ABSTRACT
Teen mothers from families on welfare are disproportionately likely to go on to set up their own welfare budgets. Typically, adolescent mothers from families on welfare are not eligible to establish independent welfare budgets before age 18. The few who do are not in the custody of their families because of homelessness, neglect, or abuse. Even after they reach 18, few single mothers can meet their basic needs on welfare alone. Some mothers in the New York study settled for what they believed was temporary dependence on welfare because of their commitment to rear their own children. They wanted to be home with their preschoolers. However, the changes in the lives of the other young women in this group lead us to suggest that a return to welfare dependence is unlikely for them. Several mothers described the changes in their lives as "just waking up" from being "lazy", "miserable", or "dependent".
