Resources

• Teen Parents in Foster Care: Risk Factors and Outcomes for Teens and Their Children
  Teens in foster care face considerable individual and family challenges that place them at an elevated risk of becoming a teen parent. Child Trends has released this research brief which reviews existing research literature on teens in foster care and examines analyses of primarily regional data to assess the extent to which teens in foster care are at risk of teen pregnancy and parenting. Existing studies suggest that teens in foster care have higher rates of teen pregnancy and parenthood than youth who are not in care. More than 160,000 of the children in foster care were over 12 years old in 2009. On the basis of the research highlighted in this brief, Child Trends identifies several challenges to reducing rates of pregnancy and childbearing among teens in foster care and to preventing negative outcomes for these teen parents and their children. This brief aims to increase understanding of this population; inform strategies to reduce teen pregnancies in foster care and support teen parents in foster care and their children; and identify issues that need further research. (November 2011)
  

• Services for Pregnant and Parenting Youth In or Exiting Substitute Care - Bibliography
  This annotated bibliography from the National Resource Center for In-Home Services describes resources to assist public and private agencies in designing and implementing services for pregnant and parenting youth in and exiting substitute care. It includes the following categories of resources: General Issues Related to Pregnant and Parenting Youth in Care; Assessing the Needs of Pregnant and Parenting Youth in Care; Programs and Services; Comprehensive Services Framework; Home Visiting/Prevention; Parent Training; Permanency Planning; Health and Developmental Services; Mental Health Services; Housing Services; Services Targeted for the Child; Social Support; Legal Status and Advocacy; and, Training Curricula. (2011)
  

• The Implementation of Maternity Group Home Programs: Serving Pregnant and Parenting Teens in a Residential Setting
  This study from Mathematica Research examines maternity group home programs in seven states, including some which serve primarily young women in the foster care system.

• Making a Difference: Helping Teens Help Themselves: A National Blueprint for Expanding Access to Supportive Housing Among Pregnant and Parenting Teens Exiting Foster Care
  This national blueprint from the Health Teen Network represents a multi-year, multidisciplinary approach to increase supportive housing options for pregnant and parenting teens exiting foster care.

• Caring For Our Children: Improving the Foster Care System for Teen Mothers and Their Children
  The Youth Advocacy Center surveyed over 60 pregnant and parenting teens in foster care, held group meetings and interviews with these teens and conducted interviews with social workers and city officials working in the system. In the summer of 1995, YAC convened a task force of teen mothers in foster care to prioritize the problems they identified and develop recommendations for change. Published in 1995, this report documents the shortcomings in the foster care system to effectively deal with teenage mothers.

• Pregnant and Parenting Teens in Foster Care
  Statistics gathered by the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles.

• Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy and Parenting Among Youths in Foster Care
  Facts and statistics from the Child Welfare League of America.

• Social Support: Improving Outcomes for Adolescent Parents and Their Children
  This fact sheet describes the benefits of positive social support to adolescent mothers and their children. It cites research findings that indicate positive social support of teen mothers is correlated with maternal competency behaviors, feelings of love towards the infant, and gratification in the maternal role, and guard against angry and punitive parenting.

• Decision-making Rights of Teen Parents
  This article in the Michigan Child Welfare Law Journal asks: “Why do we afford minors the same right as adults to assume parental authority, when we routinely refuse to grant minors co-extensive rights in other areas of the law?” Youth as young as 12 or 13 have children over whom they have full legal authority even though they do not have that authority over themselves. This essay considers the developmental psychology of both the young parent and the child, the incidence of child maltreatment within this population and the parents’ fundamental Constitutional rights. The authors suggest alternative custody arrangements for the teen parent including a statutory shifting of legal custody to an adult for the children of the youngest parent or a requirement of having a co-parent during the critical youngest years of the child and the parent. They urge that policymakers consider limiting the parental authority of immature minors but also identify varying degrees of intervention which may promote the welfare of both minor parents and their children. (2009)
  

• Advocacy for Pregnant and Parenting Teens in Foster Care
  Healthy Teen Network and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law collaborated to provide answers to some common questions practitioners face when advocating for pregnant and parenting teens. The answers can be helpful in your advocacy efforts. (2010)
  
  

• California:
  California School Age Families Education Program Report to the Legislature
  The Cal-SAFE Program, established by Senate Bill1064 (Chapter 1078, Statutes of 1998), began serving expectant and parenting students and their children during the 2000-01 school year. Data collected and analyzed between 2000 through 2004 showed positive outcomes, benefits, and cost effectiveness of the program. Most notably, more than three-fourths of the students who left the program successfully completed their high school education, and a significant majority of the children born to Cal-SAFE students were born healthy. The Cal-SAFE Program offers a comprehensive, integrated, community-linked, school-based program that improves the educational experiences for expectant and parenting students, increases the availability of support services for these students, and provides child care and development services for their children.

• New York:
  • The Rights of Pregnant and Parenting Teens
    This booklet on New York State from the NYCLU includes a section on teens in foster care.

  • Pregnancy and Parenting Issues for Youth in Care
    Part of a series of booklets for youth in care in New York, this guide available from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services provides information on pregnancy and parenting. It reviews the options and rights of pregnant teens in care, options for those in Office of Children and Family Services facilities, supports for parenting teens, county, State, and federal programs for pregnant and parenting teens, the role of the father, infant safety tips, strategies for calming a crying baby, and stress management strategies. Additional sources for information are listed. (December 2008)
    

Trainings and Training Curricula

• Developing Educational Goals for Teen Parents
  This free online training module is available through the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota. The focus of this module is to provide social work practitioners with tools to assist teen parents in developing educational goals, in understanding how to engage them, in the value of educational assistance, and in problem solving in crises. The option of earning Continuing Education Hours is available – this requires a processing fee. (2010)

Websites

• National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
  The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, founded in 1996, works to reduce teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy among young adults. One of their areas of “Special Focus” is Foster Care, and there are resources related to teen pregnancy prevention among youth in foster care available on their website.

• Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents
  The Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy Prevention, and Parenting Program (ASPPP) of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) serves as a resource and advocate for 30 Florence Crittenton agencies in the United States, in addition to other CWLA member agencies that provide adolescent pregnancy prevention and teen parenting services.

• Healthy Teen Network
  Healthy Teen Network is a national professional membership organization founded on the belief that youth can make responsible decisions about their sexuality and reproductive health when they have complete, accurate and culturally relevant information, skills, resources and support. HTN covers a wide range of issues that have impact on teens' and young families' health, including pregnancy prevention, pregnancy, parenting, male involvement issues, violence as it relates to sexual and reproductive health, HIV integration, teen sexual health and more.