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Subgroups
From fall 1987 to early 1990, in Camden and Newark, NJ, and Chicago, IL, teenage first-time parents who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) for the first time were required to attend a mandatory intake session. (In Chicago, this group included those in their third trimester of pregnancy.) Teen parents that attended the session were then randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the comparison group with equal probability. In total, 2,647 individuals were assigned to the intervention group, and 2,650 individuals were assigned to the comparison group. The study authors evaluated program impacts using two- and six-year follow-up surveys and administrative data. Some individuals from the Chicago site were not included in the six-year survey because of its size relative to the New Jersey sites. (The authors did not specify how these individuals were selected.) The Pathways Clearinghouse has focused its review on three subsamples of individuals based on age at random assignment: those age 17, age 18, and age 19 or older. This review examines the sample of parents who were age 17 at random assignment. Other reviews examine the two additional subsamples of parents.
Random assignment began in fall 1987 and continued until early 1990. Participants were contacted for surveys about two and six years after intake, and administrative records were used to follow participants for six years.
The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded this study.
The sample included first-time parents who were age 17 and receiving AFDC for the first time. Across all age groups included in the study (because the study did not report sample characteristics separately by age group), 17 percent of study participants were Hispanic; 76 percent were Black, not Hispanic; and 8 percent were White, not Hispanic. At intake, 33 percent of participants had completed high school or obtained a GED certificate, 44 percent were attending school, and 52 percent had ever had a job. On average, participants lived in a household with 4 to 5 people, 48 percent lived with a parent, and 4 percent had ever been married. The average age of a participant's youngest child was 10 months.
The Camden County Board of Social Services (AFDC agency) implemented the program in Camden, NJ. New Jersey's Division of Economic Assistance's Bureau of Employment Programs (AFDC agency) implemented the program in Newark, NJ. The Illinois Department of Public Aid (AFDC agency) implemented the program in Chicago, IL.
The program did not exist before the evaluation.
The Teenage Parent Demonstration provided intensive case management services; assistance with child care, transportation, and training and education expenses; education services; work-readiness activities; and workshops. Case managers assessed participants' needs and developed individualized self-sufficiency plans for them to access education, training, and employment services. Workshops focused on developing personal and parenting skills and preparation for education, training, and work. The number of workshops varied across sites: the Camden site required participation in 5 workshops during 5 weeks with 78 hours of content; the Newark site required participation in 4 workshops during up to 3 months with 97 hours of content; and the Chicago site required participation in 6 workshops over 3 days with 9 hours of content. In Camden and Newark, participants could also receive job development services; in Chicago, intervention group members could participate in job-readiness training, a job club, and job search assistance. Participants in the intervention group were required to participate in education, training, or employment activities for 30 hours per week. Many of these opportunities were available within the participants' communities (placement assistance was provided), but in some cases, GED or basic education courses were offered through the program.
Individuals in the comparison group were not required to engage in education, training, or employment-related activities to receive AFDC but could pursue them on their own. The comparison group did not have access to the programs offered through the Teenage Parent Demonstration.
All services were mandatory for individuals in the intervention group to receive AFDC, and participants' cash assistance was reduced by the amount allocated to support the needs of the parent if the parent did not comply.
Services were available to participants while they received AFDC, from fall 1987 to early 1991.
The program was funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Teenage Parent Demonstration took place in three sites: Camden, NJ; Newark, NJ; and Chicago, IL.
Poverty; child well-being; family structure; contraceptive use; substance use; justice involvement; child health