This collaborative project aims to improve health, postsecondary education, and career outcomes for young parents in K-12 settings. Our ultimate goal is to build a menu of options for school districts to better support young parents. Funded by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this project builds long-term infrastructure for young parents' educational and economic mobility. First, this project aims to first develop new partnerships and test a school-based and community-engaged model in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

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Why This Project Matters

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There is an urgent need to better support teenage parents’ health and economic mobility. Teenage birthing people in Wisconsin are less likely to receive early and adequate prenatal care compared to older birthing persons (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2017-2021). About 1 in 5 teenage birthing persons experience postpartum depression compared to about 1 in 10 for the state overall (PRAMS, 2017-2021).

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Young parents also face significant barriers to postsecondary success. They are 42% less likely to enroll in college than their non-parenting peers, and 92% earn less than $30,000 three years after high school—well below the self-sufficiency standard for a family of two (Westaby, 2025). With limited support systems and overburdened guidance counselors, these students often fall through the cracks. This project works to close that gap.

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Project Goals

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1. Build Partnerships for Health, Basic Needs Access, and Postsecondary Pathways
   Convene an advisory board of young parents, educators, workforce partners, healthcare staff, birth working staff, and apprenticeship organizations to co-create strategies for improving health, basic needs access, and K-12 to career transitions.

2. Implement Health, Wellness, and Academic Support
   Implement customized support options for young parents, including improved access to mental health services, child care, and transportation.

3. Evaluate and Learn
   Assess program outcomes to understand what works and build a foundation for future replication.

4. Scale for Broader Impact
   Develop and share a scalable model to be adopted by other school districts in Wisconsin and beyond.