Northwest Arkansas organization adds teen father support groups in Rogers high schools

Fathers make up almost 20 percent of those in First Steps

Jaylee Kelley and wife, Madalyn, play Wednesday with their son Payton in their Fayetteville apartment. Teen fathers in Northwest Arkansas, such as Kelley, have limited parental support resources. The Teen Action and Support Center is working on a teen father mentor group to change that.
Jaylee Kelley and wife, Madalyn, play Wednesday with their son Payton in their Fayetteville apartment. Teen fathers in Northwest Arkansas, such as Kelley, have limited parental support resources. The Teen Action and Support Center is working on a teen father mentor group to change that.

Teen Madalyn Kelley prepared for motherhood with family guidance and help from a local pregnancy center. Jaylee Kelley, now her husband, hasn't found support specific to his needs as a teen father.

Jaylee Kelley declined a full scholarship to the University of Central Arkansas to become a husband and father who works full time to support a family. His son Payton is 8 months old.

First Steps

Any person in Northwest Arkansas age 13-20 who is parenting or pregnant may apply for services, including case management and donations, from the nonprofit Teen Action & Support Center. Those interested can call (479) 636-8272 to set up an appointment or fill out a First Steps parent application at tascnwa.org/first_s….

Source: Staff report

"I don't think I'll ever be completely prepared," Jaylee Kelley said. "I think I'll always be on my toes and ready for whatever happens next -- or try to be, at least."

The Teen Action & Support Center, which sponsors programs for parents up to age 20 in Benton and Washington counties, plans to expand a support group program for fathers in the fall, said Jennifer Krein, the center's director of education and resources. The Rogers-based nonprofit group has been working with pregnant and parenting teens in Northwest Arkansas for about 10 years through its First Steps program. It started focusing on fathers' unmet needs last year.

"I think we are seeing more fathers who are connecting to their children and being present in their life, and I think that we need to have more services that can support them in doing that," Krein said.

Krein doesn't know of any local services primarily for teen fathers, she said. Many pregnancy and parent organizations will serve teen fathers, but market to mothers, she said.

Arkansas had the highest teen birth rate in the country in 2016, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency reported 34.6 per 1,000 teens ages 15-19 gave birth that year.

Last school year, 118 Northwest Arkansas teen parents or soon-to-be parents participated in First Steps programs, Krein said. Fathers made up almost 20 percent.

The teen center's staff started partnering this past school year with Ashley Glass-Brown, a career and technical education teacher in the Springdale School District, to pilot a peer support group for teen fathers, Krein said. Glass-Brown teaches at the Archer Learning Center in Springdale, an alternative program for high school students who learn better outside of a traditional school setting or need to catch up on credits. She invited students to attend weekly meetings.

Conversation focused on problems unique to fathers, and speakers discussed barriers that might keep a father from succeeding, such as lack of paternity rights and education, Glass-Brown said.

More groups are planned with help from school officials at Rogers High School and Heritage High School, Krein said. Support groups should teach fathers to balance responsibilities and remain present long-term.

"We have exceptional teen dads," Krein said. "Some of them are working two jobs and going to high school trying to graduate to build a future, as well as be around and be present in their child's life."

Legal, financial guidance

Many young fathers are unaware of their paternity rights, making it difficult to stay involved, Glass-Brown said.

If a child is born to unmarried parents, the biological father's name only appears on the birth certificate if parents complete an acknowledgement of paternity form, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

The form establishes the biological father as the legal father and can be used in court to establish visitation or custody.

Teen fathers who Glass-Brown works with often face conflicts with their child's mother or her family, she said. A legal aid has visited the support group at the Archer center each month to help the fathers understand paternity rights and other issues.

"I've met some teen dads who are amazing with their children, but hardly see them because they don't have rights," Krein said.

The number of two-parent households has been in decline since the 1960s, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 23 percent of children last year lived in a single-mother households, 4 percent lived in a single-father households and 4 percent lived with someone other than their parents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Custodial parents and their children in single-parent households are more likely to live in poverty, the Census Bureau reported in January.

Shane Sturdivant, who mentored fathers in the Archer support group, said he hopes multiple organizations will partner to provide continual support for teen fathers. Sturdivant is executive director of Micah's House NWA, which provides services for men ages 18-25 who have aged out of foster care.

Sturdivant thinks young fathers need money management skills and positive male role models who will advocate for them and hold them accountable.

"They need to be surrounded by a lot of men. They need to be surrounded by men who will walk all the way through this with them," he said.

Father figures

Jaylee and Madalyn Kelley had discussed marriage before 19-year-old Madalyn became pregnant in March 2017 in her senior year, Jaylee Kelley said. They married soon after graduating from Pea Ridge High School and live in Fayetteville.

Jaylee decided college would take too much time and money away from his new family, so he enlisted in the military out of high school, he said. He was discharged in September because of an injury and has since shifted his focus to working closer to home.

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Jaylee Kelley watches son Payton play Wednesday in their Fayetteville apartment. Jaylee decided college would take too much time and money away from his new family, so he enlisted in the military out of high school, he said. He was discharged in September because of an injury and has since shifted his focus to working closer to home.

"I don't really want to miss him growing up and miss the opportunities that I'll never get again," he said.

Jaylee doesn't have someone he trusts for fatherly advice, he said. His father-in-law lives out of town, and he's estranged from his father, he said.

"None of my friends have gone through it, so there's no one that I can really lean toward," he said.

Identifying teen fathers who might benefit from the support group has been a challenge, Glass-Brown said. Fathers are less likely come forward and not easily recognizable.

The fathers involved in First Step programs with the Teen Action & Support Center show a hope and a desire to learn how to parent, Krein said. Center staff rely on school counselors, social workers and teachers to connect them with students who might want to participate.

"They're around our teens and have that exposure, so we really need them to be our eyes and ears," Krein said.

This year's goals for the support groups involve enlisting mentors who will attend 80 percent of meetings and build consistent relationships with the fathers, Krein said. The center plans to be part of eight meetings in schools each month.

NW News on 08/05/2018

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