Abstract
ObjectivesWith funding from the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Division (MCAH) of California redesigned its existing Adolescent Family Life Program (AFLP) for expectant and parenting young women into a more intensive and structured intervention, AFLP with positive youth development (PYD). This paper presents key findings from a federally funded, rigorous implementation study of the two programs.MethodsThis implementation study collected data from 13 agencies from January 2016 through December 2017, including interviews with 69 case managers and 18 supervisors; focus groups with 130 program participants; surveys of 66 case managers and 1330 young women; and observations of 42 visits with program participants. The study combined qualitative and quantitative analysis methods.ResultsAs designed, PYD was a much more structured and intensive program than AFLP. Case managers and supervisors saw value in the PYD model and new approach but needed more support and guidance than expected in order to deliver it with fidelity. MCAH provided additional trainings and technical assistance to address challenges. In practice, although staff noted differences in approach and content, the youth experience with the two programs was similar.Conclusions for PracticeIntegrating the PYD framework into case management systems may foster youth self-sufficiency and resiliency. However, the rigid structure of the program was often challenging to implement in practice. Organizations interested in implementing prescribed case management approaches should consider allowing opportunities for flexibility in implementation and providing more detailed preservice training to prepare staff for real-world implementation.
Highlights
Among programs serving adolescents, the last few decades have seen a shift toward using an evidence-informed positive youth development (PYD) approach to promote better health and education outcomes (Catalano et al 2004; Gloppen et al 2009; Lerner and Lerner 2013)
In redesigning Adolescent Family Life Program (AFLP) to create PYD, MCAH shifted the program toward a holistic, youth-centered model that emphasized strengths and values and focused on building self-sufficiency
Staff preparation for AFLP was implemented at the site level, so it was largely driven by individual site policies and procedures
Summary
The last few decades have seen a shift toward using an evidence-informed positive youth development (PYD) approach to promote better health and education outcomes (Catalano et al 2004; Gloppen et al 2009; Lerner and Lerner 2013). Drawn from evidence-informed positive youth development principles (Catalano et al 2004; Gloppen et al 2009; Lerner and Lerner 2013), the new program (1) prescribed a set of structured activities and content to help youth identify their strengths and use them meet their goals and (2) required that case managers conduct two visits a month instead of one. Pressfield, Campa, Ramstrom, Kabadi, and Lopez in this supplement provide more details on the development of the new program model (referred to as PYD in this paper)
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