Friday, October 29, 1999
Parent Partners guide young moms
BY MARK CURNUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ada Walz was evicted from her Northside apartment this year. Cora Jeter helped her find a place in public housing.
Ms. Jeter also worked to get the oldest of Ms. Walz's four children, Charles, 3, into a Head Start class that can handle his aggressive behavior.
Ms. Jeter is not the Winton Terrace woman's mother or aunt. Nor is she a social worker or nurse.
Ms. Jeter is one of eight “parent partners” in a program that matches experienced mothers with women ages 19-24 who are pregnant with at least their second child.
The goal of the Parent Partner Program, funded by a grant through the Hamilton County Family and Children First Council, is to lower rates of child abuse and neglect among a high-risk population. The thinking is abuse and neglect are more likely when more children are in the home.
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HOW IT WORKS
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Eight staff members — women with no social work or nursing backgrounds — are paired with pregnant women ages 19-24 in three Cincinnati neighborhoods: Winton Place, Northside and North Fairmount. The caseload now is 118 women. The goal is to reduce incidents of child abuse and neglect.
Of the 25 open cases with Hamilton County Children's Protective services inherited by Parent Partner staff members, 11 have been closed and three are in the process of being closed. Two new cases have been reported by Parent Partner staff.
The three-year program has operated for two years and is funded by a grant through the Hamilton County Family and Children First Council. The Hamilton County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) provides a program director and part-time secretary.
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Parent Partner is also one of the most comprehensive in the national and regional trend in home visitation programs that are trying to inch the toughest welfare cases toward self-sufficiency.
But what makes Parent Partner different is the partners themselves. They are surrogate mothers where a mother is missing. Their authority comes from their life experiences. They've lived or live in the same communities. They've been on welfare. They've raised children by themselves. They're caring for grandchildren.
They're moms from the 'hood.
“She helps with everything,” Ms. Walz, a high school dropout who grew up in foster homes, said of Ms. Jeter. “She takes my kids to the clinic. She came to my dad's funeral when he died.”
Death and birth. Ms. Jeter was also in the delivery room when Ms. Walz gave birth the last two times. Each of the eight Parent Partner staff have been present when their clients have given birth; one staff member, Denice Cupp of Springfield Township, helped one of her clients deliver her child.
The father of Ms. Walz's children has been in and out of jail. He's serving time in the Hamilton County Justice Center.
That's the constant in each of the clients' lives — men who fail to live up to their responsibilities. They don't pay child support. They show up only at the first of the month when the woman receives her welfare check. They don't work. They are often abusive and violent.
“These women don't put enough demands on the men in their lives,” said Parent Partner staffer Stephanie Pollard, 32, of Lincoln Heights.
Ms. Jeter spends about 20 hours a month with Ms. Walz and her family. She has rounded up towels and sheets for Ms. Walz. She's now trying to find strollers that can hold at least two babies.
Ms. Jeter has her permission to move about the Winton Terrace apartment. On Tuesday afternoon,Ms. Jeter broke up a fight between 3-year-old Charles and one of his younger sisters. She has worked with Ms. Walz for two years. Her children call Ms. Jeter by the name Aunt Cora.
“We've set small goals, baby steps,” said Ms. Jeter, a 50-something divorced mother of four from Westwood. “I see growth in her. She wants to do better.”
Ms. Jeter is the oldest of the eight Parent Partner staff members. She also handles some of the toughest cases, the ones where hope is hardest to see.
“I go in and look for what I can do,” said Ms. Jeter, who was never on welfare but raised a son who is mentally retarded and autistic. She recently moved him into a group home.
“I pray a lot,” she said. “I always have a (Bible) verse in my head: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' The main thing is not to look at people as nothing. They all are precious to God. I look for good in people. When it's hard to see, I look at them and see Jesus.”
Beyond the emotional support, parent partners also supply client families with food, diapers and car seats.
Outside of the home, Parent Partner staff connect women to other community resources, such as public health clinics.
