Teen Parent Programs and State Technical Assistance Resources (S.T.A.R.)

Dr. Howard Turney, Ph.D., MSW, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Pam Plummer, Centers for Youth and Families, Little Rock, AR

Introduction

Centers for Youth and Families (The Centers) in Little Rock, Arkansas and Healthy Connections in Mena, Arkansas have partnered for a unique OAPP funded program.  This program is two-fold.  We are providing client service programs for teen parents in Little Rock and Mena and we are providing technical assistance to help replicate our program model in other parts of the state.  

Both The Centers and Healthy Connections teen parent programs are modeled after Healthy Families America.  Services are based on previous practice, review of the literature, the social learning theory and evaluation findings.  Both programs provide home visits and educational group meetings.  They represent pro-active approaches to the prevention of family problems that place children at risk. 

The major goals of our client service programs are to:  teach positive parenting skills; delay an additional pregnancy; and assist the teen in continuing their education.  In addition, our goal is that all pregnant participants receive prenatal care and all babies are fully immunized and receive well baby check-ups.  Based on the social learning theory, we hypothesize that modeling good parenting and life skills for teens will result in healthier babies, lower child abuse rates, and teen parents who are better educated and more employable. 

The goals for the State Technical Assistance Resources (S.T.A.R.) component of our program are to:  assist in the development of ten new teen parent programs in Arkansas; enhance ten existing programs; and hold an annual state conference for providers of teen parent programs.  We have partnered with the Arkansas Children’s Trust fund to identify new and existing sites.  To date, we have provided technical assistance and training to establish two new sites in Arkansas as well as assisted four existing sites.  The two new programs are in operation and have served 114 participants to date.  Including our model programs in Little Rock and Mena and our new sites, this past year we served 244 young moms, 183 young dads, 407 infants and children as well as more than 1,300 other clients such as siblings, grandparents, etc.  We are currently in the process of helping establish two additional new sites in Arkansas.  We have also held two statewide conferences for programs that provide services to teen parents. 

Methods

The evaluation plan for our direct care programs in Little Rock and Mena utilizes a quasi-experimental design with a randomized control group.  Specifically, The Centers and Healthy Connections’ staff randomly assigns new clients either to 1) group only services or 2) home visiting along with group services.  Home visiting services include the following:  parenting information and modeling; assistance in finding and using a “medical home” for preventive and emergency health care; transportation to prenatal and well-baby check-ups; education on nutrition, child development and age-appropriate expectations; assistance and support for completing high school and meeting other education and/or employment goals; assistance when transitioning to independent living; crisis intervention; and help obtaining public assistance and accessing other resources, as needed. 

Reviewed and approved by the IRB at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, this quasi-experimental design will substantially inform us of the level of effectiveness of the range of services of this model.  Once the new sites have established program procedures, we will   compare within and between group data to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.

The OAPP Core Instrument is administered to the intervention and control groups before the intervention begins and in six month intervals thereafter based on the birth date of the child.  This questionnaire assesses demographics and information on variables reported to be associated with teen pregnancies and/or parenting, including educational aspirations, parenting style, family involvement, and parent education, as well as data on the outcome variables.

Results

At this point, we have received baseline data for 18 pregnant clients and 43 parenting clients.  Baseline data is organized into descriptive demographic information to clearly describe our population.  Simple percentages provide profiles of our clients.  Once data is compiled, evaluators incorporate T-tests and other descriptive statistics to evaluate   the intervention outcomes using the data collected from follow up instruments.  The baseline data processed thus far offers a demographic picture that shows that 94% of parenting clients are in their late teens and the average age for pregnant clients is sixteen.  Other various demographic information has identified areas of interest including, but not limited to, means of financial support, participants’ willingness to pursue further education, and means of contraception used prior, during and since pregnancy, as well as attitudes regarding having additional children prior to the completion of education goals.  The first cycle of follow-up data has just been received and is being organized at this point. 

Discussion

The project has been in its infancy, but is now beginning to provide both baseline and outcome data despite the adjustment of evaluation personnel in the second year.  Evaluation staff has trained program staff in collecting and reporting data to ensure the integrity of program data and its reporting.  We have been able, thus far, to coordinate baseline data from both the original and revised instruments to create the most consistent data set possible from the two.  The main issue related to data collection has been coordinating sites through the transitions from original to revised instruments.  This issue in the data collection process has been addressed through training, and resolved.  The project appears to be on target at this point.  Data has begun to become available and is being compiled in the established database.

We are eager to analyze the outcomes of this intervention and find ways to apply it to current practices across the state of Arkansas.  The addition of new data that is currently being processed will hopefully yield results that we can use to enhance this program and the lives of its clients.

Implications

At this point, we are too early in the evaluation to draw any quantifiable implications for our client services.  We believe that providing technical assistance is very beneficial as evidenced by the following statement by Sherri Jo McLemore, Director of the Arkansas Children’s Trust Fund:    “Without a doubt, the S.T.A.R. program has helped our grantees have a much quicker start-up.  S.T.A.R. helped them build up their client base quickly as well as helped them get their documentation in order.  In other words, these grantees have been able to hit the ground running!” 

Contact Information:

Pam Plummer
(501)666-6833
pplummer@cfyf.org