ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 1997 TAG: 9704150074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR THE ROANOKE TIMES
State officials urge Roanoke Valley agencies to help Virginia win a $20million federal grant.
Armed with jarring statistics on the number of babies born to unmarried women, state officials on Monday urged representatives of Roanoke Valley health and social services agencies and local governments to help Virginia win a $20 million federal grant targeting out-of-wedlock births.
The federal government last year, as part of the new federal welfare law, announced that it would award $20million grants to the five states that most reduced their out-of-wedlock birth rates while not increasing the abortion rate.
Virginia was the first state to announce a formal plan to go after the money - actually a possible $20million for each of four years. Monday, the state held the last of four forums to promote "Partners in Prevention" and to ask local agencies and governments to help the state develop that plan.
"Let's work together on it," Robert Metcalf, state secretary of Health and Human Resources, told a crowd gathered in a Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center ballroom. "We can do what we need to do. We can lower the incentive for staying on welfare, but the law doesn't do the job" in lowering the rate of out-of-wedlock births.
According to Virginia Department of Health statistics cited by Metcalf:
There were 26,961 out-of-wedlock births in 1995 in Virginia.
84.2 percent of all births to teen-agers were out of wedlock, but 70 percent of all out-of-wedlock births were to mothers age 20 and above. Fifty-four percent of all out-of-wedlock births were to mothers between 20 and 29 years old.
In 1995, the number of out-of-wedlock births decreased for the first time in decades. But since 1975, the number of out-of-wedlock births has increased 163 percent.
Metcalf also said that women who have children out of wedlock were less likely to get prenatal care, more likely to have poor health and more likely to live in poverty.
Beverly Sgro, state secretary of education, said children born to unmarried women are more likely to have lower achievement test scores, lower grades and lower school attendance. They are less likely to attend college and to graduate if they do attend.
Children in "two-parent loving families are better off," Metcalf said. "That's not to say that single parents are not trying hard. We're not trying to put them down."
But that is the message some people believe the state is sending. Some people have interpreted the initiative as forcing marriage.
"There are a lot of reasons people are not together," said one human services administrator, who asked not to be named. "Making people get married is not necessarily the answer for everyone. There are just some basic things missing that the institution of marriage is not going to solve. It's an issue of family support, housing, drug and alcohol abuse - a whole gamut of social problems."
But others see some benefit in the initiative, if only the opportunity to address prevention of unintended pregnancies. The initiative also could encourage localities to work regionally.
"I see it as a chance to collaborate with a lot of other organizations and forget about the territorial issues that social services agencies tend to get into," said Robin Hammerstrom, executive director of the Child Health Investment Partnership in Roanoke. "I'm hoping to be a partner in this. We're always trying to find new ways to address community issues."
Betty McCrary, director of the Roanoke County Department of Social Services, said the out-of-wedlock initiative should somehow hook into the state welfare-to-work plan. The welfare plan does include a "family cap," denying extra Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits to mothers who have more children while on welfare.
The state has encouraged localities to go back to their communities to organize town meetings, educate the public and come up with a plan to reduce out-of-wedlock birth rates. Roanoke already has taken some steps.
"We want to move rapidly to address this issue," said Glenn Radcliffe, the city's director of human development. "We want to make an attempt to provide some solutions and other preventive measures."
OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS FROM 1991-1995
Highest 15 cities and counties in Virginia
1. Norfolk - 10,936
2. Richmond - 10,232
3. Fairfax County - 10,181
4. Virginia Beach - 7,925
5. Newport News - 6,331
6. Portsmouth - 4,788
7. Henrico County - 4,373
8. Prince William County - 4,267
9. Hampton - 4,129
10. Chesapeake - 3,820
11. Roanoke - 3,619
12. Chesterfield County - 3,312
13. Arlington - 3,198
14. Alexandria - 2,918
15. Petersburg - 2,207
OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS IN ROANOKE AND NEW RIVER VALLEYS, 1991-1995
1. Roanoke - 2,207
2. Montgomery County - 838
3. Franklin County - 621
4. Bedford County - 548
5. Pulaski - 537
6. Roanoke County - 494
7. Salem - 330
8. Botetourt County - 210
9. Radford - 197
10. Bedford - 163
Source: Virginia Department of Health
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