Texas

Public Information (PAPA), Collaboration, Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Fatherhood

Description/Goal

In 1988 Texas was struggling with both rising teen pregnancy rates and child support collections. In an effort to reach kids before they became parents, Texas Office of the Attorney General's Child Support Division began sending outreach staff into the public schools to talk to teenagers about parenthood and child support. It quickly became clear that both boys and girls were lacking a clear idea of a father's role in providing emotional and financial support to a child. Nor did they have a clear understanding of what paternity establishment was all about.

To fill this gap, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) developed the PAPA outreach program. PAPA stands for Paternity/Parenthood. Fourteen OAG staff members, scattered throughout the state, began presenting basic information on the rights and responsibilities of fatherhood to students in grades six through 12. In the space of a class period, they attempted to explain the legal, financial and emotional responsibilities of fatherhood - usually successfully connecting with the students in the process.

Their presentations were so popular and the demand so great that the outreach staff could not keep up easily. To solve the problem they developed a curriculum package - the PAPA program -- which can be presented by OAG staff or classroom teachers. Adapting a video from California - What Kind of Parent Would You Be? Think About It - Ann Costilow, manager of OAG's outreach and volunteer programs and a former teacher, and OAG staff, wrote a curriculum to go with it. The package includes teacher instructions and student exercises as well as the video.

Carefully gauging the community values, they decided to focus on the legal issues -- i.e., what happens after a baby is born in order to avoid additional approval processes that otherwise would be required for a sex education program. They also sought and obtained endorsements from the Texas PTA, teachers organizations, the statewide principals' and superintendents' association, and religious groups. They made presentations on the curriculum to many organizations, often providing a demonstration of the video and a short version of the curriculum.

In 1995 the OAG sent a curriculum package to 3,000 public schools (every junior and senior high school) in over 1,000 school districts in the state. The results have been so positive and the program so well used, the OAG is investing in an updated - and expanded - version of the program, now in development.

The new version will include a new video featuring teens talking about their experiences in dealing with paternity and parenthood issues. As a result of their work with the Texas Fragile Families Initiative, the OAG is increasingly aware of the need to make their program more father friendly. The new video, for example, will emphasize the importance of fathers. It will encourage both fathers and mothers to “consider your child first.”

This time, presentation of the new curriculum will go beyond sending the new curriculum package to each school. The OAG hopes to provide in-service training on how to present the curriculum through the state department of education's regional service centers. Teachers considering presenting the curriculum may attend workshops free of charge and receive copies of the material.

Results

Teen pregnancy rates are down in Texas and the program's creators would like to think they made a contribution. Evaluations from both teachers and students are glowing. Evaluations from kids reflect their intention to do things differently as a result of the program. Staff in the Attorney General's office continue receiving repeat requests to speak. There are over 500 presentations of the PAPA curriculum each year by staff and teachers. No hard data are available on the efficacy of the program.

Location

This program is provided statewide in Texas. The curriculum was developed in Texas by Child Support Division staff. It makes use of a video developed in California. It is not known whether it has been replicated elsewhere.

Funding

Regular IV-D funds.

Replication Advice

Ann Costilow, Manager of the Outreach and Volunteer Program of the Child Support Division of the Attorney General's office, makes several recommendations to those considering similar programs for the schools:

• Don't be afraid to steal other people's good ideas. Many states have good programs in this area. There is a lot of good material out there to be taken.
• Be sure the curriculum is father-friendly.
• Plan to do a lot of marketing to promote the program/curriculum to the education community.
• Slick products are wonderful to have - but what makes the point with kids is hearing other kids. Just telling about the law and having fancy graphics won't do it. Kids telling their own stories is what makes a difference. Texas will be doing more of this.