High School Day Cares: Helping Teen Moms Graduate

Teenage pregnancy has been a growing problem over the past few years. Although teen pregnancy rates are declining, almost one-half million adolescent women give birth each year in the United States (Hamilton, Martin and Sutton). Half are estimated to have never completed high school and a vast majority of the dropouts end up on welfare. For teens mothers that decide to remain in school, child care is quite often a determining factor in whether or not they ultimately succeed or fail. Some feel that providing school-based child care programs only makes getting pregnant and having babies easier for teens. I feel that it is vital for teen moms who want to graduate high school, have that opportunity to finish, without excess stress added on by not being able to find or afford adequate child care.

Many high school childcare programs designed to help teen parents stay in school have already been proven to be successful in aiding teen mothers to graduate from high school. In New York City, for example, the Living for the Young Family through Education (LYFE) program is a school-based service providing free childcare during the day in a least 40 different schools (Hayhurst). I can personally attest to the success of this program since I graduated high school as a participant of the LYFE program at the age of seventeen with an eight month old baby. Teen mothers who are able to remain connected to their high schools have fewer subsequent births during adolescence, better long-term economic outcomes for their family, and better behavioral, social, and academic development of their children (Stephens, Wolfe and Batten).

While school-run day care isn't the solution to teen pregnancy, it does help keep moms from dropping out. It is estimated that one in four girls overall do not finish high school. According to a national directory assembled by Fern Marx, a researcher at Wellesley College's Center for Research on women, over the past ten years, in 46 states more than 300 schools have started parenting and child-care programs for teen mothers. And even with all these programs that are already in place, there still aren't enough programs to handle the 800,000 children of teen mothers who need child care each year (Kantrowitz). The goal of these type programs is not to make it easy for the teen mothers, but just to make it manageable and to make them more self reliant. Supportive teen-friendly parenting programs in high schools, offer young mothers valuable and necessary services to help them become more competent mothers, complete their high school education, and have their children enrolled in safe stimulating child care. (Williams and Sadler)

When addressing the cost aspect of these types of programs, the numbers are somewhat alarming. One year, one school in particular in Cambridge, Massachusetts served thirty-four girls through their Adolescent Parenting Program on a budget of just over $300,000 which virtually all of it was public funds. Every year since 1985, the program has helped an average of 30 teen mothers stay in school. The principal, Ed Sarasin stated "It's expensive, but I think it's well worth investing in our children. You either pay now or you pay later (Kantrowitz)." Based on a study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, teen childbearing, nationwide cost taxpayers $9.1 billion in 2004. Teens age 17 and under account for $8.6 billion of that total, or an average of $4,080 per teen mother annually (Welsh). I do agree with the principal at the Cambridge school on what he says about "You either pay now or you pay later." Tax payers will either pay for these teens to finish high school by allowing the child care programs or they will pay once these girls enter into society as adults on their own having to seek other government assistance in the form of welfare.

Although I am in agreement with school-based child care programs for teen mothers, I am reluctant to just hand it over to them without any stipulations. I am inclined to believe that these parents need much more than just babysitters for their children while they complete classes and graduate high school. The teens that are given this aid should be mandated to maintain a certain grade point average, attend parenting classes to include sex education, and also receive counseling on an as needed basis. The pressures of being a parent can be difficult at any age, but as a teen mother, I believe these added pressures can have a somewhat adverse affect as opposed to an adult who has a baby. Ultimately, it is my belief that many teen girls who get pregnant do so not willingly, but haphazardly without intention. The children of these mothers definitely did not ask to be brought into this world either. School-based child care for teen mothers is an idea that has saved hundreds, even thousands from the embarrassment and humiliation of having to drop out of high school. I just think that these programs should be more widespread to the communities where these teen drop-out rates due to pregnancy are high. Georgia has the seventh highest teen birth rate in the country (Schneider). We need more of these programs right here close to home. We can either pay for these teen parents to have child care now, or pay for them to be on welfare later. I opt for the child care now.

Works Cited

Hamilton, BE, JA Martin and PD Sutton. "Births: preliminary data." National Vital Statistics Report 52.11 (2004): 1-20.

Hayhurst, Chris. Childcare Programs Help Teen Parents Stay in School. 11 11 2005. 12 02 2009 .

Kantrowitz, B. "High school homeroom." Newsweek 115.23 (Summer/Fall90 1990): 50.

Schneider, Craig. Georgia has 7th highest teen birth rate in the country. 30 7 2008. 23 3 2009 .

Stephens, SA, WC Wolfe and ST Batten. "Improving Outcomes for Teen Parents and Their Young Children by Strengthening School-Based Programs." Bala Cynwyd Pa: Center for Assessment and Policy Development (1999).

Welsh, Patrick. "They're Having Babies. Are We Helping?" The Washington Post 14 12 2008: B01.

Williams, EG and LS Sadler. "Effects of an urban high school-based child care center on adolescent parents and their children." Journal for School Health 71 (2001): 47-51.