Upcoming Events
UPCOMING EVENTS
Are you looking for a life affirming experience? Join our efforts to provide stability to vulnerable families in D.C. by serving as a DC127 Communities for Families volunteer. Volunteering for DC127 is a 6-9 month commitment. Volunteering with DC127 is a unique opportunity to form an intentional relationship with a family to provide much-needed social and emotional encouragement to parents who are isolated and overwhelmed. Make a lasting impact in your life and in the District today!
A New Partnership
A New Partnership
We are grateful to the Greater Washington Community Foundation for their multi-year support in our effort to serve teen parents in and aging out of foster care. Our goal is to ensure teen parents have access to wraparound care, emotional support, and direct services to build a life of independence.
For teen parents in care who have endured a childhood filled with trauma and uncertainty- meeting the practical and emotional needs of their children can be overwhelming. This reality is far too common. Half of children born to mothers in foster care will enter the child welfare system themselves by their second birthday and 25% of these children will be removed from the mother’s care within the first week, according to a study done by the journal, Pediatrics. Additionally, youth in foster care are more than twice as likely to become pregnant as a teen than their non-[child welfare] system involved peers.
Outcomes for teen parents in foster care are bleak. Graduating high school, finding stable employment and housing, accessing healthcare, and navigating services which promote mental well-being are all difficult to attain and more so when there are few supportive structures to lean on. Children born to teen parents also present a unique set of needs, according to Casey Family Programs: “They are more likely to be born premature, experience difficulties in school, enter foster care, and go to prison later in life.”
What this points to and what we often find and attempt to overcome in our work is the generational nature of family struggles. The lack of support, limited access to resources, and emotional, psychological, and practical problems have been endured by multiple generations within families and it is often the only model a parent knows. It is a cycle that creates generations of broken families, underachievement, and leaves children at risk for neglect and abuse.
Working with Teen Parents
Working with Teen Parents
DC127 has extensive experience working with the hardest to reach parents and our track record demonstrates the positive, sustained impact of our programs. In our Communities for Families (CFF) program within a 6-12-month timeframe we design timelines, establish long-term goals, and coordinate resources unique to each parent
to maximize chances of success. We connect each teen parent with a trained volunteer who provides emotional and relational support. Building this relationship with a volunteer who is dependable and consistent mirrors responsible adult behaviors to young parents who are attempting to develop positive life skills. This is an important aspect of our program. This is supplemented by psychological counseling sessions; rent and utility assistance; quarterly workshops focused on job readiness, financial wellness, and healthy interpersonal relationships; as well as individualized, long-term goal setting.
One aspect of our program that is especially important to teen parents is the wraparound support and strengths-based approach we take to build self-esteem and confidence. Still in the developmental stages of life, teens lack maturity, focus, and emotional well-being to manage broken family bonds, group home living, and early adulthood. A dedicated volunteer and DC127 staff member serve each teen parent using an 
affirming strengths-based approach to assist with establishing personal goals and designing a road map to stability.
We ultimately pray that with practical and emotional support, access to community resources, and goals focused on stability teen parents can break through this generational problem and create better circumstances for themselves and their families. We are so grateful to have the support of the Greater Washington Community Foundation and we hope to continue to make a difference in the community for some of the most vulnerable families.
“Talking to my volunteer helped me a lot. She helped me to think differently and she worked with me to accomplish my goals.”
"I had applied for the police cadet program earlier in November and they just called me saying my application meets their qualifications. It will be reviewed and I will receive additional correspondence as they move forward in my hiring process. I’m so happy I want to cry."
Stories from DC127's Teen Parents
Stories from DC127's Teen Parents
DC127 served a teen parent currently in D.C.’s foster care system who aged out while in the program. She came to us with a lot of fear, overwhelm, and serious distrust. She was referred to DC127 for support around housing, employment, and childcare for her daughter. The parent was turning 21 and expressed concern to us about aging out and lacking support in that transition. DC127 paired her with a younger volunteer (per her request) so she could have someone to relate and connect with.
DC127 was able to provide this parent a support system, workshops, and direct services. In the end she achieved her goal and was accepted into a housing program prior to her birthday. We also found out she was approved for a housing voucher and that she was working on securing more long-term housing. Her daughter is in daycare and she is going through a training program to get certification.
DC127 is currently serving a parent for the second time in our CFF program. She is in high school and resides in D.C’s foster care system. She was referred to DC127 for support around parenting, updating her identification, finishing school, housing, and achieving financial independence. In her initial meetings she spoke of not getting along with her mom or her current foster parents. She was slated to stay in care until her 21st birthday but did not want to stay that long.
Since she joined the DC127 program she has been paired with a volunteer and built a solid relationship. She is in the process of getting approved for independent living when she turns 18 and until then she has moved to a better foster home where she is able to have her daughter with her. She is also set to graduate high school in August. She has become a more patient parent working with her child and she has developed a more positive and optimistic outlook.
Features
Features
