Abstract
This study aims to examine factors related to strengthening existing programs and highlighting services that are currently lacking for pregnant and parenting youth. Specifically, researchers sought to identify if the use of a mentor would be beneficial in supporting the continued education of adolescent mothers and determine where service locations may be more accessible. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey of 36 Sacramento CalWORKs participants during their training meetings in Fall 2012. The findings reflect what qualities individuals who were teen parents, or knew someone who was, feel are important for a mentor to posses. Furthermore, that the use of a mentor would be beneficial during pregnancy. Gaps in service included knowledge about existing programs. Tangible and intangible resources were identified. Tangible resources included assistance finding housing and welfare; whereas intangible resources included instilling a sense of hope and modeling friendship in the young parent’s life. Location is not necessarily important to the delivery of services however, ensuring accessibility is. Overall a high number of participants reported not knowing whether or not mentoring services were available to them during their pregnancy. This speaks to the lack of promotion for these services and the lack of coordination among service providers. Decreasing stigma against teen parents may also be beneficial in increasing the delivery of mentoring services. The data supports that having a mentor is important to pregnant teens. The level of this importance may need to be explored by further research. Information collected suggests that individuals of the CalWORKs program had prior knowledge regarding mentorship and were able to define what a mentor was and provided an in-depth understanding of their role and purpose. There was a lack of awareness of current mentor services or programs in Sacramento County. Additionally, participants overwhelmingly were unsure about which potential location for programs would be best utilized, further presenting their lack of knowledge. Another significant finding of the research was that majority of the participants were unsure if programs in the Sacramento area even existed. It is the researcher’s hopes that the results from this study will assist programs in better understanding the needs amongst this population. In addition, program development and design can be tailored accordingly leading to more successful delivery of services and outcomes.