Parent Linking Program
Parent Linking Program provides more than 150 teen parents in 8 schools with the support needed in order for them to graduate high school and strengthen their parenting skills.
The program also provides childcare services for 100 children ages 0-3 in 7 locations.
Check out more information including videos and articles below!
About Our Programs
What is the Parent Linking Program?
There is a growing local and national concern about the pervasive and enduring social, economic and educational consequences of teenage pregnancy. Teen parents are at greater risk of socioeconomic disadvantage throughout their lives than those who delay childbearing until their twenties. PCA-NJ provides free school-based services for expectant and parenting teens statewide which includes child care, parenting groups, individual counseling, crisis intervention, and intensive case management. These components prevent present and future child abuse and neglect by enhancing the teenage parent’s self-esteem and knowledge of parenting and child development while helping the teen parent complete high school and delay repeat pregnancies. Parent Linking Programs are funded by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
Who is Eligible to Participate?
Any expectant or parenting mothers and fathers who attend a sponsoring high school are eligible to participate in the program. In exchange for free child care, participants are required to attend weekly groups in addition to the normal academic curriculum required for graduation. Child care centers are housed in or near the sponsoring high schools. The centers provide quality child care services during school hours to parents in the high school who are enrolled in the Parent Linking Program; a fully developed curricula to address the developmental needs of the infant/toddler; opportunity to visit and interact with their children during lunch hour or free period; and regular parent conferences with the child care center staff to keep parents up to date on their child’s progress. Group services for the adolescent parent focus on parenting skills, child development, co-parenting, healthy relationships, and life skills. 95% of the teen parents enrolled in Parent Linking Program have graduated high school, 90% planned to attend college and 98% have not had a second pregnancy.
Participating High Schools
Passaic County
Contact: Janet Pagan, 973-473-2408 Ext. 320
- East Side High School – Paterson
Contact: David Mills, 973-321-1000 x. 51330
Hudson County
- Union City High School – Union City
Contact: Pamela Loor De Sotomayor, 201-348-2754
Union County
- Plainfield High School – Plainfield
Contact: Zelda Spence, 908-731-4358
Video: Trauma and Tragedy: Part (start at 4:16)
PLP Participant Video Testimony
Middlesex County –
Contact: Angela Aguirre, 732-745-5300 x. 3088
Video: PIXY Program Graduate
Mercer County
- Trenton Central High School – Trenton
Contact: Joy Bethea, 906-656-4900 x. 7544
Article: Teen mom spirit: Parent Linking Project provides support for students with children in Trenton
Video: A Safe Place: The Parent Linking Program
Camden County
Contact: Yalonda Moore, 856-966-5300 x. 34550
Cumberland County
Contact: Debrah Hickman, 856-794-6700 x. 6654
Article: Today Teen Pregnancy
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