PARENTING: IT’S A LIFEProvided by:

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office

The Iowa Department of Human Services-Child Support Recovery Unit

The Iowa State University Child Welfare Research & Training Project

 

Trainers: Jacy Downey, MPH and Haley Wedmore, MS

 

For more information, please visit:

http://www.isutrainers.hs.iastate.edu/

The Curriculum

• Designed for Grades 7-12

• Takes a neutral position

• Includes 10 modules although not entirely comprehensive. Each module includes a variety of activities to provide experiential learning

• Unique focus on financial aspects of teen parenting, paternity, and child support

• Most effective when delivered in entirety, however, each module is designed to “stand alone” and could be incorporated into a variety of class subjects (FCS, Health, Psychology, Life Skills, etc.)

Why use this curriculum?• Many teen parents struggle financially, academically, and emotionally and

such struggles can take a toll on the parent-child relationship when teens do not have necessary or sufficient supports.

• Median Annual Salary for young adults (ages 24-35) in 2009:

HS dropout $21,000

HS diploma$30,000

Associate’s degree $36,000

Bachelor’s degree $45,000

Master’s degree $60,000

• Parents who are living in poverty are more likely than their more affluent peers to experience parental distress, depression, and mental health disorders.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The Condition of Education 2011 (NCES 2011–033), Indicator 17Kessler&Cleary, 1980; Lyons-Ruth,Wolfe, Lyubchik,&Steingard, 2002; Mathiesen, Tambs, & Dalgard, 1999

• Rates of depression for low-income mothers of young children are as high as 40% or more.

• Children of parents who are depressed or experiencing parenting stress are at increased risk for health, behavioral, and developmental problems.

• Infants of parents with depression tend to exhibit poorer mental and motor development, higher levels of withdrawal and irritability, and more difficulties with emotional regulation, impulsiveness, and cooperation than their peers who are not exposed to maternal depression.

• Parental stress also impacts the parent–child relationship by affecting caregivers’ ability to parent in a sensitive, attuned, and developmentally appropriate manner. They are more authoritarian, less involved, and more negative in their interactions with their children.

• Children who experience a lack of support may feel resentment towards the non-supportive parent and may feel neglected and betrayed.

Knitzer, 2007Cornish et al., 2005; Downey & Coyne, 990; Sharp et al., 1995Field, 1995Conger et al., 2002; Evans, 2004; Jackson, Gyamfi, Brooks-Gunn,&Blake, 1998; Levy-Shiff,Dimitrovsky, Shulman,&Har-Even,1998; Linver, Brooks-

Gunn, & Kohen, 2002; McLoyd, 1990 Belsky, Woodworth, & Crnic, 1996; Bolger, DeLongis, Kessler, & Schilling, 1989; Deater-Deckard & Scarr, 1996; McBride & Mills,1994

• Iowa teen birth rate (ages 15-19) is 7.9% accounting for 3,057 babies (2010)

• From 1991-2009 the teen (age 15-19) birth rate dropped. But, we still have some work to do in Iowa…

Iowa: -24%

US: -37%

• Throughout the State of Iowa, single mothers and a growing number of single fathers struggle with the complicated and serious challenge of raising their children.

• Adding to their difficulties is the failure of non-custodial parents to deliver their share of child support payments. This can be the mother or the father, although is most commonly the father.

[CDC, Nat Ctr for Health Stats; VitalStats: Birth Data Files Nov 2011]

• Each year, more than 195,000 families receive assistance from the Child Support Recovery Unit (CSRU) in collecting child support from delinquent parents.

• But what about those families in which child support isn’t collected? How are the children fed, clothed, insured?

• Families who do not receive child support payments often end up on public assistance (welfare). Iowa taxpayers end up supporting the basic needs of those children whose parents do not provide child support.

Module 1Teen Decision-Making

Objectives

 

Participants will be able to: • openly discuss decision-making skills that affect their lives. • compare their current lives with teen parents’ lives. • educate others about teen pregnancy. • list reasons for refraining from becoming teen parents.

