This week, I’m featuring the Young Parent Collective in Madison, Wisconsin. Its guiding principle is that “All young parents can achieve educational dreams, career goals, and health and well-being for themselves and their children.” Everything the program does supports this belief.
In 2022, Kate Westaby, who was working on her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, obtained grant funding from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW) for a project to benefit pregnant and parenting teen girls. Having been a teen parent herself, Kate is a staunch advocate of young parents and was already involved in supporting them in one of the Madison high schools. The project was named “Partnerships for Success: Innovative Health Support for Young Parents in Schools.” The Partnership provides health support for teen parents within the Madison Metropolitan School District.
The focus of the Partnerships for Success is to eliminate health disparities faced by teen parents in Wisconsin. Pregnant teens tend not to seek prenatal care as adult women might, which results in preterm births and a greater incidence of postpartum depression. Helping teen parents graduate from high school while providing necessary prenatal healthcare is also a priority.
A pilot project of the Partnerships for Success, The Young Parent Collective, integrates school-based support for teen parents with health and mental health services while the student is still in school. Support comes from student participants who have graduated, school personnel, and healthcare and community partners. The model provides health assessments, access to prenatal care and doulas, mental health counseling, peer support, and mentoring. It’s hoped that this model of care can be replicated throughout the state.
In the high school where the Young Parents Collective works, there is only one nurse per 750 students. Pregnant and parenting teens require much more comprehensive care than this ratio can accommodate. The Collective and its partners can help fill this gap in health care for young parents and their children.
From the project’s website: “We offer a range of supports designed to provide the necessary resources, including parenting resources, childcare products, and educational materials. Our mission is to break down barriers to education and provide a supportive and empowering environment for young parents and allies.”
An essential element of the program is forming partnerships with the surrounding community to create a network of resources that benefit the young parents they serve. These partnerships are intended to support and empower the young parents, share vital resources—including information and expertise, tailored support to meet specific needs on an individual basis for a diverse population, and to engage the community in raising awareness about the needs and successes of young parents.
The Young Parent Collective currently lists 85 members and 7 collaborating organizations, including University of Wisconsin-Madison, Playful Acorns, Center for Community Stewardship, the Healthy Teen Network, and Public Health of Madison & Dane County. Connections between professional organizations and community members are vital in creating opportunities for the young parents it serves. The organization hosts four annual community gathering events as well, to raise visibility and to engage members of the community to become young parent allies.
Next week, I’ll post Kate’s story and describe the kind of success the Young Parent Collective is seeing among the young parents they work with. I’m grateful to Jan Hogle, a mutual friend who suggested I speak to Kate about her project and hope to find other programs to explore that support young families. Please recommend any you know of no, matter how large or small, and no matter where they are.
Janice Airhart 