Pregnancy & Parenting Archives | Page 5 of 8

Healthy Teen Network » Pregnancy & Parenting

#NoTeenShame: A Universal Goal

Guest Blog Post by Natasha Vianna #NoTeenShame is a movement and a campaign serving as the public voice on the issue of teen pregnancy and the unnecessary stigmatization of teen parents. Created by a group of seven young mothers across the country—some of whom have never met in person–#NoTeenShame believes no young person should be shamed for…

2016 Awards

2016 Healthy Teen Network Awardees Each year, Healthy Teen Network is honored to recognize individuals and organizations for the outstanding work they do to support the lives of young people. Read on to learn a little about our 2016 awardees, then join us at Roles, Relationships, & Relevance in November to hear more from them.…

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 in foster care. The answers can be helpful in your advocacy efforts.

Allowing Teen Parents the Safe Space to Share Parenting Challenges

Several months ago, Glennon Melton’s blog post, “Don’t Carpe Diem,” was making the rounds on social media, with frequent reposts and shares on Facebook and Twitter. Many of my fellow parent friends were sharing the link, recognizing the truth in her argument. Melton notes that parents of young children are often told to cherish the…

An American Frame: Teen Pregnancy and Parenting

Interested in gaining more support for pregnant and parenting teens? Tired of seeing them maligned in the media? Healthy Teen Network is working to reframe pregnant and parenting teens in the US to change public opinion and gain political support. The FrameWorks Institute in collaboration with Healthy Teen Network assessed current frames in the media…

Another Chance: Preventing Additional Births to Teen Mothers

This report by Lorraine Klerman, DrPH, summarizes what is known about additional births to teen mothers, the dimensions of the problem, the factors that seem to increase the chances of such births occurring to teen mothers, their consequences, and the potential for prevention. The primary focus of the 49-page report is a critical review and…

B-HEALTHY: 8 Ways to Be a Better Sex Ed Instructor

It’s no secret that some people find it difficult and/or uncomfortable to teach sex ed. And professionals who support sexual health educators often ask us for tips to make it easier. Through our work with CDC-DASH (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Adolescent and School Health), we compiled eight key strategies you…

Baltimore City and Healthy Teen Network: Partners in Youth 360° Health Promotion

Since 2007, through various funded projects, Healthy Teen Network has partnered with Baltimore City in support of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Current projects are part of Baltimore’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI), which is situated within Baltimore’s larger strategic initiative, B’more for Healthy Babies (BHB). B’more for Healthy Babies is a public/private partnership driven…

BDI Logic Model for Working with Young Families Resource Kit

In response to a need voiced by professionals working with young families, Healthy Teen Network designed a Behavior-Determinant-Intervention (BDI) Logic Model for Working with Young Families in collaboration with various professionals in the field.

Boys Will Be Boys

Research tells us that boys are exposed to child maltreatment and family violence at rates similar to girls, suffer different types of violence than girls, and experience their own gender-specific responses.

Bricks, Mortar, and Community: The Foundations of Supportive Housing for Pregnant & Parenting Teens

Healthy Teen Network and Child Trends developed two resources on the core components of supportive housing—a resource defining and detailing what the core components include and a report on findings from the field based on a national survey, phone interviews, and case studies. This blog post summarizes key points from these resources. Supportive Housing is…

Call for Award Nominations

2017 Healthy Teen Network Awards The deadline to submit award nominations has passed. Each year, Healthy Teen Network is honored to recognize individuals and organizations for the outstanding work they do to support the lives of young people. We are now accepting award nominations for the following categories: Outstanding Teen Parent Award This award is presented…

Celebrating Young Parents (Webinar Recording)

Celebrating Young Parents: How New Mexico and California Established a Day of Recognition (Webinar Recording) Over the past several years, two states—New Mexico and California—have been working to affirm the value of young families and celebrate the ways they contribute to our communities because all adolescents and young adults, including pregnant and parenting teens,…

Comparison of 2018 & 2017 PAF FOA (Table)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH) announced on January 12, 2018 the Anticipated Availability of Funds for Support for Expectant and Parenting Teens, Women, Fathers, and Their Families (AH-SP1-18-001). These grant funds are being made available through the Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) program. Previous…

Conference

Join us for our 2017 Conference Social Norms & Culture: Honoring Experiences & Perspectives October 2-4, 2017 Hilton Baltimore | Baltimore, MD Social norms and culture are powerful influencers on our individual experiences and perspectives. They affect every facet of our personal and professional life—our attitudes and outlook, who and what we value, dismiss, embrace, and fear. Now…

Do Latino Youth Really Want to Get Pregnant?

