KU School of Medicine-Wichita

It doesn't have to be that way, as children who are more economically secure — and whose fathers are involved in their lives — are likely to do better in school and have fewer behavioral problems. Those are issues that Sedgwick County LYFTE, a new joint program of the Center for Research for Infant Birth and Survival at KU School of Medicine-Wichita and the Sedgwick County Health Department, aims to confront by providing support and training to young mothers, fathers and parents-to-be while also connecting them to existing community resources. The support includes one-on-one meetings with a case manager, who is guided by the participant's priorities and helps them keep on track for their goals. The training involves an online "badge" system that educates them in health, job, parenting and other skills. The community resources include health care and insurance, child care, education, job training, safe sleep skills and more. LYFTE, for Lifting Young Families Towards Excellence, builds upon the expertise and experience CRIBS and KU School of Medicine-Wichita have gained through the Baby Talk prenatal program and other initiatives. The Sedgwick County Health Department brings similar expertise through its Healthy Babies program. "The focus of the LYFTE program is really on education and family sustainability," said Shawna Chapman of the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships & Research in Lawrence. "The goal is to get them to graduate from high school and think about going to college — maybe it's community college, maybe it's trade school, maybe it's a four-year university — and support them so they can do that, so when they're ready, they can go out and get that job and support themselves and their family." In addition to Sedgwick County, LYFTE has three other locations across the state: Geary County, Barton County and southeast Kansas, where there's a multi-county collaboration. LYFTE is funded by a grant from the federal Oce of Adolescent Health to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Bureau of Family Health, which contracts with the KU center in Lawrence to provide training, technical assistance and support for the program. As opposed to existing programs, which often have age, income and other restrictions, LYFTE has greater flexibility, being open to pregnant or parenting teens up to age 24 and children of any age. And, unlike others, it's open to fathers. It has four coordinators — case managers or navigators — with two based at KU School of Medicine-Wichita and two at the county health department. "There are other programs with a similar purpose that do a great job, but may have some restrictions in terms of who they serve and how long they can serve them," said Amanda Aguila, LYFTE maternal infant and health coordinator and one of the KU Wichita-based case managers. "LYFTE participants can be anyone who is in need. Not having those restrictions opens us up to oer services to those who aren't eligible for other programs or who want to continue to receive support beyond those services." 15 Just 4 in 10 teen mothers earn their high school diplomas. Teen fathers, too, are less likely to graduate and thrive in the working world. Their children often continue the cycle, achieving less in school and facing a higher risk of ending up in jail and having health problems. Guided training involves an online "badge" system that educates participants and promotes helpful life skills.

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