1. An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Enforcement (Child Support That Is!) Linda LaGreca Assistant Deputy Commissioner NYC Human Resources Administration Office of Child Support Enforcement May 25, 2011 1

2. No Kidding: Straight Talk from Teen Parents  Sponsored by the NYC Human Resources Administration’s Office of Child Support Enforcement  A peer education teen pregnancy prevention program  Approaches teen pregnancy prevention through responsible parenting education

3. How Does No Kidding Work?  The program utilizes teen parents as Peer Educators (PEs)  PEs lead discussions and interactive activities about the financial and emotional challenges of being a teen parent  The four session curriculum is presented to:  NYC Department of Education high school students  NYC Summer Youth Employment Program participants  Department of Juvenile Justice Programs.

4. Need for Teen Pregnancy Prevention  National teen pregnancy rate is on the rise after a 10 year decline  Children born to teen parents are 10 times more likely to grow up in poverty  Children of teen parents are more than twice as likely to be teen parents themselves  Men born to teen mothers are 3 times more likely to become incarcerated The Guttmacher Institute. (2010) “U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity”

5. Why should child support address teen pregnancy prevention?  Teen pregnancy prevention is a global responsibility and child support has a unique approach  Teen parents are less likely than older parents to meet their financial responsibility  Teen parents are less likely to be in a stable, committed relationship  Most teen fathers do not have the financial means to support their children  These are difficult cases on which to establish a child support order and collect child support

6. Goals of No Kidding  Promote pregnancy prevention through responsible parenting education  Emphasize responsibilities and challenges of young parenting  Encourage teens to delay pregnancy until later in life when parents will be more mature, more likely to be in a committed relationship, and better emotionally and financially prepared to raise a child  Educate teens on issues of child support and paternity establishment

7. No Kidding Curriculum  Session 1: Telling Our Stories  Personal stories about how PE’s lives have changed since becoming a parent  Challenges unique to teen parents  Session 2: Importance of Fatherhood and Understanding Paternity  Responsibility of all fathers to financially and emotionally support their children  Consequences of teen parenthood for young men and women  Responsibilities of custodial and noncustodial parents  Benefits of establishing paternity

8. No Kidding Curriculum, Cont.  Session 3: Child Support and Money Matters  Child support overview  How much it actually costs to raise a child in NYC  Financial burden that teen parents face compared to adults  Session 4: Healthy Relationships  Importance of being in a healthy, committed relationship before deciding to have a child  Students identify what they have learned from No Kidding

9. Implementing No Kidding in NYC  Collaborated with NYC Department of Education to approve curriculum and select participating schools  Selected schools are in zip codes with high teen pregnancy rate  School must have health education and health services available including:  Presence of NYC Department of Health School Based Health Center (SBHC)  Full-time health teacher  Condom availability programs

10. Initial Challenges  NYC High Schools  Minimum number of schools met eligibility criteria  Some schools were reluctant to give up 4 classes in a busy semester  Only 12 weeks in an 18 week semester available for presentations  Multiple schools requested presentations during the same week  Peer Educators  Some had personal issues that interfered with ability to meet their job responsibilities  Difficulty recruiting fathers

11. Meeting Challenges  NYC High Schools  Expanded to other smaller schools that are on the same campus as approved schools  Scheduled sessions as far in advance as possible  Peer Educators  Expanded recruitment to more CBOs that work with NYC OCSE, Department of Education, and Department of Health  Offered PEs hours to work in OCSE offices during non- presentation weeks, which has greatly improved retention

12. Program Logistics  OCSE employs 6 PEs  PEs present in 9 NYC high schools per semester  245 high school campuses in NYC  67 in high teen pregnancy rate zip codes  PEs present in NYC Summer Youth Employment Program in summer  During presentation weeks (9 weeks) PEs paid $18/hr for 35 hrs/week  During office-hour weeks (9 weeks) PEs paid $13.50/hr for 35 hrs/week

13. Program Activity  Began in Spring 2009  Presented in 4 schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx  227 students participated  Fall 2009  Presented in 5 schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx  405 students participated  Spring 2010  Presented in 7 schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and on Riker’s Island (NYC Jail)  404 students participated  Summer 2010  Presented in 6 NYC organizations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens  600 teens anticipated

14. Goals for Growth  Expand presentations to 15 high schools in 2011-2012 school year  Increase PE presentations in schools to 12 weeks per semester (up from 6)  Continue summer presentations

15. Evaluating No Kidding  Students are given identical surveys before and after participating in the program  Surveys test teen knowledge of paternity and child support and attitudes on teen pregnancy/parenting  Surveys were approved by NYC Department of Education and NYC HRA’s Office of Evaluation and Research  Additional teacher and student feedback is provided

16. Evaluation Results  Post-Program Surveys  Increase in student knowledge of the legal and financial implications of having a child especially in terms of custody, paternity, and child support issues  Decrease in the number of “Don’t Know” responses to True/False questions  Statistically significant increases in correct answers  Currently working on new evaluation survey  Other Positive Feedback  High level of buy-in from teachers and administrators  Positive response from students  Almost all participating schools have invited the program back  Administrators have recommended the program to additional schools

17. Questions?