Wilson also challenged "another pervasive myth:" that teenage mothers appropriate more than their fair share of public aid. She maintains that, in fact, the 1994 Green Book of the federal government's House Ways and Means Committee shows that teen mothers constitute only 3.8 percent of all aid recipients.

Wilson's op-ed piece went argues that by waiving the two-year time limit for AFDC recipients who are enrolled in approved degree programs, the state can greatly improve their chances of moving off welfare permanently.

"An individual working at minimum-wage job offers her family a subsistence-level existence at best--a stark contrast to the almost unlimited potential of a holder of a college degree," Wilson writes.

By arranging family-friendly schedules and providing academic counselling so that AFDC recipients pursue paths toward realistic careers, Wilson and her associates are arguing that higher education, not what Wilson calls "arbitrary and unrealistic time limits" on welfare, is the ticket to ending dependence on federal aid.

"One-size-fits-all welfare reform is unworkable and unwise," Wilson writes.

The Mass. Budget Battle

Wilson's op-ed piece spurred Rep. Harriet L. Chandler (D-Worcester) into action, according to Chandler's assistant Paul F. Matthews.

"When Harriet took office, they [the State House of Representatives] were facing the welfare reform debate," Matthews said. "She noticed the op-ed and thought it was very moving."

Chandler approached the Women's Legislative Caucus, a bi-partisan group of legislators at the Massachusetts State House, with the information from Wilson's article. The group invited Wilson, Penney, Sister Sheila Megley, president of Regis College, and Grace Brown, president of Roxbury Community College, to address the caucus.

Chandler's constituency, Worcester, is a college community, Matthews said, and Chandler had been told "that former AFDC recipients had used higher education to get off the welfare track."

"The Worcester residents asked that the avenue not be closed," Matthews added.

During an hour-long question and answer session earlier this year, the panel of college presidents fielded questions from the caucus and presented information supporting their theory that higher education is a valuable tool for helping AFDC recipients get off welfare.

"The Women College Presidents group pointed out that post-secondary school education is the most effective strategy for enabling women to get off welfare," Chandler told the Boston Globe. "They provided statistics showing that even one year of college really makes a difference in what women can earn," she added.

The result of the lobbying action was that representatives introduced Sections 225 and 226 to the House budget bill. The addition, which was sponsored by Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams) provides an education exemption to the two-year welfare cap proposed by Weld provided that "the recipient is enrolled in an educational program or institution of higher learning approved by the department."

Weld's Veto