While teen births rates are rapidly dropping, the disparity between Latino girls and their White and Black peers is still noticeable. This disparity has led researchers and program administrators alike to ask themselves…how much of Latino teen pregnancies are intended? It is not an unusual question since the number of unintended pregnancies is quite high.…

Elearning and Webinars

Healthy Teen Network regularly hosts capacity-building webinars, and we are constantly building our elearning library of resources. Can’t make it live on the dates offered? We have you covered—recordings and slides will be available after the webinars, as well. As always, membership has its benefits: members receive significant discounts on live and recorded webinars and…

Expectant and Parenting Students Provisions of the Every Child Achieves Act (S. 1177)

Providing support for expectant and parenting students improves high school graduation rates. Expectant and parenting students are often highly motivated and hard-working, and many describe becoming a parent as a turning point in their lives. With the right support and encouragement from their schools, expectant and parenting students–and their children–can and will succeed. This is…

Fertility Awareness to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: Has Anyone in This Administration Even Met a Young Person?

Long before I came to work at Healthy Teen Network, I practiced as a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). My first job was in a freestanding birthing center where two CNMs offered a full scope of services to families seeking alternatives to medically focused care, including an out-of-hospital birth experience. I worked there for almost five…

Gaining Support for Teen Families: Mapping the Perceptual Hurdles

Healthy Teen Network, along with a National Advisory Group, and the FrameWorks Institute have completed Phase One of a two year effort dedicated to identifying and implementing new ways of talking about pregnant and parenting teens to gain support for this population.

Guide for Technical Assistance Providers Working with Promoting Science-Based Approaches in Teen Pregnancy Prevention Using Getting to Outcomes

We developed a comprehensive guide that will bolster your knowledge and sharpen your skills providing technical assistance and collaborating with program staff on Promoting Science-Based Approaches in Teen Pregnancy Prevention using Getting To Outcomes® (PSBA-GTO®). The guide includes common issues TAPs experience, suggested solutions, resources, and tools so that you can effectively guide implementation partners…

Helping Pregnant and Parenting Teens Find Housing

In 2002, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that there are 1,682,900 homeless and runaway youth under eighteen years of age in the United States. Of this number, anywhere from 6 to 22% are pregnant. This means that there could potentially be almost 400,000 homeless and…

Helping Teens Help Themselves

This national blueprint represents a multi-year, multidisciplinary approach to increase supportive housing options for pregnant and parenting teens exiting foster care.

HHS Announces 2018 Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) Funding Opportunity

How Can I Support Young Parents’ Choice to Breastfeed?

What’s not to love about two warm bodies touching, eyes gazing into one another’s, holding hands and playing with each other’s fingers…oh, and having relief from utterly engorged breasts?! (Or savoring a private moment listening to the breast pump hum beside you as it deposits your baby’s future meal into portable storage containers…all while inhaling…

How the Affordable Care Act Improves Pregnant and Parenting Youth Access Health Care

Webinar Slides, Audio, & Transcript: What Have You Done for Me Lately? How the Affordable Care Act Improves Expectant and Parenting Youth’s Access to Health Care The Affordable Care Act established a wide variety of provisions to increase Americans’ access to affordable, accessible, and high-quality health care. Designed as a webinar for OAH PAF grantees, this webinar…

Improving Outcomes for Pregnant and Parenting Teens

An Environmental Scan of Services and Programs The George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) funded Healthy Teen Network to conduct a community assessment of the services and programs available for pregnant & parenting teens in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Interpersonal Violence and Adolescent Pregnancy

This reprinted report from the Center for Assessment and Policy Development (CAPD) and Healthy Teen Network by Sally Leiderman with Cari Almo examines the links between interpersonal violence and teen pregnancy. It also explores the implications for practice and programs and offers possible next steps for the field.

