A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Compendium of School-Based and School-Linked Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents, February 1999

Programs in Public Schools

Teen Self Help Demonstration Program

Mission:

Support pregnant and parenting teenagers in maintaining a healthy pregnancy, acquiring parenting skills, developing child care job skills, improving academic performance, and continuing in school.

Profile:

The Teen Self Help Demonstration Program is a school-based program that offers education, medical services, psychosocial interventions, and vocational assistance to adolescent parents in an urban area. The program serves African-American (99 percent) and white students in two school locations, ages 13 to 19. On an annual basis, approximately 190 pregnant teens, 25 teen mothers, and 5 teen fathers are served. Child care is provided for 52 children.

Description of Service Model:

The Teen Self Help Demonstration Program was implemented to break the cycle of poverty and feelings of hopelessness, and to build self-sufficiency among high-risk pregnant adolescents, young parents, and their families through educational, medical, psychosocial and vocational interventions. Staffed by a full-time obstetrical nurse and administrative clerk at the school clinic, the program provides prenatal nursing services to pregnant adolescents and offers case management and referral services to all students enrolled in the Birmingham Schools Young Mothers' Program. Home visits are recommended when students are homebound. Triage at school for minor health complaints prevents students from losing classroom time, and a nurse monitors the health of infants enrolled in the infant care centers at Ensley and Woodlawn High Schools and makes referrals as necessary.

A partnership with Birmingham Public Schools and its Young Mothers' Program provides courses in parenting and occupational child care, and a nurse holds individual and small group counseling sessions to identify positive life options and set life goals. Pregnant and parenting adolescents are encouraged to demonstrate sexual responsibility by identifying alternatives to becoming sexually active too soon. They also develop decision-making skills to address their personal problems constructively and to develop a positive direction for their lives. Young fathers are also encouraged to attend group sessions and are taught infant care skills in the infant care centers to help them interact appropriately with their babies.

The program brings together a number of educational and vocational services to promote self-sufficiency among adolescent parents. There are linkages with the Birmingham Schools' Project Soar for after school computer-assisted tutorial services, Lawson State Community College, the Urban League, and the Women in Community Service Program to provide employment placement assistance and, in some cases, entry-level job training. Additional linkages are maintained with social service and health agencies to decrease the barriers that interfere with the normal development of young parents and their children and the successful completion of high school. Support services are also provided to grandparents.

Teen Self Help staff work with school and social service professionals in the Birmingham area to address the serious needs of this special adolescent population. Collaboration with the Department of Human Services, Child Care Resources, and local United Way Welfare Reform Committee to identify and seek solutions for many of the problems that interfere with self-sufficiency, such as child care, transportation, and job training.

Evaluation Methods:

Reduction of low birth weight is assessed through birth records, dropout statistical records indicate school success, and increase in economic self-sufficiency is indicated through graduating class statistics and completion records of occupational courses. Reduction of repeat pregnancies is assessed using data from Young Mothers' Program intake forms and county health data.

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