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Maternal and Child Health Journal
Published in: Maternal and Child Health Journal 2/2020

Open Access 01-09-2020

Meeting the Multifaceted Needs of Expectant and Parenting Young Families Through the Pregnancy Assistance Fund

Authors: Amy Margolis, Tara Rice, Mousumi Banikya-Leaseburg, Ann E. Person, Elizabeth Clary, Susan Zief, Katie Adamek, Jessica F. Harding

Published in: Maternal and Child Health Journal | Special Issue 2/2020

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Abstract

Introduction

The Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) program funds states and tribes to provide a wide range of services to improve health, social, educational, and economic outcomes for expectant and parenting teens and young adults, their children, and their families. This introductory article to the Maternal and Child Health Journal supplement Supporting Expectant and Parenting Teens: The Pregnancy Assistance Fund provides a description of the PAF program, including the program goals and structure, participants and communities served, and services provided; presents data on the reach and success of the program; and describes lessons learned from PAF grantees on how to enhance programs and services to have the best outcomes for expectant and parenting young families.

Methods

Performance measure data are used to describe the reach and success of the PAF program, and implementation experiences and lessons learned from PAF grantees were gathered through a standardized review of grantee applications and from interviews with grant administrators.

Results

Since its establishment in 2010, the PAF program has served 109,661 expectant and parenting teens, young adults, and their families across 32 states, including the District of Columbia, and seven tribal organizations; established more than 3400 partnerships; and trained more than 7500 professionals. Expectant and parenting teens and young adults who participated in the PAF program stay in high school, make plans to attend college, and have low rates of repeat pregnancy within a year.

Conclusions

Expectant and parenting teens and young adults in the PAF program demonstrated success in meeting their educational goals and preventing repeat unintended pregnancies. In addition, the staff who implemented the PAF programs learned many lessons for how to enhance programs and services to have the best outcomes for expectant and parenting young families, including creating partnerships to meet the multifaceted needs of teen parents and using evidence-based programs to promote program sustainability.
Footnotes
1
The denominator (number of students in high school) underestimates the total number of participants at risk of dropping out because some grantees reported the number of students in high school at the end of the year and omitted participants who dropped out during the course of the year.
 
2
The denominator (number of participants who were either seniors or preparing for a GED) underestimates the total number of participants eligible to be accepted into an IHE because some grantees reported the number of participants who were seniors or preparing for a GED at the end of the year and omitted participants who had already graduated or completed the GED earlier in the year.
 
3
The denominator (parenting teen mothers) underestimates the total number of participants at risk for a repeat pregnancy because some grantees counted participants as parenting or expectant based on their status at the beginning of their program participation; expectant teens who delivered during the course of the year would thus be excluded from the count of teens at risk of a repeat pregnancy.
 
Literature
Asheer, S. B., Burkander, P., Deke, J., Worthington, J., & Zief, S. (2017a). Raising the bar: Impacts and implementation of the New Heights program for expectant and parenting teens in Washington, DC. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Adolescent Health.
Asheer, S. B., Keating, B., Crowley, J., & Zief, S. (forthcoming). Implementing a redesigned case management program to support teen parents in California. Maternal and Child Health Journal.
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Metadata
Title
Meeting the Multifaceted Needs of Expectant and Parenting Young Families Through the Pregnancy Assistance Fund
Authors
Amy Margolis
Tara Rice
Mousumi Banikya-Leaseburg
Ann E. Person
Elizabeth Clary
Susan Zief
Katie Adamek
Jessica F. Harding
Publication date
01-09-2020
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Maternal and Child Health Journal / Issue Special Issue 2/2020
Print ISSN: 1092-7875
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6628
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-02922-6

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