Teenage Mothers Advisory Board Community Project

Introduction
During an internship at an adolescent parenting program , this social work student collaborated with the social work supervisor to formulate an advisory board of teenage mothers for a community project. By researching barriers that adolescent mothers faced within society, this social work student discovered that social exclusion could help be alleviated by parenting programs that offered active participation among their clients. The community project was based on a strength perspective model, of empowerment and self determination. It was the role of the social work student to formulate a plan, which would involve a presentation to the staff of teen services for buy in to the project, develop flyers to give to the client for participation and organize the first board meeting of teenage mothers. The advisory board of teenage mothers was a welcome pilot program by the Director of the agency, the administrator and the staff. A collaborative effort to implement the project was a copartnership between the adolescent program social work supervisor and the student intern. It is the agency’s intention to keep the program as an ongoing event that would occur quarterly within the fiscal year.

Statement of Need:
Teenage mothers give birth to more than 10% of all births world wide (Hanna, 2001). In the United States alone, 1,000,000 teenagers will become pregnant per year (Corcoran, Franklin, & Bennet, 2001). Influenced by attitudes of societal values, teenage parents are isolated due to economic, moral and ethical standards. Teenage mothers struggle to overcome oppression, poverty, and the ability to raise their children in a nurturing environment. Researchers have suggested that due to circumstance, adolescent mothers spend less time in peer groups because of their parental responsibilities (Corcoran et al., 2001). The consequence of these factors may lead teenage mothers to depression, isolation and states of despair. Client involvement is used to empower teenage mothers in their parenting roles and to help eliminate social exclusion (Corcoran et. al., 2001). Unfortunately, a lack of programs are being offered to teenage mothers to feel involved by her peers, society, and the community in which she lives.

Description of the Intervention:
Teenage mothers that are in parenting programs, need to feel empowered and involved in the decisions that effect their lives. Client participation in an advisory group, would build a bridge of communication between the agency and the teenage parent, working in collaboration, for providing better services. Teenage parents involved in this type of program would benefit from services that help alleviate societal pressure, parenting issues and isolation (Collins, Stevens, West & Lane, 2000). This social work student’s goal was to create an advisory board of teenage mothers that offered empowerment, self determination, and eliminates social exclusion within the agency. Creating an ongoing advisory board of teenage mothers to address issues that impact their lives would enhance services being delivered and provide insightful knowledge to the case managers on how to get the client’s needs met. A teenage mother advisory board would offer a sense of community and belonging among the adolescence’s peers.

Evaluation of the Intervention
The teenage mothers advisory board was discussed and revised between the teen service administrator, the social work supervisor, and the social work student intern. It was suggested by the administrator to establish the advisory board in a neighboring community within the county jurisdiction. The reason for establishing the advisory board in the neighboring community was to encourage client involvement for that particular area. The social work intern created a presentation outline for the social workers in the adolescent parenting programs, attempting to gain staff involvement, and approval to begin. This social work intern created a flyer and application to be dispersed to the clients by their social worker. Due to timing of events, the advisory board implementation was postponed to a later date by the administrator. The implementation of the teenage mothers advisory board would begin when the fiscal year started, in June or July, which would be after the internship had expired. It was emphasized by the administrator, that the advisory board was a pilot project that was embraced by the agency, with hopes that it would be an on going addition to the services provided. The student would make revisions as each phase of implementation occurred.

Reflection
Client involvement and agency support can impact the scope of services that are being offered. By helping implement the advisory board, the social work student learned the process of developing a group by being, innovative, creative and determined in making a project succeed with in the agency. It is the hope of the social work student that the advisory board would have a strong foundation in the agency, offering leadership skills, opportunity, and the abundance to grow for teenage mothers. Although the community project was to be delayed, this social work student is confident that the advisory board would become a new program in the agency. It is rewarding to know, this community project will be an on going process, that is client driven, and embraced by the agency.

References

• Collins, M. E., Stevens, J. W., & Lane, T. S. (2000). Teenage parents and welfare reform: finding from a survey of teenagers affected by living requirements. Social Work, 45,(4) 327 - 339.
• Corcoran, J. Franklin, C., & Bennett, P. (2000). Ecological factors associated with adolescent pregnancy and parenting. Social Work Research, 24 (1). 29 - 40.
• Hanna, B. (2001). Negotiating motherhood: the struggles of teenage mothers. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34 (4), 456 - 465.