{"id":32119,"date":"2024-07-09T16:06:14","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T16:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caseyfamilyv2.wpengine.com\/pregnant-parenting-strategies\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T23:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:56:28","slug":"estrategias-de-crianza-durante-el-embarazo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/pregnant-parenting-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfQu\u00e9 estrategias apoyan a las adolescentes embarazadas y con hijos en acogida temporal?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summary<\/h3>\n

This brief provides data-driven strategies and program goals to better support pregnant and parenting youth and their children.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Pregnant and parenting teenagers need strong support networks and resources to navigate adolescence and successfully transition to parenthood. Teenagers experience significant cognitive, emotional, and physical changes as the brain continues to develop into their mid-20s. For pregnant and parenting teens in foster care, an already difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood is exacerbated by the stresses of adjusting to life in the child welfare system as a young parent, often with limited or no family connections and often lacking resources to meet basic needs. As a result, pregnant and parenting teens in foster care need targeted, equitable, and easy-to-access services from competent child welfare professionals (and other caring adults) in order to thrive as young adults and parent effectively.<\/p>\n

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The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018<\/a> makes federal funding available for specialized prevention and support services for pregnant and parenting youth in foster care, including in-home parent education, individual and family counseling, mental health services, and substance use prevention and treatment. Keeping pregnant and parenting foster youth and their children together should be prioritized by placing them with kin or in family setting. If a higher level of care is required, federal reimbursement is available for specialized group care settings where pregnant and parenting foster youth can receive treatment while caring for their child. To prevent separation and support teens\u2019 successful transition to parenthood, child welfare professionals must have the knowledge, skills, and competencies to serve this population\u2019s unique needs and challenges.<\/p>\n

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This brief highlights various strategies \u2014 including using data to inform policies and practices, partnering effectively with teen parents, and essential programming goals and components \u2014 to help agency leaders, caseworkers, and other youth-serving professionals better support pregnant and parenting youth and their children.1<\/sup><\/a> For information specific to pregnancy prevention, see: What strategies can help prevent unintended pregnancy for youth in foster care?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Unique needs of pregnant and parenting teens<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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Pregnant and parenting teens in foster care are more likely to experience lower educational attainment, mental health challenges (such as depression and anxiety), unemployment, and homelessness than their peers not in foster care.2<\/sup><\/a> In addition to experiencing maltreatment, many teen parents in foster care have had to endure multiple placements and disruptions in relationships with parents and other important adults. These experiences result in significant trauma that, if left untreated, can impact their mental health and their ability to form lasting relationships with caring adults and even their own child.<\/p>\n

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Teens in foster care have a higher risk for pregnancy and multiple pregnancies than teens not in foster care. Research<\/a> indicates they receive limited information about and access to contraceptives, are more likely to have sex as teenagers, and have more sexual partners. Teens in foster care who already have had one child are at increased risk of having another child prior to age 21.3<\/sup><\/a>,<\/sup>4<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Children born to teen parents in foster care also present a unique set of needs. They are more likely to be born premature or with a low birth weight due to teen mothers receiving inadequate nutrition or using drugs and alcohol while pregnant.5<\/sup><\/a> Additionally, many young parents may have limited knowledge of parenting skills and child development, which can make it difficult to recognize and respond to their child\u2019s developmental needs. Teen parents in foster care are likely to be reported for abuse or neglect and have their children placed in foster care, which creates an intergenerational cycle of child welfare involvement that can perpetuate poor outcomes for the child.6<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Despite their unique challenges, pregnant and parenting teens in foster care can thrive in early adulthood and new parenthood. With the support of child welfare professionals and caring adults (including parents, relatives, fictive kin, and foster caregivers), young parents can access comprehensive resources and services to increase stability and improve life outcomes for themselves and their children.<\/p>\n

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Barriers to providing effective services<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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Agency leaders face several barriers to providing effective and equitable services to pregnant and parenting teens in foster care. Young parents called out these barriers powerfully<\/a> in a May 2023 report. Some of these barriers include:<\/p>\n