July 2012

The bulletin boards in Curn Domingo's office in Southwest Youth & Family Services (SWYFS) are covered with photographs - birth announcements, graduations, holiday cards, parents with babies in their arms. The photos attest to lives changed for the better and achievement that can't fully be measured.

Domingo helps coordinate the Teen Parent Program in the Family Center at SWYFS. The program provides teenaged parents, mostly 16- and 17-year-old girls, with an innovative combination of parenting skills, academic support for General Educational Development (GED) coursework, and connection to comprehensive support services.

"When teens come here they get more of their needs met," says Domingo, who provides one-on-one assistance and advocacy, helping teen parents with everything from where to buy inexpensive diapers to applying for public benefits to finding permanent housing. The program runs for three hours a day, four days a week. Child care is provided.

Two other Seattle Family Centers offer teen parent support, including the Rainier Beach Family Center and the North Seattle Family Center. All teen parent programs provide weekly support groups on parenting skills, parent-child activities and information and referral services.

Pregnancy and motherhood at a young age often present unique challenges to teenage parents. These challenges include remaining in school and improving academic achievement, keeping their children in good health, providing a safe and secure environment for themselves and for their children, and providing for their basic needs.

For more information about family centers, visit this Web site. For more information about Southwest Youth & Family Center go to this site. 

Crystal McQueen and her HSD supervisor Meenakshi Vedantham

The days of walking into a business and hoping to get a job with a firm handshake or simple enthusiasm are long gone. Especially for teens.

Eighteen Seattle young people from the Human Services Department's (HSD's) Seattle Youth Employment Program recently completed a four-month internship program that provided them with the skills and experience they need to better compete in the new economy.

Among them was Crystal McQueen, a Franklin High School junior, who completed her internship with HSD's Human Resources Unit. Working 10 hours a week, Crystal used her computer and office skills to great effect. In a short span of time, she learned to compile Excel spreadsheets, transfer policies into new templates, and design an intranet Web page on ergonomics.

"This internship experience will help me meet my future goals because I learned the value and importance of being persistent and being ready to do more than one task at a time," says Crystal. "These are some of the most important skills you need on a job." 

The pilot internship program was developed, with financial assistance from the Workforce Development Council, by HSD, the Office of Economic Development, and the City Personnel department. The project improved on earlier internships by targeting skill development in growth occupations, like pre-engineering and business technology. Ranging in age from 16 to 19, the youth worked in 12 City departments.     

Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle Human Services Department recently announced the awarding of $2.4 million to the nine community agencies to provide Step Ahead preschool services to low-income three- and four-year old children and their families in Seattle. The funding was awarded through a competitive Request for Investment (RFI) process. Applications for the RFI were issued in March 2012. Sixteen agencies applied of which nine were selected for funding.

The Step Ahead preschool program provides one or two years of preschool for three- and four-year-old children from low-income families. The preschool program is designed to help low-income children and their families succeed in school and in life. Families with incomes ranging from 110%-300% percent of the federal poverty level and living in Seattle qualify for the program.

For more information, please see this news release. 

Life Lines is published monthly by the City of Seattle's Human Service Department. Our mission is to connect people with resources and solutions during times of need so we can all live, learn, work and take part in strong, healthy communities. For more timely or breaking news, visit our blog, Human Interests, or visit our Web site. If you have questions, please e-mail David Takami or call 206-684-0253.