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

Trisha Obear Teen Learning Center and
Maurice Kirby Child Care Center

Agency: Trisha Obear Teen Learning Center and Maurice Kirby Child Care Center and (TLC/MKC)
Howard School of Academics and Technology
2500 S. Market Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37408
Telephone:
Fax:		 (423) 209-5853
(423) 209-5854
Contact Person: Seaton Bradford (TLC)
Melody Chambers (MKCC)
Annual Budget: $225,028 (TLC)
$247,244 (MKCC)
Primary Funding Sources: United Way; local education funds; federal vocational grant; Tennessee Families First grant; Child Care and Development Block Grant; Hamilton County grants; and City of Chattanooga grants.

Mission:

Provide education, referrals, child care, and related support for pregnant and parenting students to help them stay in school and offer parenting education as an elective for all students.

Profile:

TLC/MKCC, in existence since 1992, is a school-based program located in the city. It serves African-American (97 percent) and white (3 percent) students, ages 14 to 20. Annually, the program serves approximately 82 pregnant teens, 62 teen mothers, and 2 teen fathers. Child care for 64 children, 6 weeks to 4 years old, is available on site.

Description of Service Model:

TLC/MKCC is a multiservice center for students at Howard School of Academics and Technology, a public high school. TLC provides comprehensive services by networking with community agencies to meet students’ needs. Child care for students' children is provided by a private, nonprofit agency, Maurice Kirby Child Care. MKCC and other child care centers throughout the city serve as cooperative learning sites for Careers with Children students, who receive college credit for this program from Chattanooga State Technical Community College after they complete a semester at the college.

Partnerships with a local hospital and with Parents Are First Teachers provide pregnant students information on childbirth and related topics. A TLC-based social worker coordinates the county school system’s homebound instruction. Nursing services are available to the teens and their children, including immunization and Women and Infant Children services.

TLC coordinates a Baby Think It Over project funded by vocational monies. Prenatal, parenting, and childbirth education is coordinated through TLC for other interested high schools.

Evaluation Methods:

The program verifies success in improving the health and well-being of children born to adolescent parents through records, annual reports, immunization audits, the Women and Infant Children data base, birth weights, and developmental screenings. It verifies success in reducing dropout rates through graduation statistics and monitors success in reducing repeat pregnancy through records, annual reports, and pregnancy tracking.

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[Tender Loving Care Teen Parenting Program] [Table of Contents] [Wilde Lake High School Teen Parenting and Child Care Program]