The Parents as Scholars Program: A Maine Success Story

Abstract

Federal “welfare reform” enacted in 1996 strongly discouraged states from including post-secondary education in their welfare reform programs. As Sandra Butler and Luisa Deprez discuss here, Maine persevered through its Parent as Scholars (PaS) program to make college possible for low-income parents. In this article they report on their long-term follow-up of a cohort of PaS participants, all of them women, who have benefited greatly from participation in the program. Butler and Deprez note that Maine’s PaS improves welfare recipients’ chances of moving out of poverty. The program itself remains as a model for other states.