Teen Parent Program

Having a child is a huge responsibility. Having a child when you're a teenager is fraught with even more difficulties. Through the Teen Parent Program, Familylinks offers help to young women ages 13-18 who are pregnant or have children.

The residential program helps these young women become capable, responsible parents by providing the following types of services:

• Life Skills Counseling.
  Individual and group counseling on health and safety, legal issues, hygiene, nutrition, community living and budgeting.

• Parenting Skills and Support.
  How to provide care, nurture, time and support to children.

• Nutrition Counseling.
  Provided by Penn State University, this focuses on diet and eating healthy, nourishing meals for both parent and child.

• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling.

• Family Counseling.

• Educational Support and Tutoring.
  Includes enrollment into the appropriate level of schooling, whether it is high school or an alternative school arrangement.

• Transportation.
  To attend appointments, school, work and home visits.

• Medical Services.
  Includes routine health and physicals; vision care; hearing care; pre-and post-natal care; testing for sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and sickle cell; medical emergencies and referrals.

WHY IT WORKS

The Teen Parent Program provides a caring, supportive residential environment that focuses on each individual's strengths while helping them achieve a sense of belonging, independence, individual choice and mastery of the skills it takes to be a responsible parent.

The community is supervised 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and offers access to a wide array of services, including teacher counselors and therapists.

In addition, all young women who progress through the program can take advantage of other Familylinks services to transition to independent living.