HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1777

                       As Passed House

                        March 9, 1993

Title:  An act relating to teenage public assistance recipients.

Brief Description:  Attempting to ensure that teen parents receiving public benefits complete high school and gain economic independence.

Sponsors:  Representatives Karahalios, Cooke, Leonard, Edmondson, Eide, Wolfe, Jones, Jacobsen, Brough, Quall, Mastin, Roland and Lemmon.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Human Services, February 17, 1993, DP;

  Passed House, March 9, 1993, 98-0.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 10 members:  Representatives Leonard, Chair; Riley, Vice Chair; Cooke, Ranking Minority Member; Talcott, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Brown; Karahalios; Lisk; Padden; Patterson; and Wolfe.

Staff:  David Knutson (786-7146).

Background:  Teen parents are less likely to graduate from high school and more likely to become reliant on public assistance than teens who delay their decision to give birth.  Many teen parents are not financially or emotionally prepared to become parents.

Summary of Bill:  Teen parents will receive orientation and assessment sessions when they apply for public assistance.  The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) will determine at that time the most appropriate living situation for public assistance recipients under the age of 18.

Fiscal Note:  Requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Teen parents on public assistance are not prepared to live independently.  The department should determine the most appropriate place for them to live.

Testimony Against:  The department should not tell teen parents receiving public assistance where they can live.

Witnesses:  Representative Karahalios, Prime Sponsor; Bob Swanson, Medina Children's Service (pro); Bernice Morehead, Department of Social and Health Services (pro); Barbara Baker, Evergreen Legal Services (pro); Sonnia Bean, citizen (con); and Adelina Gonzales, Washington Citizen Action (con).