The Hennepin County Teen Parent Connection is excited to annouce that the Otto Bremer Foundation awarded the Hennepin County Teen Parent Connection with a $40,000 grant to continue our projects! Please help us send off Barry, a long time advocate and member of the HCTPC, to his next adventure in Colorado. Barry's hardwork as a social worker with teen parents in Hennepin County will be greatly missed. We would like to invite you to also check out our partner spot light, which includes teen parent programming from FamilyWise and Way to Grow.

1. SAVE THE DATE!!!
Hennepin County Teen
Parent Connection
Supporting teen mothers, fathers and their children in Hennepin County
Next HCTPC meeting
June 22, 2014
2 to 3:30 pm
Farewell to Barry
Party!!!
Refreshments will be served!
----------------
Lutheran Social Services
2400 Park Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN
J U N E 2 0 1 5
The Hennepin County Teen Parent
Connection is a collaborative
consisting of professionals working
with teen mothers and fathers and
their children. Its goal is to develop
and implement a comprehensive
coordinated system of evidence-based
best practices care for all pregnant and
parenting teens and their children in
Hennepin County.
Otto Bremer Foundation Awards HCTPC a Grant!
The Hennepin County Teen Parent Connection has been awarded a grant
of $40,000 to continue its work this year. This funding will enable us to
carry out the goals we set for ourselves a few years ago. Because of this
funding, our work must ramp up and we will need dedicated committee
members. Committees needing members: Quality Standards of Care;
Referrals and Common Consent; Teen Parent Housing; Teen Parent
Input; and Advocacy. Please go to our web site to see a brief description
of the work of these committees. www.hennepintpc.org
State and Local Support for
Teen Mothers, Fathers and their Children
On April 27, state and local policy-makers showed their support for our
work by speaking at our annual policy meeting. Hennepin County
Commissioner Jan Callison lead the speaking line-up by Minnesota
Department of Human Services Commissioner, Lucinda Jesson outlined
the support her department provides and plans to provide for this
population. Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Brenda
Cassellius followed up by sharing her personal story of poverty and
being raised by a teen parent, and the help she received to break the
cycle. Both state commissioners urged those of us working with teen
parent families to advocate for what we know will help.
For those who haven’t heard, longtime Hennepin
County teen parent social worker, Barry Neinstadt, is leaving Minnesota
for a new life in Colorado. Barry has been a strong advocate for both
individual teen parents and the HCTPC work for many years. We will
miss his wisdom and guidance terribly! Please join us in wishing him a
fond farewell at the next HCTPC meeting on June 22 at 2pm.
Barry Neinstadt is off to New Adventures

2. 2
HENNEPIN COUNTY TEEN PARENT CONNECTION JUNE 2015
FamilyWise has a range of programs and services designed
to educate and support parents with their everyday
challenges. They also offer First Step Early Childhood
Education Center, a licensed, accredited childcare center.
FamilyWise’s Young Parent program offers pregnant and
parenting youth ages 12-21 the opportunity to increase
parenting skills, social skills, independent living skills and
pregnancy prevention as well as awareness of physical,
chemical and mental health.
The program consists of 20 weeks of group meetings and
case management services followed by 2 months of
aftercare. Teaching methods include lecture, group
discussion, problem solving, videos, role-playing, art
projects, and hands-on activities. The program also
includes a parent-child interaction coaching component to:
• Enhance parent-child relationships
• Improve parenting skills
• Decrease problematic behaviors observed in the child
• Reduce risk for child abuse
Participants must be pregnant or parenting mothers or
fathers age 12-21 who have the desire to develop their
parenting and independent living skills. Youth currently on
probation, living in out-of-home placement, or are part of
family systems involved with child protection or probation
are also eligible.
This program is free to participants. Email questions and
referrals to avonrueden@familywiseservices.org or call
612.877.7834. Please send faxes to 612 617-0193.
FamilyWise’s Bright Beginnings program consists of one-
to-one mentoring program for pregnant and parenting
teens. Young women are matched with caring, supportive
adult mentors for one year or more. Mentors contact the
teens weekly by phone and have in-person visits two times
per month. Goals for teens include participation in all
well-baby check-ups and enrollment and attendance in
school. Mentors assist with these goals and help the teen
access community resources. Once per month the mentors
and mentees attend a workshop that involve goal setting,
arts and crafts, and learning from a community speaker or
staff about a life skill or parenting topic chosen by the teen
mothers. Mentors typically provide mentees transportation
to the workshops. Teens receive case management support
from staff, a caring relationship with a mentor, and peer
support. They also receive education from monthly group
meetings focused on setting goals, building relationships,
and gaining knowledge of community resources.
•
Participants who are pregnant or parenting young
women ages 13-21 years old. The program is
voluntary but a minimum of one-year commitment is
requested. This program is free to participants. Email
questions and referrals to Anne VonRuden
avonrueden@familywiseservices.org or call 612 877-7826.
To make a referral, please complete an Agency
Referral Form. To become a mentor to a teen mom,
contact Julie Otto jotto@familywiseservices.org or
call 612.877.7826. Fax: 612.617.0193.
FamilyWise is a also member of the Supervised
Visitation Network (SVN), and provides a safe,
comfortable environment for parents and their
children to interact and play. The program offers
three different types of services: Supervised Parenting,
Monitored Parenting, Monitored Exchanges. There
are multiple visitation sites, depending on the need
and staffing, including locations in Minneapolis,
North Minneapolis, St. Paul, Lakeville, and Isanti.
Partner Spotlight:
Way to Grow offers parent support and leadership
opportunities, training in cooking, nutrition and
financial matters, and connections to community
resources.
The Dream Tracks Teen Parenting Program helps
teen parents prepare them for a successful life. By
reducing the number of additional pregnancies, and
motivating teen parents to complete their education,
we’re helping increase their chances of obtaining a
livable income and breaking the cycle of poverty. The
Dream Tracks program centers around:
• Educating young mothers on parenting,
healthy child development and pre-literacy
skills.
• Motivating and empowering teens to dream
about what their life—and their child’s life—
can be, and providing the tools to actively plan
for goal achievement.
• Providing a range of academic assistance.
• Introducing career planning and developing
strategies for building job skills.
• Providing opportunities to improve the
community through volunteerism while
gaining workforce experience.
Home visits and support groups are included. Open to
teen parents in Minneapolis. Professionals may
contact Ashley Eichelberger (612) 874-4740
aeichelberger@mplswaytogrow.org
Partner Spotlight:

