	Pregnancy Support Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PS 8: Education Services

Educational and skill-building activities help expectant parents reach their highest level of personal functioning, experience healthy births, prepare for family life, meet the responsibilities of parenthood, and care for their children.

Interpretation: Services should help expectant parents build skills, gain confidence in their personal abilities, increase their self-esteem, and develop their sense of control, choice, and empowerment.

NA The organization provides only Pregnancy Options Counseling or Birth Options Counseling.

PS 8.01

Expectant parents are educated and counseled about positive personal development and self-sufficiency, including:

personal growth and maturity;
interpersonal relations and communication;
future goals and aspirations, including those related to education and employment;
managing and coping with stress, including stress related to the pregnancy;
problem-solving and decision-making;
time, budget, and household management; and
effectively using available community resources.

PS 8.02

Expectant parents are educated about the following prenatal health topics:

fetal growth and development;
the importance of prenatal care;
nutrition and proper weight gain;
appropriate exercise;
medication use during pregnancy;
effects of tobacco and substance use on fetal development;
what to expect during labor and delivery; and
benefits of breastfeeding.

Interpretation: These topics may be addressed by qualified medical personnel in the context of the prenatal health care referenced in PS 7.01.

PS 8.03

Expectant parents are educated about the following child development and child-rearing topics:

caring for newborns, infants, and young children;
health and nutritional needs of newborns, infants, and young children;
cognitive and physical development of newborns, infants, and young children;
environmental safety and injury prevention;
parent-child interactions; and
age-appropriate behavioral expectations and appropriate discipline for children.

NA The organization does not serve expectant parents who plan to parent their children.

PS 8.04

Expectant parents' characteristics, such as race, culture, ethnicity, language, age, developmental level, and literacy level, are taken into consideration when choosing or designing educational resources.

PS 8.05

When educational activities are provided in a group setting, services:

emphasize group learning and sharing;
respond flexibly to the changing needs of group members; and
are scheduled with participants’ time commitments in mind.

Interpretation: Although some skills may be taught formally in a classroom context, program personnel should also engage expectant parents through more experiential methods, such as coaching and role modeling, that are designed to actively involve participants and help them personalize the information they are taught.

NA The organization does not provide education services in a group setting.

PS 8.06

Group programs provide participants with opportunities to:

contribute by sharing their experiences;
listen to and learn from those who are similar to and different from themselves;
develop positive relationships with others;
assume responsibilities and develop leadership capacities; and
participate in activities of interest.

NA The organization does not provide education services in a group setting.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Individuals who participate in Pregnancy Support Services learn about parenthood, make informed decisions about their pregnancies, stay healthy, and pursue their educational and vocational goals.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	EMPOWERMENT The process of helping individuals, families, groups, or communities to increase their personal, interpersonal, political, social, and/or economic strength or position and to develop influence that may impact their circumstances.


	PREGNANCY OPTIONS COUNSELING Counseling services designed to help pregnant individuals make decisions about all possible options for a pregnancy including and not limited to parenting, adoption or other transfer of custody, and termination. See also BIRTH OPTIONS COUNSELING.


	BIRTH OPTIONS COUNSELING Counseling services designed to help pregnant individuals make decisions about options for birth, including and not limited to parenting and adoption or other transfer of custody. Organizations providing Birth Options Counseling do not provide information and counseling about pregnancy termination. See also PREGNANCY OPTIONS COUNSELING.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	MEDICATION A prescribed or over-the-counter drug that is injected, taken orally, applied topically, or otherwise administered.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	PREVENTION Actions taken to minimize and/or eliminate social, psychological, or other conditions. Prevention can occur at the individual, group, community, and societal levels and enhances opportunities to achieve positive fulfillment.


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION


	INFANT A child aged one year and under.


	ETHNICITY An orientation toward and identification with a population group that shares national origin, religion, race, or language.


	PROGRAM PERSONNEL All direct service and administrators or supervisors of direct services that are involved in the operation of the organization's social service programs. "Program personnel" does not include MIS, accounting, facilities, clerical, or other staff that are not involved in the provision or oversight of direct services.


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	LEADERSHIP A nonprofit organization's leadership consists of its governing body, chief executive officer, and may also include its senior management. In a public agency the term refers to the agency head and administration team. The term "leadership" is not generally applied to for-profit organizations. With respect to COA standards, in for-profit organizations the term leadership applies to the owner and board of directors if one exists.