Teen Pregnancy and Parenting

Since 1972, when the organization was founded as Parents Anonymous Organization of Massachusetts, Parents Helping Parents (PHP) has offered hope and support to thousands of parents. PHP's mission is to promote and support healthy parent/child relationships and break the cycle of child abuse through peer-led, professionally facilitated mutual help groups, which provide a nurturing, non-judgmental environment in which to improve family relationships. The parental stress line is free and confidential and is available to parents 24/7 for support and guidance.

The Center for Early Relationship Support is a center of excellence for direct services, training, supervision, and consultation that focus on the earliest parent-infant relationship. Programs include free home visits for new parents, support groups for new parents, specialized treatment for parents with postpartum adjustment disorders, sleep and feeding consultations, services for premature infants, and programs for parents under 21 years old.

The Comprehensive School-Age Parenting Program, Inc. (CSAPP) is a year-round, school-based nonprofit agency which provides dropout prevention and school retention services for expectant and parenting teen moms and teen dads, and for at-risk high school and middle school youth.
Our success rate has been consistently high for the past ten years with 90% of our youth remaining in and/or graduating from high school annually.

Education: CWU is dedicated to helping at-risk youth achieve self-sufficiency through education. Our CHANCES program is an alternative high school education program for pregnant teens in danger of dropping out of school.
Family Support Services: Our Early Education, FLASH, and Healthy Families programs support at-risk families as they move towards self-sufficiency through parenting education, early literacy, and health and wellness support.
Housing: We offer emergency and transitional housing as well as permanent housing search and placement to homeless families.

The Division of Child and Family Services assists family self-sufficiency by providing nurturing, safe and supportive programs for families with children birth through middle school age. Its programs help low-income families meet their children's educational, social, nutritional, and health needs and encourage parents to participate fully in shaping these programs and services to best meet their needs. Last year, the Divison served nearly 10,000 Greater Lowell children and their families.

Family Service of Greater Boston promotes the self-sufficiency and well-being of at-risk families and individuals through provision of innovative, culturally competent, and integrated health and social services, thereby contributing to healthy communities. In keeping with our mission, Family Service reaches 5,800 mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, and teens annually. We provide high-quality clinical mental health services for children and adults who have been victims of physical and sexual abuse. We offer substance abuse treatment, family therapy, parenting education, and child protective services to help troubled families stay together and rebuild their lives. In elementary, middle, and high schools, and in after-school programs across Boston, we offer mentoring for young people, school-based counseling, and prevention services aimed at reducing violence, early pregnancy, and substance abuse.

The Father Friendly Initiative (FFI), is a "one stop" service designed to reintegrate the father into the family, specifically targeting men who have child support, custody/visitation, or court involved issues. FFI uses a holistic approach and offers a comprehensive case management program designed to accommodate the psychological, physical and social support needs of those men falling within the low to no-income range.

Futures for Young Parents is a free GED program for pregnant or parenting young people between the ages of 15 and 21 who are receiving Transitional Assistance for Families with Dependent Children. We are a part of the Just A Start Corporation, one of its 15 programs helping meet community needs in the Boston area.

Maria Talks is a statewide sexual health hotline and website designed specifically for Massachusetts teens covering topics such as pregnancy, sexual violence and GLBTQ. AIDS Action Committee (AAC) developed this website with funding from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH).

The Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy was founded in 1979 by eleven Boston-area agencies seeking to improve teen parent services. The Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy is the ONLY organization in Massachusetts dedicated to ensuring that state policies and programs effectively address the complex issues associated with teen pregnancy. The mission of the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy is to provide statewide leadership to prevent teenage pregnancy and meet the service needs of pregnant and parenting teens and their children through policy analysis, research, education, and advocacy.

Offers a structured group that dads can participate in to get a better understanding of themselves and their roles in the family. Each group explores family patterns in fathering, families as a team sport, problem-solving with co-parent, fathering sons and daughters, work and fathering, and many other issues. Each session allows ample time for participants to share their experiences. The groups are facilitated by nurturing fathers once a week for 13 weeks and meet in various locations around Boston.

The Parent-Child Home Program is a research-based and research-validated early childhood literacy and school readiness program. The Program successfully strengthens families and prepares children for academic success through intensive home visiting. The Program has a proven record in Massachusetts since 1970 when the first sites opened in Pittsfield, Newton, and Cambridge. Currently there are 34 sites from Pittsfield to Boston serving over 1500 families, living at or below the poverty line, in their homes, homeless shelters, and family child care homes.

The Parents Program offers teens and adults of all ages a comprehensive network of support services during pregnancy and the early years of child rearing. The program focuses on improving parenting skills, and works to ensure that young people realize their own needs and potential.
The Kayla Rosenberg House provides safe and affordable transitional housing to The Parents Program families who are at risk of homelessness and/or abuse, and who have demonstrated their readiness for independent living. In this environment, parents can work to become financially and emotionally self-sufficient, while they continue their education and/or enhance their job skills.

Each year, Planned Parenthood affiliated health centers nationwide provide high quality, affordable reproductive health care and sexual health information to nearly five million women, men and teens. Planned Parenthood welcomes everyone regardless of race, age, sexuality, disability, or income. In fact, one in four women has visited Planned Parenthood at least once. When clients walk through our doors, they find a dynamic community resource that offers a wide range of medical and counseling services and health care education, as well as advocacy programs.

The Nurturing Program for Teen Parents brings adolescent parents together with their children for 2 hours a week for 20 weeks. Each session offers teens opportunity to talk about the challenges they face, learn new skills, and practice concrete techniques they can use to reduce stress and handle problems with their children. Participants say that they like having a safe, non-judgmental place to talk about their feelings, find support from other teens, and get ideas that help them cope with immediate problems.