Inwood House

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY BASED TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION PROGRAMS

Teen Choice
Teen Choice is Inwood House’s school and community-based, asset-building, mental health model of teen pregnancy and disease prevention serving 1700 New York City youth in 5-schools. Through classroom dialogues, small-group discussions, individual counseling parent outreach, and youth leadership initiatives, Teen Choice Masters level social workers help adolescents clarify their values and learn the benefits of delaying sexual activity and parenthood. Teens also learn comprehensive, up-to-date sexual health information, build positive peer support, challenge the stereotypes of the youth culture, and acquire the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to set goals and resist peer pressure. Independent research indicate that youth who attend Teen Choice schools demonstrate:

Increased knowledge of in comprehensive factual information about pregnancy, HIV/STDs, and the risks of sexual behavior;

Improved attitudes consistent with delaying sexual activity and avoiding teen pregnancy and parenthood and delaying the onset of sexual activity;

Increased and improved communication about sex and other issues with parents, trusted adults, and in relationships;

Engage in fewer sexual risk-taking behaviors (multiple partners, limited or ineffective use of condoms and contraceptives, alcohol and drug use within sexual situations, recognizing abusive and dangerous relationships);

Are knowledgeable on how to seek medical, reproductive, and/or mental and emotional health services.

Atlantic County Teen Choice
Atlantic County Teen Choice is part of a comprehensive effort the County has established to address the serious health risks of area youth and represents a unique collaboration between Inwood House, the Atlantic County Government, local public schools, the County’s Health Collaborative and parents. Atlantic County Teen Choice serves more than 1500 urban, rural and suburban youth annually.

P.R.I.M.E. Leaders
P.R.I.M.E. Leaders (Productive, Resourceful, Innovative, Motivated & Empowered) is one of Inwood House's prevention programs. It is an after-school program that is funded by the State Education Department's 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Program as well as the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD). It generally operates between the hours of 3:00 p.m-6:00 p.m. The program currently serves over 400 youth from grades K-12 throughout seven New York City Department of Education schools in the Bronx.

P.R.I.M.E. Leaders' goal is to teach social responsibility, leadership and critical thinking skills through a project-based approach that links media, business, and community exploration to the needs, interests, and concerns of its participants. The program maximizes the personal, social, and academic growth of its participants by engaging them in relevant, developmentally appropriate, and empowering experiences.

Program Objectives:
1. To increase participants' academic performance.
2. To increase participants' knowledge of community issues.
3. To engage participants in community service-learning projects.
4. To provide participants with access to mental health services as well as sexual reproductive health information.
5. To increase participants' attitudes toward community issues.
6. To broaden participants' educational and cultural experiences through activities in the arts, technology, and physical health.
7. To expose participants to various careers/professions.
8. To increase participants' self-efficacy.
9. To increase participants' social skills.
10.To provide participants' parents/guardians with family literacy programs and resources.

The program meets its objectives by providing its participants with free snacks, homework help, and skill-building clubs as well as community service-learning projects which are facilitated through icebreakers, team-builders, cooperative learning assignments, reflection (through inquiry-based learning), trivia games, role-playing, structured debates, community walks, surveys and outreach, media literacy exercises, public speaking, group presentations, organized protests, goal planning, creative writing, visual and performing arts, educational field trips, career exploration, business venture, and sexual reproductive health workshops among other youth development activities which are linked to the national core competency learning standards.

Maternity Residential Care
The Inwood House Maternity Residence is a haven for pregnant and parenting teens in foster care, homeless or adjudicated, who have nowhere else to turn. At Inwood House, they are given a safe home, nutritious meals, counseling, prenatal care at New York Presbyterian Hospital and New York City Board of Education-sponsored schooling. Our staff of child care workers, social workers, nurse, psychologist and education coordinator provides a structured, supportive environment where good health and learning are associated with responsible behavior and success in life. Classes in parenting and independent living skills, maternal health, job readiness, stress-reduction, health, nutrition and fitness help prepare them to be nurturing parents and self-sufficient adults, ready to reconnect with their communities.

Inwood House’s Doula program provides the support and nurturing environment that addresses some our pregnant and parenting teens mental health needs before, during, and after the birth of their child. Doulas are the first component in the dyad relationship support offered by Inwood House. A doula is a trained labor support professional who provides physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth, or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period. Pregnant teens will have an opportunity to meet with a number of doulas at a doula matching party and select the one that best matches their personality and needs.

Mother/Child Foster Family Care
The Inwood House Mother/Baby Foster Care program, pioneered in 1968, places teenage mothers and their new babies in foster homes where both benefit from a safe, healthy family environment and the young mother has the opportunity to nurture her baby while she continues her education and prepares for a career. The support and stability of a foster home can make a critical difference in helping a teen mother develop a strong emotional bond with her child, become a responsible parent and achieve independence.

Partners in Parenting
When our young mothers leave our care, the Inwood House Partners in Parenting program provides them with a strong, stable support network of transition groups, educational and vocational counseling, independent living skills training, family planning, and parenting classes. Scholarship funds and Family Day Care help ensure that our teen mothers continue their schooling or career training.

Partners in Parenting is a comprehensive support program for young mothers, fathers, and their children including case management, counseling, educational guidance, job and career development, housing assistance, independent living skills training, maternal and child health education, parenting skills training, and computer based family literacy education.

