COME January, thousands of teenage mothers will have to do finish Year 12, go to TAFE or lose their welfare payments.

Young mums in NSW suburbs Bankstown, Wyong and Shellharbour will be among the first in Australia forced to take part in a federal government trial of 10 disadvantaged areas that will strip them of their benefits if they don't finish Year 12.

About 11,000 teenage parents receive a parenting payment worth up to $641 a fortnight and 90 per cent of them have not completed Year 12.

Under the government's welfare crackdown, teenage parents will be required to attend six-monthly interviews with Centrelink once their baby is six months old and, on the child's first birthday, will have to have a plan for completion of school.

Tessa Cave was in Year 11 when she learned she was pregnant to a fellow student.

He wanted nothing to do with the pregnancy and when the ridicule became too much, Ms Cave quit school.

Now she receives a parenting payment but because she lives in another suburb, Lane Cove, with her mother, will escape the government's trial, passed in parliament last week.

Son Zavier is almost two, but although the 19-year-old never went back to school, she is studying nursing at TAFE.

"Abortion and adoption were never options for me," Ms Cave said.

"My mum had a hereditary condition where she wasn't actually able to have children, but I was a miracle child. And I don't think I would have been able to cope with knowing that someone else had my baby."

After giving birth, Tessa Cave suffered from post-natal depression and her younger brother copped flak from his mates, which only added to her distress. "He burst into tears one night, saying it wasn't his decision to have a baby but he was being punished for it," she said.

While Ms Cave loves being a mum, she said her life has changed in "a million ways" she never expected and urged young girls to wait to start a family.

"I wish sometimes I could just be a young girl and not a young mum,'' she said.

Last week, Ms Cave graduated from Raise Foundation's Bump, a not-for-profit mentoring program for young  often teenage mothers.

"I wish I could go out and party with my friends and not have to worry about waking up at 6am with my baby,'' she said. "I lost friends because I was pregnant. I lost friends after I gave birth, I can't just spend the time... Don't have a baby. Go out and live your life, get a job, have a career, find someone you really love, spend your life having fun and settle down with someone you really want to be with and then, only then, start a family.''

Raise Foundation founder and director Vicki Condon said the government's trial will only succeed if funding is granted to not-for-profit organisations like hers to help young parents find work or enrol in study.

The program will begin next year in 10 locations across Australia including Bankstown, Wyong and Shellharbour for 4000 teen parents aged under 19 with a youngest child less than six years old.

"We totally agree with the need for young mums to get back to work, but the girls need a lot of help to do that,'' Ms Condon said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/teen-mothers-told-take-your-hsc-go-to-tafe-or-lose-your-welfare-payment/story-e6frfkp9-1226207358219#ixzz1ewFaOiWv

EENAGE mums who refuse to return to school or enter job training will lose their parenting payments.   

The "tough love" scheme, to be included in Tuesday's Budget, is aimed at ending welfare dependency that leaves many without work skills when their children grow older. Under the trial program, teen parents with a child aged six months or older will be required to go back to school to finish Year 12 or undertake a TAFE course or have their payments suspended.

A "participation plan" would be drawn up with Centrelink for mandatory activities such as work experience, study or part-time work.

The mothers would be given access to existing childcare assistance but, if they failed to attend classses or meet the requirements without a reasonable excuse, their payments would be suspended.


A trial program will be rolled out in 10 regions across the country, including three in NSW and western Sydney, from January next year.

The Government, aware that John Howard lost seats on the back of welfare reforms aimed at putting single parents back to work, will be at pains to point out that its scheme is targeting only teenage parents - single or partnered - and is pitched at lifting them out of the poverty trap.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition leader Tony Abbott have been locked in a welfare war since Mr Abbott announced he would force all long-term unemployed and under-50s to work for the dole. 

There are 11,000 teen mothers nationally - 3269 in NSW - who receive parenting payments. But at present they are not required to engage in welfare-to-work programs until the child is six years old.

But with more than 80 per cent of teenage parents receiving parenting payments not having finished Year 12, they are less likely to be able to find work at all when they reach their early 20s and the parenting payment cuts out.

Ms Gillard recently flagged welfare reform at a Sydney Institute Speech in which she said greater incentives to work would underpin the Government's policy reforms.

"I want young people to have a fair go," she said.

Bobby. wrote on Nov 28^th, 2011 at 6:40am:


I thought they already did??

We started getting 'Personal Development' classes in 1975....

Bobby. wrote on Nov 28^th, 2011 at 6:44am:


Yes, that's true...

Of course teenagers do tend to think they invented sex.....and are also usually fairly stubborn about being told (advised) not to do something....

Witness the smoking, drinking and speeding stats....Teens tend to think 'it'll never happen to me'.....

Quote:


I have no problem with this but like I always say to young mums who don't want to work: buy and wear a burqa to every job interview. There is a 99.9% chance that they won't get the job. Upon returning home after the interview take off the burqa and renounce your religion until the next interview of course   .

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Nov 28^th, 2011 at 8:34am:


I'd rather they got good training in the full time job they already have. 

I'd rather they got good training in the full time job they already have.  

Viable point grey, maybe study part-time (voluntary - never forced) over two years because they need to be with their kids. Being a mum is a full time job as you say and we don't want to put stress on families, especially the young mums who don't have family support.

Another generation of latch-key kids is not the answer.

Grey wrote on Nov 28^th, 2011 at 9:24am:


What job would a sixteen year old mother with an 8th grade education have... and then need further training within?