Keeping Pregnant and Parenting Students from Dropping Out: A Guide for Policymakers and Schools

Providing better support for pregnant and parenting students is a critical step for schools to take in their efforts to reduce dropout rates. Graduating from high school improves pregnant and parenting teens’ chances of going on to further education and the workforce and avoiding poverty and/or the need to rely on public assistance. It also…

Know their Rights: Advocating for Pregnant and Parenting Teens in Foster Care

The lines can be blurry for advocating for pregnant and parenting teens (PPT) in foster care. Do they have the same rights as their peers also in foster care? As adults? Understanding the legal rights of the youth you work with is essential in addressing the challenges of the system and your advocacy efforts. A…

Kristin Fairholm: Strength, Vision, Commitment

Each year, when we put out the call for award nominations, we invite people to provide letters of support for the nominees. It’s always a pleasure to learn more about our awardees—and all nominees—through the different perspectives of the people with whom they have worked or encountered through the years. This year’s Outstanding Former Teen…

Mapping Programs that Serve Pregnant and Parenting Teens

There are many programs providing services to young parents, but they often occur at the local, rather than the state-level, and identifying what is available is challenging. This report summarizes findings gathered by Healthy Teen Network over a six month period to assess supports and services for young families on a national scale.

National Month to Prevent Teen Pregnancy & The Importance of an Inclusive Youth 360° Message for Adolescent Health and Well-Being

This blog post was originally published in May 2014. We present it once again as we observe National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. As Healthy Teen Network participates in the 13th annual observance of the National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, we are encouraged by the news that rates of pregnancies and births to United States youth below age…

News for Which to Be Thankful!

Late last week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Births: Preliminary Data for 2010. Among other key findings in the report, data showed the birth rate for teenagers fell 9% to 34.3 births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 in 2010, the lowest level ever reported for the United States. This 9% decrease from…

Other Resources: Working with Youth Who Are Pregnant/Parenting

View Healthy Teen Network Working with Young Families Resources here. Other Resources: Talking the Talk: Creating a Communications Strategy: A Guide for Community-Wide Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives The Characteristics and Circumstances of Teen Fathers: At the Birth of Their First Child and Beyond The Magic of Everyday Moments: Seeing is Believing Supporting Adolescent Mothers: A…

Pat Paluzzi’s “Audacious Idea” about Teen Dads

I recently contributed to Open Society-Baltimore‘s Audacious Ideas blog with some thoughts on teen fathers. Here’s an excerpt: Teen parents are a much maligned group. We often blame them for their “choice” of becoming a teen parent and then for all of the untoward outcomes that can follow. Our blame, however, is short sighted and wrongly…

Picture Perfect: A Snapshot of What Helps Teen Families Grow & Thrive

Pregnant and parenting teens are extremely motivated to offer their children a good life, and with the right supports, they can be successful adults and parents. Healthy Teen Network’s new infographic, “Picture Perfect: A Snapshot of What Helps Teen Families Grow & Thrive,” illustrates the diverse and unique needs teen parents have with growing up and…

Picture Perfect: A Snapshot of What Helps Teen Families Grow & Thrive (Infographic)

Policy Platform to Promote Health and Success among Young Families

A Policy Platform to Promote Health and Success among Young Families is the result of a yearlong process undertaken by Healthy Teen Network to identify the most pressing challenges facing young families today and the federal programs that are currently, or could be, responsive to those needs. Young families need access to the same types…

Position Statement: Educational Equity for Young People Who Are Pregnant & Parenting

Healthy Teen Network shares position statements on relevant issues for young people as a resource to support your advocacy efforts. See more position statements here. Healthy Teen Networks supports educational equity and systems of support that aid young people who are pregnant and parenting to complete high school. When pregnant and parenting youth graduate from…

Position Statement: Ensuring Equity for Youth by Affirming Young People Who Are Pregnant or Parenting

Healthy Teen Network shares position statements on relevant issues for young people as a resource to support your advocacy efforts. See more position statements here. A more just and equitable world supports and empowers all adolescents and young adults—including young people who are pregnant or parenting—to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. All young people deserve respect,…

Position Statement: Homelessness & Its Intersection with Sexual Behavior among Youth

We share position statements on relevant issues for young people as a resource to support your advocacy efforts. See more position statements here. Healthy Teen Network maintains that housing is a universal human right, and by extension, a right all. Americans should enjoy equitably. Furthermore, we recognize the centrality of safe and stable housing to achieving…

