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
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
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.
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”
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 nonpresentation weeks, which has greatly improved
retention
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
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
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
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
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
Questions?