THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509140187
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 47 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
``Isn't she a sweet little doll baby?'' coos Kathy Spencer, face-to-face with a little girl in her charge.
Chortling in response, the baby flashes a wet smile, and Spencer moves her attention to the other children nearby who waddle in padded bottoms and shriek with joyful abandon.
Three of the children await a visit from their mothers, who each school day at lunchtime will cross the street from Manteo High School to see their babies.
As the manager of the Roanoke Island Presbyterian Church Teen Day Care Center, Spencer helped care for 11 children of teen mothers last school year.
Fewer clients are actually teen moms this year - most of the 10 children at the center are ``special needs'' kids, or children with minor developmental delays. Some were neglected and are in foster care. Some are offspring of teen mothers who dropped out of school earlier and have chosen now to finish their education.
The Outer Banks Community Foundation in 1994 contributed $3,000 toward expanding the program, enabling the 4-year-old center to double its capacity to 10 children.
``Before this program started, a number of teens were dropping out,'' says Nancy Griffin, a church elder and chairwoman of the day care committee. ``When they're not in school, when they're isolated, the normal adolescent development doesn't happen.''
In addition to child care, the center also provides a support system for the teen mothers, a link between their very adult responsibilities and their post-childhood lack of life experience.
A nurse is available to advise the teens on health care for themselves and their babies. Doctors visit. Even an attorney has come to teach the new mothers about their legal rights.
And every week a support group meets so the girls can interact with other mothers. They are also assisted with post-high school planning.
Although the mothers bring formula, diapers and wipes, the center provides food for the children out of a fund for nonprofit day-care programs.
Funding to support the center's $20,000 annual operational costs is pieced together from donations, grants and reimbursements from government programs. Mothers contribute what they can afford, Spencer says.
``It might be $25, it might be $10,'' she says. ``It's all on an individual basis as to what they can pay, if they can pay anything.''
Of the 20 or so mothers who have gone through the program, only two have dropped out, Griffin says. But they already had a history of leaving school, she adds.
``Nationally, generally about 50 percent of teen parents drop out, so we've really been able to reduce that amount,'' Griffin says.
There are success stories budding among the mothers who have been through the program. One graduate is now in nurse's training; others are attending community colleges for business or paralegal study.
The youngest mother in the program so far was 14; the average age is 16. Fathers are seldom in the picture, although Spencer says one father who married the mother is very involved with his child.
Griffin observes that even with the help the center provides, teen mothers live a very different life than their peers.
``These girls take their mothering very seriously,'' Griffin says. ``The ones who are here make a lot of sacrifices. They're not able to have the normal teen social life - that's the part that's not seen.''
There are currently ``just a few'' pregnant high school girls at Manteo High School, Griffin says. Teens seem to be getting pregnant later now, she says, adding that the state overall reports a lower teen pregnancy rate.
Although the center has been accepting referrals for the special needs children, Griffin says priority space is provided for the children of teen mothers - who she says can benefit the most from early intervention.
``Some have a lot to learn,'' Griffin says. ``They have all wanted to be the best mothers they can be. . . But some need a lot of training.'' by CNB