Coming alongside:Building relationships to enhance resilience in vulnerable young mothers

Low-income, young mothers have higher rates of child maltreatment than the general population. A chaotic lifestyle, difficulty in meeting basic needs, living day-to-day without a future orientation, constant exposure to violence, poor neighborhood cohesion, and poverty perpetuates the cycle of early childbearing and child abuse and neglect. Successful programs serving these young women must find the balance between support and encouraging independence mitigated by development, age, and maturity level. This presentation focuses on the process and outcomes of Meld parent groups linked with home visitation in five locations in two vastly different counties in Northeast Arkansas. The target population, 41 African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic women ages 14-29, have participated in a Meld group and home visitation during their pregnancies and into their experience as parents. A program evaluation determined the extent to which the program was able to meets its goals of improving participants' attitudes toward achieving self-sufficiency and providing safe and nurturing environments for their children. Examination of the limitations of home visitation and group-support parenting programs and best practices in program development for vulnerable young families will be discussed.