Youth Care is a residential treatment program in a home-like setting.
Youth Care, Inc., in Draper, Utah, is a licensed residential treatment center for 11- to 18-year-olds who struggle with depression, substance abuse, and related behavioral issues. Though Youth Care residents are not exclusively pregnant teens, they have a unique teen pregnancy program that yields impressive results. Tamara Montague, a licensed clinical social worker on staff with Youth Care, took some time to talk about the program and the many ways it benefits a pregnant teen and her family.
"The goal of our program," she says, "is to help teens get the skills they need to live a normal teen life." This goal is achieved through a multi-disciplinary approach that includes counseling, behavior therapy, an academic program, and more.
Each week, the residents participate in one family, three individual, and five group counseling sessions where they address emotional and behavioral challenges and issues. All of these sessions are required, and the resident's family is required to participate in the family counseling session as well. It's a format that Montague refers to as "clinically intensive," but effective.
When a student first arrives at Youth Care, he or she undergoes a thorough assessment by the multi-disciplinary team. The assessment takes place over the course of the first two weeks, during which intellectual, academic, and personality testing is administered. The team also speaks with family members, school faculty, and previous therapists to get a sense of the student's overall emotional, mental, and behavioral history. From that information, a treatment plan is developed, typically within 30 days of the student's admission date.
If the student being admitted is pregnant, her treatment plan is crafted accordingly, and includes a unique element called "Baby Think It Over."
"Baby Think It Over" is a computerized baby which the pregnant teen is required to care for over a predetermined length of time. The "baby" is programmed to cycle through several different levels of needs. Some babies are fussier than others; some get hungry more often or want to be held more often.
Information from the baby can be downloaded so that a counselor or clinician can see how the baby is being treated. The baby registers information every time it's picked up, fed, or changed. It records how long it cried before it was picked up, how long it had to endure a "dirty diaper," and whether or not it has been physically mistreated.
The object of "Baby Think It Over," Montague says, is to help pregnant teens understand how much time and effort are required when taking care of a baby.
"Many of our students don't understand how hard it will be," she says. "Some are really arrogant and think, 'Oh, I got this.'" But they soon discover it's not as easy as they thought. Some reconsider their decisions about placing their babies for adoption; others decide they're willing to accept their family's help.
In counseling sessions, a pregnant teen discusses the thoughts and actions (aside from the obvious) that led to her pregnancy. According to Montague, few of these pregnancies are accidental.
"They think, 'If I have a baby, then I'll have someone who'll really love me,'" she says. "And sometimes they're purposely engaging in risky behavior because they don't think anything bad will happen to them."
Whatever the reasons, they're addressed in individual and group sessions.
The teen pregnancy program brings to light many challenges the mother-to-be may not have considered. For example, the birth of a baby emancipates the young mother from her parents, so she's no longer considered a "dependent." If she has previously been covered by her parents' insurance, emancipation may affect her coverage. Even if her insurance coverage remains intact, it's highly unlikely that coverage will extend to her baby. It's just one in a list of unforeseen challenges that many teen mothers will face. That's why the Youth Care after-care program is also tailored to fit her needs.
An after-care program is developed for every Youth Care student, before they return to "real life." The program is designed to help the student continue to develop healthy emotional and behavioral habits. For pregnant teens, the after-care program can be especially important as it connects them with much needed support and services.
The teenage years are always challenging. But some teens face challenges that they can't overcome on their own. That's why programs like Youth Care exist. Residential treatment facilities such as this can give at-risk youth the extra attention they need to live a normal life - not just as a teenager, but also as an adult.