Position Statement: Title X Family Planning Program

Healthy Teen Network shares position statements on relevant issues for young people as a resource to support your advocacy efforts. See more position statements here. Healthy Teen Network supports continuation of the federal Title X family planning program, which provides federally funded health services to women and families, including preconception and prenatal healthcare, contraceptive care,…

Position Statement: Violence Prevention and Response Services for Youth Who Are Pregnant or Parenting

Healthy Teen Network shares position statements on relevant issues for young people as a resource to support your advocacy efforts. See more position statements here. We promote egalitarian norms that support healthy relationships, voluntary birth-planning, and non-violent means to deal with stress and conflict as integral approaches to reducing the prevalence of intimate partner violence…

Position Statement: Violence Prevention and Response Services for Youth Who Are Pregnant or Parenting

Position Statement: Youth-Friendly Services

Healthy Teen Network shares position statements on relevant issues for young people as a resource to support your advocacy efforts. See more position statements here. Healthy Teen Network maintains that for youth to enjoy their universal right to health care, health care services must be delivered to them in a manner that makes it easy and…

President Obama Should Save the Adolescent Family Life Program

Guest Blog Post by Paul Florsheim Barack Obama, who was born to a teenage mother, may do more damage to the health of future teen mothers and their children than any other president. If Mr. Obama goes through with his current plans to eliminate the Adolescent Family Life Program (AFL), the only federal agency that…

Preventing Teen Pregnancy Among Marginalized Youth

Developing a Policy, Program, and Research Agenda for the Future Healthy Teen Network, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has long explored how to better meet the needs of marginalized youth and subsequently reduce their risk for early pregnancy and parenting. In 2008, a year-long effort included a review of the literature on…

Promoting Successful Transition from Foster/Group Home Settings to Independent Living among Pregnant and Parenting Teens

Summary Report The summary report, “Promoting Successful Transition from Foster/Group Home Settings to Independent Living Among Pregnant and Parenting Teens,” generously supported by the Freddie Mac Foundation discusses the difficulties facing teenagers in foster care/group settings and the policy that surrounds it.

Public Policy Platform for Teen Parents: Executive Summary

Public Policy Platform for Teen Parents: Suggested Action Steps

Public Policy Recommendation: Ensure Pregnant and Parenting Student Access to Education

See also: Our summary of Healthy Teen Network Public Policy Recommendations. (Download the print version below.) Topic: Pregnant and Parenting Teen Support Subject: Secondary Education Recommendation: Require State and Local Educational Agencies to Consider Needs of Pregnant and Parenting Students in their Educational Planning Congressional Action Request S. Senators: Urge conferees on the…

Race v. Racism

I was asked recently if I could recommend an expert on the impact of race on teen pregnancy. The question reminded me of when I taught at a local HBCU and was educated by the researchers there about the difference between the use of the terms “race” and “racism.” It is a lesson I think I…

Reliable Information for Pregnant Teens

Guest Blog Post by Jennifer Lemons It was the longest three minutes of her life. As she opened her eyes to glance at the test, her heart stopped. She couldn’t breathe. Frantically, she tore open the instructions that came with the test to confirm what she already knew. She was pregnant. She laid her head…

Representative Susan Brooks Visits Future Promises

Guest Blog Post by Brittany M. Stewart Representative Susan Brooks of Indiana’s fifth congressional district paid a visit to North Central High School earlier this year to meet staff and participants from the Future Promises program, which supports youth who are pregnant or parenting. Since its founding in 1997, Future Promises has served over 500…

Resources for Young People Who Are Pregnant/Parenting

Resources Just for You We know that with caring support and resources, adolescents and young adults can be effective parents and successful adults. We believe society has an obligation to support all adolescents and young adults, including teen parents, because all young people deserve the opportunity to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Healthy Teen Network is the…

Resources: Working with Young People Who Are Pregnant/Parenting

We have organized pregnancy/parenting resources by topic to help you find what you need: Healthy Teen Network Resources Other Resources

Seeking Validation: A Former Teen Parent’s Journey

Guest Blog Post by Todaé Charles Growing up as a teen parent, I was fearful. I had my four children when I was 13, 15, 17, and 19 years old. Because I was so young, I thought people would try to take my children away from me. As I grew up and raised my family,…

