and forcing the parent to an ing the cycle of homelessness, but in breaking the adult shelteris roughly $40,000 per child and cycle of dependency as well. In American Fmnihi families are taught responsibility and embark $18,000 per adult, or approximately $100,000 per 111715, family annually. Exorbitant as these figures are, on the socialization process of education, employ- ment, and traditional family values. Through the they are minuscule when compared to the social impactand coststhat will be caused by such educational jump start initiated here, families leave actions. By contrast, the expense of preserving these RETCenters with the desire to continue on to higher levels of training and educationimpera- family unity is nominal: placing a family in an tives to successfully compete in the increasir American Family Inn costs only $12,000 for each sophisticated workplaces of the future. person, or $36,000 per family annually. And if the tens of thousands of multiple dwelling proper- ties owned by the federal government's Resolu- A Time for Us tion Trust Corporation and existing emergency A decade ago, the average age of a homeless shelters across the country were converted into mother was 35 and her children were most likely American Family Inns, the operating cost of these adolescents. Whether or not one could have had a Inns could be reduced by as much as 25 percent. constructive impact on their lives will remain cuestionable. But for today's familiesyoung 19 or 20 year-old mothers with children under the age American Family Inns cost one third of 6the opportunity has never been greater, and the expense of breaking up a family, but the probability has never been higher, to pro- provide up to ten times the services with foundly affect and redirect their futures. tangible, longlasting results. Moreover, all this can be achieved for a far lower When the length of stay in orphanages can be as cost than proposed alternatives. As Table 1 dem- long as eighteen years and transience in and out of onstrates, the cost of breaking up an average tam- Page 5 January 1995 An American Family Myth: Every Child At Risk Table 1: The Cost of Family Preservation vs. the Cost of Family Separation (per family/per year, in 1995 dollars) The cost of family preservation is significantly less than Orphanages Number of American the cost of removing children and Shelters Families Family Inn from their families and placing them in orphanages. $36,000 $100,000 $3,600,000 100 $10,000,000 $100,000,000 $36,000,000 1000 shelters perhaps a lifetime, the savings of Ameri- is irrefutable, the need to replicate can FaMily Inns REFERENCES this standard is unquestionable, and the social impact of the concept can be phenomenal. Re- 1.1n July 1094, a detailed, 70-question survey was conducted gardless of 'low so mlny young families have through in-person interviews with homeless family heads -of- household in New York City. 498 families par- become less functional and more dependent on ticipated in this study, representing roughly 8 percent of public assistance than at any other time in our past, all homeless families in the city shelter system. The find- there should be little debate as to what should be ings in this report are based upon that study. done. 2. Prosraws in Aid of the Poor, Levitan, Sar. Johns Hopkins If we have not learned from history, we will surely University Press, Baltimore,1090. repeat its mistakes. By once again placing children in orphanages and young mothers on the street we will simply be warehousing poverty. The key is 3. Homes for the Homeless, a private non-profit agency, has operated four American Farnifrr hmsRET Centersfor the family separation, but family preservation not past eight years. The majority of its funding is drawn from through education, job readiness and training, Emergency Assistance funds, a component of Aid to Fami- and the socialization of responsibility and inde- lies with Dependent Children (AFDC). To provide the pendence. With breadth and depth of services described in this paper, American Family Inn approach the Homes for the Homeless has found an economy of scale in we have the opportunity to, in fact, make history; size of operation to he between 9(1 and 120 families for each without it we are destined to repeat one of the American Familti past's less sterling momentswith perhaps mil- lions of orphanage placements, hundreds of thousands of young women in shelters, and hun- dreds of billions of dollars in unwarranted costs. No child should bt: at risk, nor should the American fi)nriltl become a myth. he allowed to Article by Ralph da costa