The Young Parents Project is an intensive, home visiting program that addresses the complex needs of court-involved expectant and parenting teens and their young children. Respecting the teen's right to parent with support, safety, and dignity, the Young Parents Project addresses systemic barriers and the intergenerational cycle of teen parenting, trauma, violence, and involvement with the courts. The project was initiated in 2005 and evolved into an interdisciplinary home visiting model that includes a Site Coordinator, Infant Mental Health Specialist, and Nurse Educator.

The Project serves youth in Leon and surrounding counties, Miami Dade County, and parts of Broward. The criteria for participation in the program include youth who: have entered the delinquency system; are expectant/parenting (ages 13-18 at the time of intake); and have custody or visitation privileges with their children.

Clinical Model

The FSU Young Parents Project has taken the essential components of Yale University's Minding the Baby® model for use in working with court-involved pregnant and parenting teens in Florida. The overall focus of the model supports maternal and child health, child development, and positive parenting behaviors.

The integrated approach used by the home visiting team enhances the parent-baby relationship by supporting parental reflective functioning- teaching the teen to “keep their baby in mind.”

The core of Minding the Baby ® surrounds three key elements:

Promoting secure attachment, parental reflectiveness, health & mental health, self-efficacy.
Supporting reflectiveness through relationships.
Using an interdisciplinary approach.

Yale School of Medicine, Child Study Center (2022). Minding the baby:
Clinical model. Click here

Promising Outcomes

Outcome: Reduced recidivism

Of the 33 teens that participated during fiscal year 2020-21, none had additional law violations during their time in the Young Parents Project.

Outcome: Reduced number of subsequent births

Only one (3%) of the young mothers had a subsequent birth, compared to national data indicating 25% of teen parents will have a second child within 24 months.

Outcome: Increased number of youth continuing their education

Of the 17 program participants in Miami-Dade County, school enrollment increased from 59% to 71% after 3 months in the project. In Circuit 2, with most of the 16 participants from Leon County, there was an increase in school enrollment from 50% to 69% after 3 months.

Resources

FSU Program Targets Teen Moms in Trouble
Project Aims to Help Teen Moms Learn About Motherhood
Mental Health Workers Aid Trafficking Victims in Big Bend
Preying on the vulnerable: Human trafficking prevalent yet elusive in the Big Bend
WAIMH Article: Teenage Childbearing, Reproductive Justice, and Infant Mental Health
Collaborations between the Juvenile Justice System and Home Visiting Programs
Minding the Baby & Home Visiting