Child care is provided on site for 24 children. The program takes a comprehensive approach to the needs of pregnant and parenting teens on both the New Hampshire and Vermont sides of the Upper Connecticut River Valley. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth Midwives monitor the health of residents and their babies. The residential program, the only one for pregnant and parenting teens in New Hampshire, focuses on independent living and parenting skills. Participants must either attend school or be involved in a vocational program to earn a GED and get job placements.
Residents run the house, do chores, cook, and shop for food.
Case management, parenting groups, home visits, and networking are part of the outreach component. Job readiness skills, job shadowing and placement, and GED prep are also available. A vocational worker co-facilitates a family relationships group that emphasizes violence prevention. This project is designed to stop domestic violence in new families before these patterns take hold. The program verifies its success in improving the health of children and parents by monitoring the health of residents and their babies.