1). Successful Programs Had Attendance Monitoring and Follow-Up in Common

All five program evaluations provided outcome data on secondary education completion. Additional Approaches to Helping Teenage Mothers

In addition to the approaches taken in the programs included in our evaluation synthesis, the programs we visited provided examples of innovative approaches to helping teenage mothers complete their high school education that are quite different from those evaluated. Alternative Schools Bridge Student and Parent Roles

Alternative schools provide an opportunity for teenage mothers to continue their education in a setting that also actively supports their role as a parent. A Few Programs Monitored Education of All Teenage AFDC Recipients

Only three of the city welfare offices we interviewed routinely monitored the school attendance of teenage mothers who were still attending high school when they applied for AFDC. Conclusions

A variety of local programs aim to help teenage mothers avoid welfare dependence through completing their secondary education. Finally, assistance in meeting their child care and transportation needs may be particularly helpful but did not appear to be sufficient, without attendance monitoring, to enable these young mothers to complete their secondary education. 12-21. Families on Welfare: Teenage Mothers Least Likely to Become Self-Sufficient (GAO/HEHS-94-115, May 31, 1994). A recorded menu will provide information on how to obtain these lists.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on local programs that help teenage mothers complete their secondary education as a step toward self-sufficiency.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) communities have responded to the growth of unwed teenage mothers by creating programs to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency by completing their secondary education; (2) three of the five programs studied increased secondary education completion by actively monitoring school attendance and providing access to child care and transportation; (3) innovative approaches to help teenage mothers complete high school included alternative public schools for pregnant and parenting students, residential facilities for homeless teenage mothers on welfare, and home visiting; (4) all of the 15 cities surveyed required teenage mothers on welfare to continue their secondary education, but 12 of the cities did not monitor the teenage mothers' attendance; and (5) states use of these successful approaches will depend on Congress' decision on whether welfare benefits should be provided to teenage mothers.