Power Source Parenting in Massachusetts Teen Parenting Programs

Some systems just seem to get it when it comes to fostering innovation and change. And the people in the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families who oversee the 22 Teen Parenting Programs (TPP)  in the state, make up one of those systems. The Teen Parenting Programs offer youth who are unable to remain in their homes or foster care as a result of pregnancy or parenting congregate housing that provides parenting and job readiness skills, facilitates the transition to stable housing, and offers emotional and developmental support. In 2008, Lionheart approached the director of one of the largest Teen Parenting Programs in Massachusetts to ask if we could partner in early stage piloting of a new social and emotional learning program for system-involved adolescent parents. 

For years, Power Source helped build teens and young adults’ capacity to identify and manage their feelings, communicate effectively to get their needs met, and learn healthy coping strategies. Most of these youth had grown up in homes “emotionally under siege” by the stress of poverty and complex trauma. Despite struggling with their own significant self-regulation challenges, many were already parents leaving us to wonder, “how do these youth teach to their own children what they don’t yet know?” Social learning theory tells us that we learn what we see. If children watch parents respond to stress through violence, cope with sadness or anger by using substances, or enter into unsafe, volatile relationships, this is what they learn. Power Source Parenting evolved out of the question, “what if we could equip these young parents with the social and emotional skills, positive parenting practices, and risk-reduction skills that are the foundation of raising healthy children. And with the help of the St. Mary’s TPP, Power Source Parenting was born.

Since the publication of Power Source Parenting (PSP) in 2011, MA DCF has been a stalwart and creative partner with Lionheart in bringing high-quality programming to the young parents of Massachusetts. PSP is offered in all 22 TPPs and is supported by ongoing staff training, consultation, and groups provided by Lionheart. In 2012, DCF partnered with Lionheart and The New York University School of Nursing and MIT in an NIH grant to examine the efficacy of the Power Source Program that included a mobile health technology component. Participants in the study wore galvanic skin response sensors that activated a mobile PSP health app to coach young mothers when their bands were activated (a sign of stress). This study was one of the pioneering efforts in the use of such technology and would not have been possible without the innovative and collaborative spirit of those overseeing the TPPs and the research department of DCF. 

Last week we spoke to a TPP director who shared that a parent who had been a resident nearly 10 years ago recently came in asking for a copy of Power Source Parenting for her neighbor. She said that what she learned in her PS group changed her life and changed her ability to be an effective, loving parent. She had been watching her young neighbor struggling with the demands of parenting and reflected, “she needs to learn what I learned with PSP.  How to be an effective parent, how to get what you need in a good way. How to be patient with your child.” While at Lionheart we work to bring high-quality, research-driven resources into the field, without strong alliances with agencies such as the MA DCF that welcome us in to develop, pilot, and research these programs the scope and scale of what we do would be greatly diminished. So thank you DCF and all the other youth serving systems across the US that support innovation in how we address trauma and care for the youth who need us most.

For more information on Power Source Parenting, click here.