3. 3
HENNEPIN COUNTY TEEN PARENT CONNECTION JUNE 2015
Teen Parent Housing
If you haven’t signed up on the list of supporters for teen parent housing, please do so now! Here is the link.
We have 258 names and our goal is 500 so please pass this on to your personal and professional networks!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Housing_Initiative
Housing News from DHS:
Currently, families on MFIP receive a monthly grant including cash and food portions. Beginning July 1,
2015, MFIP-eligible families will also receive a $110 MFIP Housing Assistance Grant unless: (a) An
assistance unit is currently receiving public housing or assisted rental subsidies (Section 8 vouchers) through
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) AND up to $50 of this assistance is counted as
unearned income. (b) An assistance unit is a child only case. (c) An assistance unit opted out of the MFIP
cash portion. (d) A case is closed.
MFIP-eligible, for the purpose of the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant includes families who are receiving
only the food portion of MFIP, and those whose grant has been reduced to $0 issuance (due to suspension).
For more information see http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/publications/documents/pub/dhs16_194994.pdf
Meeting Minutes
May 18, 2015
Present: Sue Fust, Barry Nienstadt, Caroline Schultz, Mary Black, Abby Johnson, Lisa Brown, Zack Tift, Lea
Dahl, Julie Otto, Ruth Heilard, Abbie Ahner, Joe Tran, Sharon H-Blythe, Ashley Eichelberger, Maya Sullivan,
Said Mohamed, Lillie Carlile, Nicki Murphy, Patti Kunene, Stephen Onell, Tina Breitenback, Anna Schmidt,
Emily Gus
The meeting started with introductions.
A presentation on FamilyWise programs from Mary Black and Julie Otto focused primarily on the mentoring
program. Information on FamilyWise’s teen parent programs is on page 2 of this newsletter.
Ashley Eichelberger presented Way to Grow’s teen parent program. Information on this program is on page 2 of
this newsletter.
Abby Johnson presented a report which documents the findings and statistical results of several focus teen parent
groups conducted by researchers at University of Minnesota Medical School (UMMS), Department of Pediatrics,
Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health. The report primarily concerns access and barriers to health
care. A copy is available on the HCTPC web site.
The Steering Committee presented information on HCTPC’s new grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation.
Committees will be revitalized and members were urged to sign up. Names were collected.

4. STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Jonette Lucia
Laura Knutson
Lisa Brown
Barry Nienstadt
Sue Fust
Caroline Schultz
Christine Hart
Said Mohamed
Patti Kunene
REMINDER:
Next Steering Committee meeting:
July 7 10 am
Hosmer Library
hennepintpc@gmail.com
www.hennepintpc.org