Examples of Activities included in Module 1: Pre-Test and Post-Test, Video of Teen Parent Interviews, Schedules.

• Show video: http://childwelfareproject.hs.iastate.edu/parenting-its-a-life

Schedules: A Real Day in the Life of a Teen ParentSchedule from a teen mom who has a two month old son. Attends high school and works part-time at a convenience store.

 

5:00 a.m. Get up, feed son and change his diaper

 

5:25-7:30 a.m. Get self ready for school; get son ready for daycare

 

7:30-8:00 a.m. Take son to daycare; get self to school

 

8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Attend school

 

3:10 p.m. Take son to a different sitter since daycare closes at 5 p.m.

 

3:30 p.m. Go to work at convenience store

 

3:30-7:30 p.m. Work at convenience store

 

 

7:45 p.m. Pick up son from sitter

 

8:00 p.m. Feed son

 

8:25-9:00 p.m. Give son a bath, read him a book, and put him to bed

 

9:00-10 p.m. Do homework, housework, and laundry

 

10:00 p.m. Go to bed

 

11:00-11:25 p.m. Get up to feed son, change his diaper

 

MIDNIGHT-2:00 a.m. Sleep

 

2:00-2:25 a.m. Get up to feed son, change his diaper, if necessary

 

2:25-5:00 a.m. Sleep

Module 2Costs of Raising Children

Objectives

Participants will be able to: • broaden their financial thinking and assess the costs

associated with raising a child. • understand the importance of, and implications associated

with financially supporting a child.

Examples of Activities included in Module 2: Purchases Necessary to care for an Infant, Need or Want, Spending Bean Game, Costs of Raising a Child

Appendix 10:Purchases Necessary to Care for an Infant

Make a list of all items you would need to purchase if you were expecting a newborn baby to join your household today:

List should include things such as: clothing, bed/crib, toys, diapers, formula, car seat, etc.

Ask students to go to a local store or visit websites to price everything on their list.

Discuss the financial commitments involved with parenting. For example, ask these questions:

♦ Were there any surprises about the costs of these items?

♦ Are students able to make these purchases right now?

♦ What are students willing to give up to purchase baby supplies?

♦ What other expenses would be incurred within a month of bringing home a newborn (doctor’s visits, etc.)?

♦ What type of budget would be necessary to continue to buy diapers, formula, etc.?

♦ How much do students think they would either receive (custodial) or pay (non-custodial) in child support each month?

♦ How much would a parent need to earn to make these purchases or pay child support?

Ask students to compare and discuss the costs of birth control, condoms, and abstinence with the costs of having a child.

Ask students to consider the cost of going to college and the income range of a college-educated person. Have students compare income earned without a high school diploma, with a high school diploma and with a college degree. (See SLIDE 3)

Appendix 14: Need or Want? Need  Want

Milk  Disposable diapers    Car    Telephone    Soft drinks    Washing machine    Child care    Eating out    Shoes    Cell phone    Bed    Television    Dining table    Air conditioning    Lottery tickets    computer    Video games/DVDs  

            Income Group      

Year   Age   Lowest   Middle   Highest  

                   

2010   <1   $8,760   $11,950   $19,820  

2011       8,990   12,260   20,340  

2012   2   9,220   12,580   20,860  

2013   3   9,520   12,940   21,400  

2014   4   9,760   13,280   21,950  

2015   5   10,020   13,620   22,520  

2016   6   9,890   13,860   23,060  

2017   7   10,150   14,220   23,660  

2018   8   10,410   14,590   24,280  

2019   9   11,590   15,950   25,990  

2020   10   11,890   16,360   26,670  

2021   11   12,200   16,790   27,360  

2022   12   13,060   18,150   29,880  

2023   13   13,400   18,620   30,660  

2024   14   13,750   19,110   31,460  

2025   15   14,150   20,330   34,820  

2026   16   14,520   20,850   35,720  

2027   17   14,900   21,400   36,650  

Total       $206,180   $286,860   $477,100  

Appendix 11: Anticipated Costs of Raising a ChildEstimated annual expenditures* on a child born in 2010, by income group, overall United States*Estimates are for the younger child in husband-wife families with two children and assume an average annual inflation rate of 2.60 percent.

