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Community Support for Young Parents

Little baby boy with her young mother

Getting young parents on a path to success

Community Support for Young Parents program is an alliance of innovative, collaborative community-based partnerships that specifically target young parents, who either have children or who are currently pregnant, at a pivotal time in their lives and in the lives of their young children.

Funding for this effort comes through the Pregnancy Assistance Fund of the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Children’s Trust is the primary grantee to develop programs and services to support young pregnant women and young parents in South Carolina.

OAH's Grantee Digest newsletter featured the work of Children’s Trust in the “Spotlighting Success” segment. The newsletter highlighted the Community Support for Young Parents program.

OAH PAF Program Successful Strategies: Children’s Trust of South Carolina (PDF)

Darlington-County-OAH-IMG9803

The need for help

Half of all teen and young adult pregnancies are unintended, which can result in health issues for moms and infants as well as keep moms from finishing school and finding jobs.

70%

More than 70 percent of births to teens and young adults involved unmarried young women.

78%

78 percent of participants in fatherhood programs said they needed parenting skills.

Short-term choices, long-term success

The program has very specific goals for educational attainment, reproductive health, healthy relationships, parenting skills and access to services.

  • Improve health outcomes of expectant and parenting teens and young adults in targeted communities.
  • Improve the self-sufficiency of parenting teens and young adults in targeted communities.
  • Improve the overall well-being of young families in targeted communities.
  • Increase awareness of Community Support for Young Parents services among expectant teens and young parents and the organizations that provide them with services.
Baby sitting in high chair.

Local collaborations fuel the work

Charleston and Florence Counties

Fatherhood engagement programming for young dads, such as education and workforce development, has been expanded. Father to Father and Man 2 Man will provide these services in Charleston and Florence counties respectively.

Darlington County

Darlington County First Steps leads Parents Are First as the local implementing agency. Their local program partners include CareSouth Carolina, Darlington County Community Action Agency Head Start, Darlington County School District – Office of Adult Education, Hartsville Alumnae Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Man 2 Man is funded to provide fatherhood support programs in this community.

Horry County

Family Outreach of Horry County connects expectant and parenting teens and young adult women to an array of community resources. They work in close collaboration with A Father's Place, which delivers education, training and health programs for young fathers. Local partners include Carolina Human Reinvestment, Healthcare Partners of South Carolina, Horry County Adult Education, Horry County Schools, Little River Medical Center and Sea Haven.

Richland County

Palmetto Healthy Start provides home visitation services, group education, childbirth and breastfeeding classes and case management. Services to young fathers are provided by Midlands Fatherhood Coalition.

Spartanburg County

The Mary Black Foundation leads the CSYP effort in Spartanburg County. Local program partners include Middle Tyger Community Center, Spartanburg School Districts 1-7 and the Upstate Family Resource Center. The Upstate Fatherhood Coalition coordinates and provides services for fathers, including workforce development and health education.

State organizations join forces for real change

South Carolina's leading voices for families, children and fathers guide the project.

For more information

Meredith Talford
Project Director
803-771-7700, ext. 133
Fact Forward

Marc Himes
Program Manager
mhimes@scfathersandfamilies.com
S.C. Center for Fathers and Families

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