born out of wedlock and mothers who are ages 18, 19, and 20 can be prohibited by.
the states from receiving AFDC payments and housing benefits. Mothers must also.
establish paternity to as a condition for receiving AFDC payments, except in.
cases of rape and incest in which the state would determine if efforts to establish.
paternity would result in physical danger to the mother. The bill requires.
states to establish paternity in ninety percent of their cases. States are also.
encouraged to develop procedures in public hospitals and clinics to determine.
paternity and establish legal procedures that help pinpoint paternity in a.
reasonable time period. Also, in order to reduce the amount of time families.
are on welfare, states must begin moving welfare recipients into work programs.
if they have received welfare for two years. States are given the option to.
drop families from receiving AFDC benefits after they have received welfare for.
two years if at least one year has been spent in a work program. States must.
drop families from the program after they have received a total of five years of.
AFDC benefits.
The bill allows states to design their own work programs and determine.
who will be required to participate. Welfare recipients must work an average of.
35 hours a week or enroll in work training programs. By the year 2001, 1.5.
million AFDC recipients will be required to work.
The bill grants greater flexibility to states allowing them to design.
their own work programs and determine who participates in them and can choose to.
opt out of the current AFDC program by converting their share of AFDC payments.
into fixed annual block grants.
The bill is also designed to diminish the number to teenage pregnancies.
and illegitimate births. It prohibits AFDC payments and housing benefits to.
mothers under age 18 who give birth to out-of-wedlock children. The state has.
the option of extending this prohibition to mothers ages 18, 19, and 20.