Teen Advocate Program: a unique assessment of case management.

The Teen Advocate Program is a case management demonstration project developed with a block grant from the Maternal and Child Health Section of the Louisiana Department of Health. Family Counseling of East Baton Route Parish, a community-based agency, was contracted to develop outreach services for high risk adolescents. The purpose of the program is to provide structure, advocacy, and coordination, empowering teens to use primary and preventive health care providers. The initial referral base of clients was provided from a clinic of teen mothers and their infants, and an adolescent family planning clinic, both located at the East Baton Rouge Parish Health Unit. This interdisciplinary case management outreach services makes this model unique because it offers an organized, structured preventive health care intervention to teens at high risk of becoming pregnant. Goal attainment scales developed revealed that 96% of the study population improved. Sixty-seven percent have good attendance at clinics. Among the client population of teen mothers, there has only been a 4% repeat pregnancy rate. For the first six months of existence, there were no documented pregnancies among the adolescent seeking contraceptive counseling. The study results confirmed the positive influence of case management in preventing adolescent pregnancy. This model is being expanded to address other high risk adolescent behaviors.