Our two small, community-based group homes offer teen mothers and their babies a stable place to live while they prepare for independence. Located on tree-lined streets in Queens, each house is a temporary home to three moms and their babies. The houses feature private bedrooms for each pair, computer rooms, playrooms, and large backyards with picnic benches and playground equipment.

Caring for an infant or toddler is hard work. Staff members work with the moms, helping them understand childhood development, practice new parenting skills, and support each other. They also learn to cook, how to budget, and how to manage a household.

“Being a mom feels wonderful. I’m doing a really good job, and that makes me feel good.”
— Pauline

A primary goal of the program is for the young women to become independent. Staff members help residents explore career interests, work on resumes, look for job opportunities, and prepare for interviews. Many of the young moms who have been in the program have moved into their own apartments with good jobs and a plan for their future and the future of their family.

Continuum of Care is a proven program that provides education and support for pregnant and parenting teens in foster care. The program is designed to reduce the incidence of repeat early pregnancies, increase young parents’ sense of self-worth, improve their health and that of their babies, and help teens complete high school and enter the workforce.

Findings from a four-year study of the Inwood House Continuum of Care, underwritten by a national demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found outcomes significantly better than local and national norms for our teen parents. One year after delivery:

• 92% of our teen mothers were still in school or had graduated
• Nearly 100% had custody of their baby and had the father in regular contact with the child
• Nearly 100% had health insurance, had their babies fully immunized, and had provided an average of four well-baby visits
• 69% held a paid internship, and 23% were employed full-time
• 69% were using birth control
• 82% had a bank account

The Continuum of Care model includes:

1. Parenting Support through Video (PSV), which uses video to help build on positive interactions between parents and children.
2. Home-based counseling.
3. Workshops on child development, appropriate discipline, self-awareness, attachment between parent and child, negotiating co-parenting relationships, and overall emotional/physical well-being of parent and child.
4. Teen Choice group sexuality education.
5. IMPACT (Interventions to Maintain Parents and Children Together) workshops and support groups that focus on navigating the foster care system and helping parents regain custody of their children.