BATON ROUGE, La – The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program of Louisiana has received a grant of $ 998,778 for a new initiative to improve the overall performance of the state’s youth, by making them aware of the financial, legal, and emotional responsibilities of parenting.
DCFS was one of nine childcare facilities in the country that received a grant from the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) of the United States Department of Health for Children and Families (ACF) to develop programs as part of the three-year demonstration course planning for economic mobility and responsible parenting – Cohort 2.
“OCSE is committed to helping parents take care of their children financially and emotionally,” said Linda Boyer, Acting Commissioner of OCSE. “One way to help parents be the providers their children need is to help teenagers and young adults prepare for parenthood. These projects support state and tribal innovations to help a new generation of parents understand and navigate their rights, realities, and duties. “
“This initiative is a great opportunity for us to educate our youth about the difficulties faced by young parents and the impact these decisions can have on their future,” said Shavana Howard, assistant secretary for family support, DCFS. “We are grateful to OCSE for funding this program across the state and look forward to seeing the positive impact that child support education can have on our youth.”
DCFS CSE’s new Educate, Stimulate, Graduate Initiative (ESGI) will help adolescents and young adults acquire the knowledge, skills, and access to resources that are likely to lead to success in their pursuit of life goals, economic mobility, and responsible parenting .
In partnership with Louisiana State University and Southern University New Orleans, ESGI will work with college students to peer educate teenagers in 8-week programs on the benefits of delayed parenting. Discussions will focus on the challenges and needs faced by young parents and educate them about the services of the Child Support Enforcement Program.
ESGI will also work with community-based organizations to reach adolescents already disconnected from education and through the program will provide ongoing support to promote economic mobility, build healthy relationship skills, teach parenting skills, reduce unplanned pregnancies, violence prevent in the relationship and improve life skills.
The first year of this three-year initiative will be devoted to refining the program design, evaluation plans and curricula; Formalization of cooperation partnerships with public and private institutions for young people and young adults; and pilot tests. Years two and three will be devoted to the implementation, tracking, evaluation and refinement of the program activities.
For more information about the Louisiana Child Support Enforcement Program, visit www.dcfs.la.gov/cse.
For more information on the OCSE grant, including a full list of award winners, please visit www.acf.hhs.gov/css/grants/current-grants/responsible-parenting.
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