Teen Futures - Programs

“BABY, LET’S WAIT!”

TEEN FUTURES’ principal program is called “Baby, Let’s Wait!,” a comprehensive teen parenthood prevention program. Its mission is to empower inner-city teenagers in Pasadena public high schools.

We give them the tools and knowledge to defer parenthood and achieve healthy emerging adulthood through caringstaff relationships, small group decision-making, simulated parenting experiences, sexual responsibility, peer tutoring, community service and career exploration.“ Baby, Let’s Wait!” (BLW) serves 9th through12thgraders, male and female, as an integral component of the health education classes. It is a hands-on, experiential program that complements the academic curriculum in health classes. It emphasizes long-term relationships between its graduate student staff members and the adolescents they help empower.

THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF BLW ARE :1. Weekly small-group discussions serving as an information forum, a place to practice communication skills and a source of dialog about attraction, healthy relationships and planning for the future.
2. Solo care of an electronic baby or infant simulator for 48 hours, tending to its crying every three/four hours night and day, followed by one-on-one confidential interviews with staff.3. Field trips for 9th and 10th graders to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of our local partner Huntington Memorial Hospital whose workshop informs them of increased risks of premature parenthood.PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Knowing that teens really want and need to hear clear messages from their parents, we hold parent workshops each year to help families more easily and effectively engage in critical discussions about relationships, sexuality and future planning.

JOB SHADOW PROGRAM
11th and 12th graders take part in workshops on career exploration and job skills and then spend a day shadowing a professional in their career field of interest. Our local businesses and professionals are a key to the success of this program.

PEER2PEER MALE INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM
The Peer2Peer Male Mentoring/Tutoring program uses male teens to tutor and mentor middle school boys, with our new partner, DADS for Education supplying a third tier of volunteer adult male mentors. The teens partner in reading a book with content relevant to life.

COMMUNITY SERVICE PARTICIPATION
Originally offered as an alternative for students who could not take the virtual baby project due to a job or athletics, more and more students through collaboration with various community organizations/events.