By the time her baby's born, she will have turned 18 and "aged
out" of the state's foster care system. By then, she'll
be completely on her own. But, for right now, she can't
even imagine how she'll manage school while caring for
a new infant. School's been a struggle for some time now,
anyway, and she's considering dropping out.
Help now could make the difference between a young woman
moving toward a stable, independent future and another
generation dependent on social services to survive. This
is the critical juncture where Eastern Michigan University
special education professors Derrick Fries and Karen Carney
are developing a program they hope will change lives.
 |
ASSISTING TEENS: (from left) Karen Carney,
Derrick
Fries and Laura Urteaga-Fuente meet to discuss
their
research grant project that focuses on helping
at-risk
teen parents obtain services and support
they need to
raise their babies in a stable environment.
Carney
and Fries, special education professors at
EMU, are
co-directors of the Comprehensive Wraparound
Social Services for High-Risk Teen Parents and Their
Families program. Urteaga-Fuentes serves as project
coordinator for the program, which is supported by
a
$538,609 federal grant. |
A 2006 study by the Detroit-based Skillman Foundation
showed that teen parents who are also homeless, mentally
ill or emotionally disturbed, in foster care or aging out,
and/or have a criminal history, are more at risk for cycling
back through the system than any other group in Michigan.
And their struggles are a double whammy on the social service
system because, as parents, they drag their own young children
into the cycle.
Carney and Fries are co-directors of a program called
Comprehensive Wraparound Social Services for High Risk
Teen Parents and Their Families. Supported by a $538,609
grant from the United States Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (OJJPD), the program partners
with community agencies in Washtenaw and Oakland Counties
to provide support to a very vulnerable group of young
people.
"Success is ... going back to school, having a job, reuniting
with family, having a stable place to live," Carney said. "The
repercussions of that are the more independent and stable
the teen is, the better parent they'll be for the next
generation of children. So, we reduce the risk for those
children."
According to the OJJPD, there may be as many as 200,000
youth and families in the U.S. involved in wrap-around
programs, many focused on kids who've been in the juvenile
justice system. The wrap-around concept has proved very
effective in programs around the country, but not everyone
has embraced it. It's harder to manage than a one-size-fits-all
intervention. Each plan is personalized; tailor-made to
that family and its set of needs. Each child and family
team is different. Different agencies have to not only
coordinate services, but figure out who pays for what.
"We happen to have two counties that do wraparound. They
buy into the concept, which is lovely," Carney said. "Then,
we get to pick off the part that says, 'this is a big need,
so let's see what we can do about that.'"
As part of the OJJDP grant, EMU provides wraparound facilitators
who are focused specifically on teen parents and parents-to-be.
Facilitators gather a team of people who matter in that
teen's life. It could include family members, neighbors;
maybe a pastor, coach or teacher. Together, this support
system helps the teen parent see that she's not alone,
help her to see her options, and take control of her life
and her choices.
"Maybe you have a teen mother who may need to learn to
nurture her baby more consistently, to stimulate them so
developmental milestones are being met," said Carol Burrell-Jackson,
clinical director at Power Inc., a faith-based Washtenaw
County community development organization that's partnering
with EMU on this project. "Typically, they'd (social services)
say she needs to be in a parenting program. But it may
be that her Aunt Sadie has raised six children and has
a good relationship with the teen, who is open to receiving
coaching from her aunt. The wraparound program for the
family is a lot more creative and tailor-fit to the family."
Oakland County conducted approximately 125 wrap-around
interventions last year, Carney said. Washtenaw County's
numbers are comparable, but harder to track because the
help is spread among more agencies. But the numbers are
part of the question surrounding these at-risk teen parents.
The National Center for Health Statistics reported 29,467
births to teen mothers in Michigan in 2000. But no one's
ever bothered to focus on those teen mothers who have special
risk factors. Part of the grant involves putting a number
on that population.
The project was a natural fit for EMU for several reasons,
Fries says. Part of the grant focuses on special education,
and EMU has the largest special education department in
the U.S., according to its national accrediting body, the
Council for Exceptional Children. Eastern Michigan is the
largest in terms of three metrics — number of full-time,
tenure-track faculty, number of students in the major and
number of programs.
Wraparound is usually set in motion
by the schools and EMU, with its prolific College of
Education, is very much attuned to schools' needs and concerns.
"Social services and education should go hand in hand," Fries
said. "Sometimes they don't, but we're trying to bridge
that gap. And I think we all have an intrinsic need to
assist kids who are going through a difficult time in their
lives, and I think this University is about that."
