Testimony of LaTia Taylor, Context Team Member, DC Council Committee on Executive Administration and Labor

Thank you, Councilmember Bonds, for the opportunity to testify on the Pathways to Prosperity for Young Parents Amendment Act. My name is LaTia Taylor, and I am a born Washingtonian. I became a mother at 21, and  I am a member of the DC Action Context Team. 

I am truly driven and ambitious, but I am someone who never grew up having any dream because I was a child growing up in survival mode. I didn’t grow up having a dream career until now because you take what you can get. 

I care about helping others because out of the several case managers I had growing up, I had one case manager who was for housing, but assisted me through everything, like school. She was the first person to explain taxes to me, and helped me file my taxes for the first time, even though that wasn’t in her job description. 

I always want to see someone thrive in all aspects of life, not just in one topic: not just a job or housing, but the whole umbrella. My experience is why I advocate for young parents in the District. 

Young parents face multiple barriers to stable employment

Up until recently, my daughters’ school had been a challenge for me to stay at a job. When she changed schools, there had been a waitlist for her aftercare, and it led me to have to leave the job because I don’t have anyone who’s consistently picking up my child. And if she was sick or anything like that, I would have to call out. Then I would be losing money since my paycheck was smaller, and that impacted my income. I ended up having to get a different job.

I had a friend who got hired for a job, and they really wanted to work it. It was everything they needed with the schedule and everything, but the distance of the job was too far since they didn’t have a car. They were going to have to pay for Lyfts but to get there was $30 or $40. That’s like $60-80 a day. So, imagine a week, it’s like you’re almost paying yourself just to be there.

The Proposed Pathways to Prosperity for Young Parents Pilot raises questions about how young parents will be supported to succeed

My first question about this program is, what young parents will be accepted into the program? Is it first come first serve or what requirements would young parents need to have to apply, and how will they determine that? Some parents might not fit the qualifications for education or things like that. 

When designing this pilot program, what would all the supports look like? I think they should definitely provide young parents with transportation support. They could provide SmartTrip cards that could be reloaded monthly. But if the program had the budget, I think Lyft is probably better than the Metro. 

In general, there is no such thing as a flexible schedule when you’re a parent. Even with your child in a school system, you could have the perfect schedule that aligns with the school, and your child could get sick, and now you have to call out of work. I think the employers would need to be more lenient with that and have a plan to manage it, like having a certain number of absences or providing documentation. 

The program would also need to have a case manager for the young people to have direct contact with. Having a mediator in situations with the employer would be really helpful because they could help speak on the young person’s behalf, but could also help the young person understand the other perspective. 

The timeline of the year-long program is beneficial. A lot can happen within a year, and having the possibility of being a permanent employee there is good. What would the transition look like after the year is over if the employer does not want to continue on with that person, knowing that people may slip and fall? Would parents be able to be in the program another year with a different job in the future? Maybe the program can connect and provide that network so a young person could get another job after that. 

I think the Pathways to Prosperity for Young Parents is a good idea to get employers to hire young parents, but I have many questions about what it would look like to put it into play. There are so many programs that try to be helpful, but in reality, they’re kind of damaging

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.