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Photograph by George Sakkestad

Americorps participant Teri Green works with 4-year-old Sara Tulane at De Anza College's child development center.

Program targets welfare with a college education

By Katherine Petersen

Teri Greene used to feel like a hamster running on a wheel. With two children at home to care for--and only a welfare check to put food on the table--the 28-year-old desperately needed a job. But without money for child care, Greene couldn't leave her children and look for work.

Like the hamster, she continued to spin her wheels but got nowhere. "I was totally lost," she said.

Now, through an Americorps program that targets welfare recipients, Greene and others from local cities attend De Anza College--with child care provided while they learn skills for the workplace.

Greene takes early childhood development classes and would like to become an elementary schoolteacher.

Welfare recipients like Greene will have their AFDC benefits cut in January if they're not enrolled in a job-training program.

This Americorps program, called California Community Colleges and administered through the county, gets about $93,000 in federal funding to cover staffing and administrative costs. Each new De Anza student receives a fee waiver, and Santa Clara County picks up any additional cost. Mothers can place their children in day-care centers on campus or use a different facility for which the county will pay.

The program provides Greene with a small monthly stipend, and after a year, she will be eligible for more money and will be qualified to work in education.

In addition to her coursework, Greene must complete 720 hours of volunteer work with 2- to 5-year-olds on the De Anza campus. She and the children make sand-art necklaces, play dress-up and work on developing reading skills.

Another 180 hours of volunteer time are required for Americorps service projects.

"We want to get them off welfare and into jobs," said Trina McCoy, an Americorps volunteer in charge of program recruitment.

Americorps programs are federally funded service projects through which volunteers help others and gain knowledge and skills in the process. Most programs pay stipends and target several categories of service, including the environment, leadership, education and homelessness.

"It's kind of like the Peace Corps, but on a local level," McCoy said.

McCoy has recruited 21 women into the program and hopes to add another 23 by January. McCoy looks for volunteers at flea markets, Head Start centers, Planned Parenthood clinics, apartment complexes and social service agencies.

McCoy, who graduated from college in June and also has a yearlong Americorps commitment, believes the program's greatest benefit is getting women off welfare and giving them the opportunity to pursue jobs in education.

"This program makes them feel good about themselves, and they're doing a service that desperately needs to be done," she said. "They're taking advantage of a chance to make a difference in the community."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, November 26, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.