Special school gives teen mothers a chance

Food and Nutrition, Summer, 1988 by Cynthia Tackett

Adjacent to McCabe is the Hill Health Center. Entering its twentieth year, the community-run center provides health care to low-income people.

"The community is oriented to coming here for help of any kind," says one outreach worker. "It is often the first place people come when things start falling apart for them." It is the same caring atmosphere that contributes to the successful relationships between the center's health service programs and McCabe.

On-site services include nutrition, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, dental care, and mental health services, all of which are available to McCabe students. Two programs, the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Young Parents Outreach Program (YPOP), @lay a special role in helping the teen mothers.

"WIC has been successful because it has been able to catch the teens early in their pregnancies through the excellent referral system we have between programs," says WIC director Francesca Verda.

The WIC staff work closely with McCabe. When a student enrolls in McCabe, she is also enrolled in WIC. Through WIC, which is administered cooperatively by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service and state and local health agencies, the young women get individually prescribed supplemental foods and nutrition counseling.

The WIC staff provide McCabe teachers with nutrition information and frequently present classes at McCabe on topics such as nutrition, prenatal care, problems during pregnancy, and infant nutrition.

"Studies have shown that the closer kids are to a program like this, the healthier they and their babies are," says Verda.

Reinforcing the goals of WIC and McCabe is the Young Parents Outreach Program (YPOP). A unique program of the Mental Health Clinic, YPOP has received national attention for its work with teen parents. The outreach workers for YPOP help teens cope with a multitude of problems and facilitate their enrollment in programs designed to assist them.

"We work closely with WIC because we find, initially, nutrition is perhaps the key element that makes the difference for these kids," says Renee Denkns, a senior outreach worker.

"Our kids are terribly at risk, and we work closely with them," she adds. "You have to love them, and if you don't, you can't work with them. You can't be judgmental."

Many graduates lead full lives

Before McCabe, teenage girls were required to leave public school by the twenty-eighth week of their pregnancies. If they wanted to continue their studies, they did so at home. Many dropped out.

Alumnae of McCabe say the school provided a caring atmosphere that helped them feel better about themselves. Recently, about 12 former students formed a group committed to helping current students stay in school.

"We are successful women who have achieved our goals," says group member Cheryl Atkinson, who attended McCabe twice but managed to graduate on time with her class and go on to receive associate degrees in data processing and computer programming, and business administration. Another member of the group is currently an assistant vice president of a bank.