Second Chance Homes: Federal Funding, Programs, and Services (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Dec. 27, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RL31540 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Edith Fairman Cooper, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Second chance homes for unwed teenage mothers are not a new concept in the nation. Before the mid-1880s, support for unwed teen mothers was primarily provided by family, friends, and churches. In 1883, Charles Crittenton founded the first "rescue home" (named for his daughter Florence) that eventually became a chain of what later were called private maternity homes, to better support such mothers and ensure that no repeat out-of-wedlock pregnancies occurred. Subsequently, an extensive network of private maternity homes was established across the nation.
In 1935, with the passage of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, financial support and other services through federal funding were established primarily to help widows care for their children, and for the first time to assist unwed mothers. After the framework of the private maternity home began to disintegrate, a renewed interest in such homes occurred during the 1995 Senate welfare reform debate when agreement was made to support the "second chance home" concept.
With the passage of the welfare reform bill in August 1996, a block grant program to states for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was created to replace AFDC. States were given the flexibility to use their TANF funds to assist unwed teen mothers under 18 and their children who lived in a second chance home. Although TANF is a significant source of funds for second chance homes, there is no single primary federal funding source for such homes.
On October 10, 2003, the Runaway, Homeless, and Missing Children Protection Act, in which maternity group homes (that is, second chance homes) were added as an allowable activity under the act's Transitional Living Program projects, was signed into law (P.L. 108-96). This act reauthorized programs under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) and Missing Children's Assistance Act. RHYA is up for reauthorization in the 110th Congress.
In the 109th Congress, three bills were introduced that would have amended RHYA to include provisions related to maternity group homesâS. 6 (the Marriage, Opportunity, Relief, and Empowerment Act of 2005), H.R. 3908 (the Charitable Giving Act), and S. 1780 (the CARE Act of 2005). Each was referred to the appropriate committee. No further action occurred.
To date there have been very few rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of second chance homes. HHS reports, however, that there have been several analyses regarding service delivery approaches of different programs that documented how the programs worked and provided descriptions of the teen mothers and their children. As a result, insights have been gained regarding the needs of the mothers and their children, as well as in some cases, program outcomes, such as subsequent employment, education, or subsequent pregnancies.