Nunez, Ph.D., President/CEO of Homes for the Homeless and the Institute for Children and Poverty. In addition to serving as a Professor of Public Affairs at Columbia University, Dr. Nunez has served in e ecutive level policy positions dealing with homelessness and poverty at both city and state levels of government. Page 6 January I (Mq An American Family Myth: Every Child At Risk The American Family Inn The RET Center Standard Intake Needs Assessment : Permanent Children s Education Family Education Family Health and ' Housing Placement and and Preservation ; Programs and Follow-UP Literacy Programs Recreaticl Programs Health Family Preservation Accelerated Substance Recreation i Pre-School Family Afterschool Care and Foster and Cultural Abuse I Programs Counseling ; Programs Programs Services Treatment Care Prevention I ; Family Literacy and I Independent Housing Adult Employment Home-Based I Intergenerational Education and Living Skills I Post-Placement Training and Job Search t I Programs GED Classes Workshops Assistance Services Placement j I 1 Needs Assessment: Intake service plan is developed for each family upon entry to a RET Center, A taking into account the unique needs of the family. Health Services: Families receive complete medical evaluations and preventive services including prenatal care for pregnant women and immunizations for children. Educational Enhancement: On-site Alternative High Schools enable adults to complete their GEDs; family literacy programs engage the entire family in learning; early childhood development centers provide preschoolers with a jump-start on their education; after-school accelerated learning pro- grams supplement the public school education of students; recreation programs including, theater, dance and art enhance the children's creativity and socialization skills. Foster Care Prevention: Innovative crisis nurseries provides a safe haven for children at risk of abuse; intensive family counseling and crisis intervention are made available to parents and children which prevent at-risk families from having their children placed into foster care. Independent Living Skills: PLUS (Practical Living/ Useful Skills) workshops address issues such as parenting, domestic violence, child development, self-esteem, housing maintenance, and budget- ing to assist families in developing the independent living skills necessary to retain housing. Substance Abuse Treatment: On-site substance abuse treatment and counseling encourages family preservation by including children in therapy, unlike many programs which remove children from the family. Employment Training: An apprenticeship and employment training program gives adults the motivation, knowledge, and experience to move from welfare to workfare. Post-Placement Services: In the PLUS In New Communities (PLUS INC) program, caseworkers visit families for up to eighteen months and offer counseling, client advocacy and linkages to available community resources. Page 7 January 1995 HOMES rOR THE HOMELESS is the largest provider of Howc rot: III Flo.m.LEss 36 Cooper Square, 6th Floor residential educational training services for homeless New York, New York 10003 children and families in New York City. Our mission (212) 529-5252 is to replace the click of homelessness and poverty with one of education and independence. Since our inception 1.vsurort roR Ulu vRix .1%o Pot ERTY 36 Cooper Square, ist Floor in 1986, we have served over 8400 families including New York, New York 10003 over 18,300 children throughout New York City's five In addition, over 4400 homeless children boroughs. Prospect Family Inn from shesters city-wide have attended our two summer 730 Kelly Street Bronx, New York 10455 camps. Saratoga Farm* Iv !on HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS 175-15 Rockaway Blvd. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jamaica, New York 11434 Leonard N. Stern, Founder /Treasurer Island Family tan The Very Reverend James Parks Morton, Chair 1111 Father Capodanno Blvd. Harris Barer, Secretary Staten Island, New York 10306 Helaine Barnett Clinton Family Inn 521 W. 49th Street John Brademas New York, New York 10019 Alexandra Herzan Carol Kellermann Prost?ect Family Crisis Nursery Sister Joan Kirby 730 Kelly Street David R. Jones Bronx, New York 10455 Carol Parry Clinton Familm Crisis Nursery Charles Persell 521 W. 49th Street Howard Stein New York, New York 10019 David Webb Mary Alice Williams Camps Kiwagv & Lanowa Harriman State Park Ralph da Costa Nunez, President/CEO New York, New York C7Homes for the Homeless, Inc. Serving Homeless Children and Their Families