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Residential Services
The St. Agnes Family Center provides comprehensive residential services for pregnant and parenting young women including pre- and post-natal health services, an educational program, professional counseling, parenting education and child care. Our programs provide a safe, supportive environment where parenting options are explored, educational and vocational goals are pursued and parenting skills are enhanced.
Services
- Facilities
- Health Services
- Parenting Services
- Counseling Services
- Vocational/Educational Services
- Facilities
At St. Agnes Family Center, each resident has a private single room with a shared bathroom facility. Nursery, kitchen, dining room and recreation rooms are group rooms. The cleanliness and maintenance of every resident's room and of all common areas is the responsibility of each resident and is in the interests of the health and well being of all who live here. Laundry facilities are available for use on a scheduled basis. The goal of the residential living program is to develop each young woman's ability to get along with others in a group living situation and to develop the life skills necessary for independent living. St. Agnes Family Center is a smoke free environment.
- Health Services
Residents of St. Agnes Family Center receive their health care at St. Francis Health Care or at other health care service providers as recommended by the Health and Parenting Services Director. On admission, each resident is registered at the appropriate hospital clinic. Regularly scheduled medical appointments for pregnant residents, and mothers and babies are conducted at the hospital by the qualified professional staff there. Our residents must agree to medical treatment at that facility and they are required to sign a release of information form so that SAFC will have access to the resident's current medical information.
A physician will oversee the medical care our residents receive in the Adolescent, Pediatric, and Ob/Gyn Clinics, consulting with the Directors of these clinics as appropriate. The doctor will also oversee the health care of the residents of St. Agnes Family Center and the agency's medical care policies. An RN on staff, as Health Care Coordinator, has responsibility for monitoring the residents' health care. A Nurse Practitioner in Pediatrics at St. Francis is also available as a consultant.
- Parenting Services
As a licensed maternity home, the program focus is adolescent parenting. The RN oversees all of the parenting services, including parent education as taught by a certified parent educator which begins with instruction in basic baby care immediately upon admission and adds ongoing age-appropriate developmental activities/assessments. Parenting assessments are completed with all residents upon admission and at specific intervals during residency in order to determine changes in the teen mom’s parenting attitudes/abilities. Ongoing assessment of the adolescent mother’s attachment to her infant and of her ability to parent is provided by trained residential staff to insure optimum care plans for the infant as well as the adolescent mother. Childbirth education is required of all prenatal residents. Day care is provided for all residents and is designed to model appropriate use of community-based day care for our residents.
- Case Management/Counseling Services
Our Social Worker coordinates the referral process, working with the resident, referring worker and family members in order to develop a treatment plan which is then monitored at 90 day progress meetings where ongoing assessments of the resident’s progress toward independent skills is reviewed. Residents are required to take part in counseling, and all prenatal residents discuss adoption as an option for their infants with counseling staff.
- Vocational/Educational Services
The Education Coordinator will meet with every resident upon admission and assist her with enrollment in an educational program that meets her interests and abilities. At St. Agnes Family Center, all prenatal residents participate in regular academic subjects as offered in-house, through the West Hartford Board of Education's Homebound Instructor program. Also offered to prenatal residents is a vocational program that includes typing, office procedures and introduction to word processing. Preparation for high school equivalency exams, or pursuit of independent study with a selected curriculum, can be utilized if indicated. Postnatal program residents have the option of attending local schools or entering specific training programs that best meet their educational needs.
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