Casa de Vida provides care for pregnant young women in need.

The Pathways to Success program provides no-cost housing and social service assistance to approximately 25 pregnant and parenting teens (aged 12 to 25) each year. Participants enter the program near the beginning of their pregnancies and generally exit between one and three months postpartum. For the duration of their enrollment in the Pathways program, participants receive intensive case management.

Casa de Vida’s Pathways to Success program attempts to prevent future incidents of teen pregnancy by addressing the social factors that may have initially contributed to a participant’s pregnancy while simultaneously meeting the current and future needs of the pregnant teen in an effort to reduce some of the social costs associated with teen pregnancy. There program consists of seven goals. Goal one is that arrangements for safe, secure, affordable, and sustainable housing must be met. Two, the participant will receive consistent prenatal and postpartum medical care. Goal three, the participant will progress toward self-sufficiency through the attainment of educational, vocational, and life skills. Goal four, the participant will develop skills to increase her readiness for parenting a child. Goal five is that the participant will demonstrate appropriate newborn & self-care. Goal six the participant will have tools with which to make wise choices regarding her future by attending weekly therapeutic group and/or individual counseling sessions with staff therapist. Goal seven is identify and mobilize social service resources as necessary for post-program functioning.

In order to meet these goals, the following objectives (if applicable) must be met, participant will submit applications to local low-income housing programs and identify other possible housing arrangements and work with staff to obtain resources necessary to meet housing objectives. Goal two is met by ensuring the pregnant/post-partum participant and her child receive regular and appropriate medical care by making and attending prenatal and postpartum medical appointments as recommended by the obstetric practitioner and his/her staff and following practitioner recommendations and understanding the benefits of recommended care.

Ensuring that the pregnant teen has the educational, vocational, and life skills necessary for self-sufficiency is the primary purpose of Goal III. The participant will attend school as evidenced by school attendance records and achieve passing marks. The participant will increase of resume building, interviewing, and other employment-readiness skills as measured by independent agency assessment and will obtain suitable part or full-time employment by agreed upon date. In addition all participants will meet with staff to discuss life skills such as parenting options, personal finances, transportation, time management, and household management.

Participants demonstrate they are prepared for the emotional and physical demands associated with childrearing by meeting Goals four and five of the program. In order to meet these goals, participants engage in a variety of parenting, childbirth, and newborn care courses. Courses emphasize topics such as appropriate discipline, active listening, and developmentally appropriate play.

Participants will have tools with which to make wise choices regarding her future by attending weekly therapeutic group and/or individual counseling sessions. By establishing future goals and timelines managing difficult emotions and how to problem solve. Lastly, meeting goal seven helps ensure that the external services she needs for adequate social functioning will be in place upon exiting the program. With assistance from the staff participants are engages in programs to learn how to obtain and use resources to meet program goals and ensure future stability.