Armando Cortez, an obstetrician/gynecologist who works at least 20 hours a week in Cincinnati Health Department clinics, appreciates Parent Partner workers. He refers to Ms. Jeter, for one, as “Mother.”
“They're great because they get their clients into the clinics for prenatal checkups,” Dr. Cortez said. “I have the knowledge, but it is useless if the woman doesn't come in.”
There is a similar program in the Tristate, Resource Moms, created by the Northern Kentucky Independent Health District. It, too, pairs older mothers with younger ones to teach the importance of proper diet, prenatal care and not smoking during pregnancy.
Beyond their role as surrogate mothers, Parent Partner workers fill other family voids in their clients' lives.
Nieisha Ward, 25, of Fay Apartments, considers her partner as an older sister.
“She's my backbone,” said Ms. Ward, who's unmarried and expecting her third child in November. “I need her. She's somebody I can talk to when I have man problems.”
Her parent partner, Mia Baldwin, 31, of Winton Place, supported Ms. Ward's decision to finish her GED and enroll in Southwestern College of Business downtown to study phlebotomy.
In fact, Ms. Baldwin, also the mother of three young children, recently enrolled at the University of Cincinnati to study child development.
“I know how hard it is to go to school as a single mother,” said Ms. Baldwin, who's divorced.
Empathy is a bonding agent.
Ms. Baldwin's influence has also calmed down Ms. Ward, who says she has a temper. Two years ago, Ms. Ward was an open case with Children's Protective Services. Her case is now closed.
“I used to yell at my kids all the time. I was angry all the time. My mother was an alcoholic and drug abuser. I never had her attention,” Ms. Ward said. “I spend special time every day reading with my (7-year-old) son. I've learned how to discipline by taking away privileges.
“I've got plans now. I have to work hard. I want to get out of here (public housing). I want a safer place for my kids. My oldest boy wants a pool in the back yard.”
Empathy is a tool for some Parent Partner workers. Jackie Rivers, 28, of Northside, and a former welfare recipient, shows her clients the last food stamp she received. She has it framed on her desk.
Tough love is a favorite of staffer Diann Waller, 49, of North Fairmount.
One of her 20 clients is Takia Weathersby, 23, of Fay Apartments.
They began working together two years ago when Ms. Weathersby was pregnant for the second time. She has a daughter who's now 5.
Ms. Waller's first visit to the apartment found Ms. Weathersby sitting in the dark, crying, saying she didn't know if she wanted to live.
“I said, "Girl, you got to get some light in here,' and I threw open the blinds,” said Ms. Waller, who has four children and four grandchildren.
“I thought she was just trying to get into my business,” Ms. Weathersby said.
Participation in the program is voluntary. Clients invite parent partners into their lives and homes and can end the relationship at any time.
“I told Takia that if she wanted to get on with her life, I could help her,” Ms. Waller said.
She agreed. Then they got busy.
The older woman drove her downtown to clear up overdue utility bills. She helped her get all of the food stamps she was due; Ms. Weathersby's now off all public assistance. Ms. Waller also encouraged the Woodward High School dropout to pursue her GED, which Ms. Weathersby will complete by the end of the year.
A standard goal-setting exercise revealed that Ms. Weathersby wanted to work as a school bus driver. So she earned her commercial driver's license. She has driven for Ryder Public Transportation for a year.
Ms. Weathersby filled out an income tax form for the first time and was shocked to learn she had a $2,000 refund coming. She bought a car with it. Ms. Waller also showed Ms. Weathersby that she, not her daughter's father, should claim the child as a dependent.
After earning her GED, Ms. Weathersby wants to earn a degree in psychology and become a professional to help low-income people with the many emotional battles they face.
“I've got a lot of things I want to do,” Ms. Weathersby said. She sat on a chair in the living room of her apartment.
A smiling Ms. Waller sat across the room on a couch.
“Now I can sleep at night,” she said. “She's done got feisty now. She's going to be fine.”
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