www.cnpp.usda.gov/calculatorintro.htm

Module 3What is Child Support?Objectives

Participants will be able to:• define vocabulary words associated with child support. • know the difference between myths and facts associated with

child support. • list characteristics of responsible parents.

Ex. of Activities included in Module 3: Love, Money and Rights, Myth vs. Fact, Child Support Terms Matching, Jeopardy.

Love, Money, Rights♦ Love: Children need love and emotional support from both parents.

♦ Money: Having a child is a financial commitment that lasts to adulthood and sometimes beyond.

♦ Rights: Children have a right to family information including their family medical history. They need access to social security and insurance coverage and they have a right to inheritances from both parents.

Ask students: ♦ Are you prepared to be a loving parent and to be there whenever your child needs you?

♦ How will you financially support your child?

Scenarios…

♦ “My baby’s father and I aren’t married, but we love each other. Do I really need to worry about child support now?”

♦ “I don’t get along with the baby’s mother. What happens if I refuse to pay her child support?”

♦ “I can’t pay child support because I’m in school and I don’t have a job.”

Child Support: Myth vs. Fact

Myth: If the father doesn’t pay support, he doesn’t have a right to see the child. Or, if the father doesn’t want to or can’t see his child, he doesn’t have to pay child support.

Fact: The duty to pay child support and the right to visit are two different things. They are not connected in the law. In the eyes of the court the child is entitled to contact with both parents and support from both parents.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------Myth: If the father is under age 18, he can’t be declared the father or owe a child support obligation.

Fact: A father can be required to pay child support regardless of the father’s age.

Remember When?Can you remember what your needs were when you were 6-years old? What did your parent(s) or guardian provide for you? How did they support you emotionally, physically, and financially? How did they help you survive? Use the milestones below to write down needs at different periods of your life (some may be in the future).

 0-2 years: (Ex. My parents fed me…)

2-6 years: (Ex. They played with me and helped me learn to talk…)

6 years: (Ex. They drove me to school…)

12 years: (Ex. They helped with my homework…)

16 years: (Ex. They taught me how to drive…)

18 years: (Ex. They’ll help me pay for college…)

 

What types of support do you want to provide to your children?

Module 7Establishing Paternity

Objectives

Participants will be able to:• define paternity. • understand the benefits of establishing paternity.

Examples of Activities Included in Module 7: Paternity Case Studies, Paternity Benefits

Benefits of Establishing paternity

Benefits to the mother:

♦ The right to ask for medical support for the child

♦ Knowing she isn’t the only person responsible for raising the child

♦ The right to receive child support payments

Benefits to the father:

♦ Access to school and medical records of his child

♦ The right to ask the court for custody

♦ The right to ask the court for parenting time/visitation

Benefits to the child:

♦ Access to Social Security, military benefits, health care, inheritance, and other financial benefits

♦ Child support payments

♦ Acknowledgement of the right to see his/her father

Module 8Establishing a Support Order

Objectives

Participants will be able to:• list the steps involved in the establishment of support orders. • list the factors used to determine child support levels.

Example of Activities Included in Module 8: Child Support Establishing/Enforcement Essays or Journal Activities

Module 9Enforcement of Support Orders

Objectives

Participants will be able to:• list Iowa’s child support enforcement techniques. • give a brief description of each enforcement technique.

Examples of Activities Included in Module 9: Child Support Enforcement Skits, Child Support Enforcement Posters.

Thank you!

• Questions? Comments? Feedback?