Family Day Care
Inwood House’s Family Day Care program is a model of care especially well suited for the challenges of adolescent parenthood. As an adjunct to our Mother/Child Foster Care and Partners in Parenting programs, Family Day Care provides the support for our young mothers to pursue school and work goals established with their case workers. In addition it promotes the healthy development of their children. Neighborhood-based providers serve as important links to the teen mothers’ communities and impart models of family life which reflect their cultural values. Inwood House Family Day Care is in a unique position to provide consistent service coordination and to help the young mother and the provider develop mutually respectful and supportive relationships. Family Day care links our teen mothers with responsible working families who often become “second grandparents” to their babies. The neighborhood-based nature of the program also helps build a community of s upport for our mothers and contributes to the local economy.

Fathers Count
Fathers Count helps our fathers take on their share of parental responsibilities and serve as positive role models for their children. They also learn the importance of having a close, life-long relationship with their child. The Fathers Count program provides parenting and family planning classes, educational and vocational referral and placement, recreational activities, counseling, a safe supportive atmosphere, and positive peer influence.

The Inwood House Scholarship Fund
When Inwood House young people are ready to attend college or other advances learning programs, financial aid from the Inwood House Shallcross Scholarship Fund assists them with money for applications, tuition, books, transportation, special housing, and child care needs. Click here to download the current Scholarship application!

Yolanda’s Journey
Growing up I remember having a happy childhood until I was about seven years old. When my parents divorced, life became filled with lots of pain, hard times, and scarcity. My mother did her best to provide for my sister and me, but she was faced with many new challenges. She was a young, single mother raising two children on public assistance, with few options for employment or schooling. Her main goal was protecting us from the daily violence, frequent gunshots, fights, and drug activities that were commonplace where we lived. Maybe it was my father’s absence, a man who I adored, and my mother’s need to be strong, but following the divorce, I grew up feeling unloved and was very unhappy.

As I approached my teen years, I desired freedom and I could not see that my mother’s restrictions were her way of keeping me safe. When I discovered boys, I quickly realized that they gave me the attention I craved and made me feel special. They filled the emotional void that was created from my parent’s divorce. At the age of 15, I became pregnant, repeating a familiar pattern in my family an done that was commonplace where I lived. I decided to have my daughter in order to have someone to love and prove to my boyfriend that I loved him. When my mother discovered I was pregnant, she told me I had to leave home and go live with my daughter’s father. What my mother did not know was, living with my daughter’s father was not really an option.

Some nights we were forced to sleep huddled in the filthy stairways of the projects. We never got a good night’s rest, since we always worried about our safety. I was pregnant, homeless, and felt terribly alone. The first five months of my pregnancy were filled with uncertainty, despair, tears, and a turbulent relationship with my daughter’s father as we tried to make sense out of this chaotic situation. During these difficult months, I received no prenatal care and neither of us were working.

Desperate, I called a teen hotline, which led me to Inwood House. Words will always fail to convey my first feelings and impressions of Inwood House. When you come from such turmoil and instability, you are struck by the basic elements that the agency provides you- my own room, three nutritious meals a day, and prenatal care. I can vividly remember my sense of relief because I could now plan for the birth of my child. The friendly and supportive staff made me feel like they cared about my baby and me. I was paired with a social worker and we began working on plans for my future. The expectations were clearly articulated and strict guidelines were established.

One of the most important aspects of Inwood House’s services is their emphasis on education. Each pregnant teen was required to attend school and parenting classes to prepare us for our new roles as mothers. This requirement helps young woman attain self-sufficiency, since there is a direct correlation between educational attainment and earning potential. Inwood House helped me see that without furthering my education, I was almost guaranteed a life of low-paying jobs and hardship.

Once I became a mother, the support services Inwood House provided did not end. I was interested in a family environment for my daughter, so I enrolled in the Mother/Child Foster Care Program, where I stayed for four years. I was part of a teen mother support group, learned about apartment and job searching, was given tools for effective parenting, and was supported and coached by an experienced and caring foster mother. The agency provided day care services, making it possible for me to work part-time and go to community college on a full-time basis. When I was accepted into Vassar College, I earned a scholarship, campus job, and an off campus apartment, but still was unable to pay for my daughter’s day care. Inwood House managed to provide the $6,000 I needed to send my daughter to the private day care center on campus. When it was time for me to move to Vassar, my social worker drove me to my new apartment, where she happily discharged me from the foster care system to embark on my new life.

Without Inwood House, I would not be in the position I am now. During the most frightening and unstable time of my life, I was given the tools and skills to transform life for my daughter and myself. With Inwood House’s assistance, I now am in the position to impact the lives of others. Proudly, I am pursuing a Masters in Social Work and August 2009 is my anticipated graduation date. Furthermore, my daughter LaAsia, is now 19 years old and recently entered college. Thanks to Inwood House, I was able to become financially independent and supported to become a great mother. Inwood House helped this former teen mother take charge of her life, and I will be eternally grateful to all the people who worked with me.

Yolanda Ramos
Former Client, Inwood House

I Am a Girl

I am a girl.
Being a girl means…
Having lots of fun and
Being with my friends.
I am a girl.
Being a girl means…
Making responsible decisions
Like not having sex before I finish high school
I am a girl.
Being a girl means…
Taking care of my body and
Feeling good about myself.
I am a girl.
Being a girl means…
Learning when to say NO
When other people are not making good decisions
I am a girl.
Being a girl means…
Being independent, standing proud and
Standing up for myself
I am a girl.

–Anna, age 10, Morrisania 10456 Summer Camp