Educational Plans
Encourage the teenager to remain in school and
complete her education. She can be helped in
doing this by accepting a referral to your local
Adolescent Family Life Program (AFLP) if your
county has one. An AFLP case manager will help
her decide whether or not she wants to remain
in her current school, attend a special school
for pregnant teens or continue her education
through a home-based program.
There are advantages and disadvantages to
each choice. Help the girl evaluate her options
from an academic and personal perspective.
Where will she be able to progress in her studies
best? Where will she be happiest? Where will
her physical and emotional needs as a pregnant
woman best be met?
Acknowledge that at times it will be difficult
to deal successfully with both the demands of
education and pregnancy. This continues to be
true after the baby is born when she will have
the challenges of school and parenting. With the
client's written permission, you might want to
communicate with the client’s case manager at
the AFLP Program so that you can support her
plans to finish school.