Topic: Parenting, Reproductive Health, Case Management, Intimate Partner Violence
Target Population: Adolescents, Early Childhood, Infant/Toddlers, Parents
Sector: Community-Based
This program is for adolescents who are pregnant for the first time or are new parents and are enrolled in school or a GED program and their children who are birth to 5 years old. Parents or guardians of teens may also be involved in program services.
Adolescent Parenting Program (APP), a community-based, home visiting program, is designed to strengthen youths' parenting skills and help youth become self-reliant, provide for themselves and their children, and increase positive outcomes for their children.
Quasi-experimental evaluations reveal positive short-term outcomes. In one study, results indicated no significant association between APP participation and the likelihood of longer welfare-cash assistance receipt. Results from a second study indicated that participation in APP was associated with a greater likelihood of normal birth weight and full-term birth compared to those in a control group. Among youth who were 12 to 16 years old, those in APP experienced a significantly longer delay until their second birth compared to those who were not in APP. A third study found that APP participants demonstrated greater primary responsibility for housing and utilities, greater enrollment in higher education, more job stability, and a greater focus on career goals compared to a peer group who did not participate in APP. Results from one pretest/posttest study demonstrated improvements in contraception use and parenting knowledge and attitudes among pregnant and parenting youth who participated in APP, and results were greater among youth who entered the program while pregnant compared to those who were already parenting. However, this study revealed that there were increases in reported use of cigarettes, alcohol, and other drugs in APP participants.
APP utilizes comprehensive home visiting, case management, and peer-group education to achieve the following:
Home visiting services use the Parents as Teachers* curriculum or Partners for a Healthy Baby* curriculum.
*Separate fact sheets are available for these programs.
APP has been providing services to teenage mothers in North Carolina for over 30 years.
This program is facilitated by at least one full-time coordinator who handles a caseload of 20 participants. Coordinators must have a bachelor’s degree or graduate degree in social work, psychology, or a related field and experience working with at-risk youth. No formal training is available; however, there is a manual that provides instructions on implementation. In addition, coordinators are required to complete at least 18 hours of professional development training each year. Finally, coordinators must be trained to implement the Parents as Teachers curriculum or the Partners for a Healthy Baby curriculum.
Considerations for implementing this program include hiring a full-time coordinator who has a suitable background and experience and ensuring they have transportation to conduct home visits; gaining buy-in from adolescents, parents or caregivers, and community organizations such as public schools and social services agencies; finding a location to hold peer-group education sessions; and providing transportation for participants, if needed.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing APP, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Participants may join the program any time during their pregnancy or after the birth of their child. There are 12 1-hour home visits (i.e., four must be in the youth's home) and a minimum of 24 hours of peer-group education. Overall program length ranges from 6 months to 5 years or longer.
Information on implementation costs was not located.
To move APP to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives (TPPI) by mail 1929 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1929, phone 1-919-707-5700, fax 1-919-870-4827, or visit https://teenpregnancy.dph.ncdhhs.gov/contact.htm
Gruber, K. J. (2012). A comparative assessment of early adult life status of graduates of the North Carolina adolescent parenting program. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 25(2), 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6171.2012.00324.x
Sangalang, B. B. (2006). Teenage mothers in parenting programs: Exploring welfare outcomes during early transition to parenthood. Families in Society, 87(1), 105-111. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.3489
Sangalang, B. B., Barth, R. P., & Painter, J. S. (2006). First-birth outcomes and timing of second births: A statewide case management program for adolescent mothers. Health & Social Work, 31(1), 54-63. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/31.1.54
Sangalang, B. B., & Rounds, K. (2005). Differences in health behaviors and parenting knowledge between pregnant adolescents and parenting adolescents. Social Work in Health Care, 42(2), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1300/J010v42n02_01
Clark, C., & Price, K. (2018). Exploring the role of social support in understanding barriers to breastfeeding practices for adolescent mothers in western North Carolina: A preliminary study. International Public Health Journal, Suppl. Special Issue: Resilience in Breaking the Cycle of Children's Environmental Health Disparities, 10(3), 333-342.
