Parenting Education for Teen Family Life Skills. Final Grant Report.

The Parenting Education for Teen Family Life Skills Project was developed to provide a support and parenting education project for pregnant and parenting teenagers in the Oklahoma City-County area. Objectives were: to increase parental self-esteem; to increase social support; to increase knowledge of normal infant behavior; to increase participation in educational programs; to decrease the incidence of reported and confirmed child abuse and neglect; to decrease the incidence of unplanned pregnancy; and to decrease dependence on public financial assistance. Several components made up the project: Teen Parent Time, a support and education group; a parent aide and home visitor project; the Teen Parent Connection, a followup support group; prenatal support and encouragement; outreach to the extended family; and program materials dissemination. Between 70 and 100 teen families were served in each of the last 2 years of the project. A number of instruments were used to assess the impact of the parenting classes and support groups; results indicated the efficacy of the programs. Report sections include the instruments used in the study and for followup, discussions of volunteer participation and community resources, and the fact sheets, news releases, and newsletters associated with the project. The Teen Parent Time curriculum is attached.