Testimony of Mary Katherine West, Policy Analyst for Youth Advocacy, before the Committee on Human Services

Good afternoon Councilmember Frumin and committee members and staff. Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony for the Department of Human Services Budget Oversight Hearing. My name is Mary Katherine West, and I am a policy analyst at DC Action and a Ward 1 resident. 

DC Action uses research, data, and a racial equity lens to break down barriers that stand in the way of all kids reaching their full potential. Our collaborative advocacy initiatives bring the power of young people and all residents to raise their voices to create change. We are also the home of DC KIDS COUNT, an online resource that tracks key indicators of child and youth wellbeing. 

DC Action’s Youth Economic Justice Coalition advocates for young parents in the District, building on the work and research of DCNEXT! DC Network for Expectant and Parenting Teens connected researchers, service providers, and young parents in the District to develop and conduct research on the experiences and needs of young parents. 

My testimony today will provide an overview of how the Mayor’s proposed FY26 Budget for the Department of Human Services may impact young parents in the District who are working to create a safe, stable, and successful future for themselves and their children.

The District should support the unique circumstances of young parents. 

In 2023, 243 babies were born to parents between 15 and 19 years old and  887 babies were born to parents between 20-24 years old. In total, babies born to parents under 25 made up 15% of births in the District between 2019-2023, and are most likely to be born to families living in Ward 7 and 8. This population of young people faces unique challenges, the District must prioritize support that help these young people navigate becoming parents and creating a strong foundation for their children.

In 2023, DCNEXT! conducted a survey of young parents in the District and found that 50% reported housing as a top concern. At the time of the survey, 14% of respondents did not have a place to call home, and 30% had experienced homelessness within the past year.  

Young parents are committed to creating a strong and stable foundation for themselves and their children. However, given that they are still young themselves, they face many challenges navigating systems with high barriers that aren’t designed with them in mind. 

 

Raising a child in the District is expensive, and young people who may still be completing their education or just entering the workforce likely do not have access to the resources to afford all the necessary resources to raise a child; housing, child care, diapers, food,  and more. The District must support these developing young people and their children to ensure that generations of District residents are set up to thrive. 

Young parents experience homelessness at higher rates than non-parenting youth for multiple reasons. Changes in levels of family support and increased financial and mental stress after becoming a parent may lead to housing instability and homelessness. Young people who are already experiencing homelessness are more likely to have higher rates of pregnancy due to a combination of factors such as engaging in survival sex, lack of family or other support, or resistance to or lack of understanding of contraceptive use. 

The FY26 Budget must retain funding to  support youth and family homelessness services to support young families. 

In FY24, 309 families headed by a parent aged 18 to 24 accessed outreach services, emergency shelters, and transitional housing. However, only 96 beds are designated specifically for young parents ages 18 to 24. Beds designated for young parents are consistently at capacity, given the demand and length of time support is needed, so young parents often must be served by the family system. 

Services in the family system are not designed with the same level of support for young people found in youth shelters and housing programs. Staff in the family homelessness system may not have been trained to support adolescent clients, and there are no current systems to support single youth experiencing homelessness who become pregnant to have a smooth and supportive transition into services for families. 

Adequate funding to support young parents achieve safe and stable housing is a racial equity issue in the District, as DHS reported 93% of young parents accessing housing services in the District identify as Black or African American.

In the FY26 proposed budget, the Mayor highlighted almost $50M in important investments to support the Homeless Prevention Program, Short Term Family Housing, the Family Re-Housing Stabilization Program, and the Family System Continuum of Care. While these enhancements are important, they are only stopgaps in the face of further cuts. This $50M investment is insufficient to offset the damage from deep cuts in the sector, including a $16M cut to Family Rapid Rehousing and a $20M cut to ERAP. Overall, services targeted to families are funded at a $25M deficit since FY25. 

We hope the council will investigate how what is driving the system-wide cuts, whether it be reduction is elimination of one-time or federal funding, elimination of vacant positions, or utilization rates alongside. It is important to understand how these reductions and cuts to Rapid Rehousing and ERAP will impact families, including young families, to access the housing services and have successful exits from homelessness. We urge the Council to restore funding for these programs to prevent an increase in homelessness among young families.

Changes to the BSA Subtitle create barriers for young parents to access shelter. 

In addition to ensuring that there is adequate funding in the family homelessness system, it is essential that the proposed changes to the BSA subtitle that would allow families to be placed in congregate shelter are rejected. 

In the 2024 Homeless Youth Census, The Community Partnership reported that 34% of youth heads of households chose not to stay in shelter when they needed it. Of these young parents, the most commonly reported reason for not using the shelter was that they didn’t feel safe with 25% of respondents reporting this. Furthermore, 20% of respondents indicated that lack of privacy was a reason for not using shelters when it was needed. 

Safety and privacy are already barriers for young parents to access shelter when they need a place to stay with their children, and the changes to the BSA subtitle that allow families to be placed in congregate shelter would only exacerbate these barriers. 

Parents and their children need a private space to stay to feel safe and secure from people that they do not know, or illnesses that their child could contract in such a public space.  If young families feel that a space may be dangerous for their children, fewer families will access critical services when they need them. 

Young parents rely on social safety net programs to get on their feet and achieve stability.

In addition to housing support, while young parents are still developing themselves many need support from the social safety net. Each young family is unique and may need a unique set of supports to get on their feet.

Many young parents need to finish their high school education, and rely on child care subsidies to ensure that they have somewhere safe and accessible for their children to be while they are at school. When young parents join the workforce, subsidies are also essential. In FY26, the District must ensure that child care subsidies are funded sufficiently so that all parents, and especially young parents can retain access to this essential service. 

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is another program that supports many young parents, who, while in school, do not have incomes to support their families or being early in their careers, may not receive wages that can support their families. The proposed changes to TANF that reduce cash assistance are not supportive to the well-being and long term stability for parents. 

Finally, we appreciate the Mayor’s investment in the Teen Pregnancy Assessment Program (TPAP). TPAP supports teen parents who are already accessing TANF with individual attention to help them transition to independence. The program supports young parents’ high school graduation, prevents future unintended pregnancies, and helps young people navigate services, learn parenting skills and interpersonal skills and has quarterly opportunities for young parents to connect with each other and learn together. Having opportunities to connect with other young parents, and having a support person to help navigate through the District’s services has tremendous benefits for young parent’s mental health and future stability. 

With the adequate support and resources, young parents work hard to create a bright future for themselves and their children. They have big dreams for their future and for their children’s futures, and adequate funding in the FY26 budget for youth and family homelessness services, child care subsidies, TANF and the TPAP program support a holistic approach to making sure that each family has the resources they need to thrive. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I welcome any questions.