Spotlight on Young Fathers

When it comes to teen parenting, too often young fathers are left out of the conversation. Any time is the right time to make sure that teen fathers’ rights, needs, and roles are considered, but with Father’s Day right around the corner, the time is ideal to shine a spotlight on these resources from Healthy…

Supporting Teen Parents without Shame

Guest Blog Post by Lisette Orellana When I was 15 years old, I dreamed of changing the world. I don’t know what I was going to do—or how—but I knew that I’d make the world better one day. I was a great student, and teachers always said I had a bright future ahead of me…until…

Supporting Young Fathers

Like young mothers, young fathers navigate both the stress of adolescence as well as new responsibilities that come with early parenthood. However, young men and especially young fathers in our society face unique challenges that impact their ability to achieve their life goals while simultaneously providing for their children.

Teen [Fill in the Blank] Month 2.0

As most readers of Under the Currents know, the month of May is recognized in the United States as Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. As May approaches each year, Healthy Teen Network faces its annual ambivalence on how best to observe the month. On the one hand, we want to elevate public awareness of the great…

Teen Pregnancy is Not a Problem

Young Women United (YWU), an organization dedicated to an intersectional vision of reproductive justice and to supporting young women and people of color in New Mexico, recently released a short report critiquing the language of “teen pregnancy prevention.” Defining the term as “an articulated strategy or campaign designed to keep young people from becoming parents…

Teens & Parents

The Affordable Care Act: What Can Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Teen Parenting Organizations Do Now?

The Affordable Care Act is a very complicated piece of legislation. Although the Act was passed in one bill, it does not take effect all at once, and with the controversy surrounding the constitutionality of the Act itself, it can be hard to determine what organizations should be doing to prepare for full-implementation and what…

The Importance of an Inclusive Youth 360° Message for Adolescent Health & Well-Being

Statement from Healthy Teen Network on the Observance of the National Month to Prevent Teen Pregnancy As Healthy Teen Network participates in the 13th annual observance of the National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, we are encouraged by the news that rates of pregnancies and births to United States youth below age 20 have declined over…

The Path to Opportunity

As Healthy Teen Network celebrates 35 years making a difference in the lives of teens and young families, it’s an opportune time to reflect on the work we are doing to foster a national community where all young people may thrive. Two young mothers, Tashira (21) and Graciela (18), along with their assistant principal, Danette Sokacich,…

Tip Sheet: Best Practices for Working with Pregnant and Parenting Teens

By and large, teen parents want to do what is right for their children. Because they are teens, parents, and often low-income, they need strong support networks and a comprehensive array of resources to help them parent effectively while working toward becoming self-sufficient adults. This tip sheet provides information to better support these young people.

URGENT Take Action: Urge Senators to Save the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program!

The Risk If you have been following news from Healthy Teen Network, our ally organizations, and news media, you may be under the impression that the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) is “dead” due to the Trump Administration’s notice to TPPP grantees earlier this summer to end their projects by June 2018, two years earlier…

What Are Our Areas of Expertise?

Healthy Teen Network staff bring a diverse range of subject matter expertise, with years of experience providing capacity-building assistance. We possess the skills-building training, TA, elearning, instructional design, evaluation, and resource development skills to work with both youth and adults. Our highly qualified staff can meet your needs, across a range of services. Areas of…

What Is Next for Teen Pregnancy Prevention in the US?

Healthy Teen Network has long proposed a comprehensive approach to teen pregnancy prevention that moves us beyond an individually-based prevention approach to one that promotes healthy sexual and reproductive outcomes for all youth, and includes: Utilizing evidence and innovation to affect outcomes; Using a systematic framework to select and implement programs that best fit a…

When Can We Move Past the Whole Shame/Blame Thing?

The NYC Department of Public Health and Mental Hygiene wants us to get a message: Being a teen parent is hard. The message they’re sending is half right: being a teen parent has its challenges, but the hardest part of raising a child when you’re really young is that lots of adults think teens need…

Yes You Can: Eat Well, Look Good and Save Money

Healthy Teen Network’s nutrition guide for pregnant and parenting teens and is intended for use by adolescents themselves, and/or health care providers who work with pregnant and parenting youth. Topics addressed in the brochure include : healthy eating tips, breastfeeding, budgeting information, quick recipes, and information on eating disorders. This brochure was made possible by a…

Search form