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The Adolescent Parenting Program

An Effective Practice

Description

This program was designed for medicaid eligible women18 years old and younger who were pregnant with their first child or within 6 months postpartum. Theses women were considered to be at-risk for potential child maltreatment.

The women were visited by a specially-trained certified home health aide or nursing paraprofessional who was indigenous to the community and who served as a family support worker or mentor to the adolescent. Participants received a physical assessment, a psychosocial assessment, and a home safety evaluation. Following the assessments, participants received weekly visits by family support specialist.

Goal / Mission

This program aimed to improve birth and early child outcomes among high-risk pregnant and parenting adolescents.

Results / Accomplishments

The percentage of low-birthweight infants among participants (4.6%) was considerably lower than local and national percentages of 13.5% and 9.42%. Among the 137 participants who gave birth, none experienced a neonatal death. However, prior to reaching 12 months of age, a total of 29 infants were lost to the study through attrition. The percentage of postneonatal mortality among the remaining 108 infants was 0. There have only been four confirmed cases of child neglect among program participants, representing only 2.91% of the sample. There were no confirmed cases of physical abuse.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Essex Valley Visiting Nursing Association
Primary Contact
Linda Flynn
Rutgers, The State University of NJ
College of Nursing
Ackerson Hall, Room 102
180 University Avenue
Newark, New Jersey 07102-1897
973.353.1043
lflynn@rutgers.edu
http://nursing.rutgers.edu/
Topics
Health / Family Planning
Health / Adolescent Health
Community / Crime & Crime Prevention
Organization(s)
Essex Valley Visiting Nursing Association
Source
Public Health Nursing
Date of publication
1999
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
Newark, NJ
For more details
Target Audience
Teens, Women
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