MCH Section member Randi Rubenstein has launched the non-profit organization Education for Successful Parenting (ESP), to provide pre-parenting education to adolescents before they conceive a child.  Tackling health risk factors for children at their pre-conception source, the ESP program is health-oriented and science-based.  Topics include:

·         Perils of teen parenting.

·         Risks of prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs.

·         Fatherhood roles.

·         Safe haven laws to prevent baby abandonment.

·         Prenatal care and the importance of folic acid.

·         Child abuse prevention.

The ESP pre-parenting education program has been consistently well-received among diverse youth populations, including foster youth, incarcerated teens, and recovering teens, as well as public school adolescents enrolled in health education and family life classes.  As a result of participating in the program, over 90 percent of participating students report they are more inclined to wait before becoming a parent, and they feel better prepared to provide, protect and nurture a child when they do become parents.

In partnership with the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion, the Orange County Department of Education, and the USC School of Social Work, ESP is trail-blazing a new approach to improving the well-being of children.  Copies of the ESP student workbook, My Life Plan for Parenting, are available on the ESP Web site, www.eduparents.org. Ms. Rubenstein also welcomes questions via e-mail at rrubenstein@eduparents.org and by phone at (949) 646-6016.