For some teen moms, Probation knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.
Last week, the Probation Department’s Teen Women And Their Children (WATCh) unit celebrated the success of 22 teenage mothers who have stayed drug-free through their pregnancy and delivered healthy babies. A holiday party that included Santa Claus and gifts for the babies was held at the Juvenile Probation Center in Kearny Mesa.
The Teen WATCh unit, started in 1994, intensely supervises pregnant girls on probation.
“I was doing bad before I got on it (Teen WATCh). It helped me get on track and helped me to not be selfish and to think of my daughter,” said Chellsea, 15.
Chellsea placed her 7-month-old daughter Bella, who was dressed as a baby elf, on Santa’s lap and tried to coax a smile out of her for pictures.
Chellsea said she had been doing drugs and was pregnant when she was arrested and taken into custody at juvenile hall. She was given her certificate of completion at the party for successfully finishing the program.
“The success rate since 1995 has been 100 percent. Every single baby has been born tox-free,” said Supervising Probation Officer Seccora Getty.
Probation Officer Carrie Solario supervises all the girls. Nine of the 22 girls enrolled in the program are currently pregnant, while the others have delivered their healthy babies and will remain in the program until the baby is 4 to 6 months old, she said. Probation enforces a zero tolerance policy for drug use or high risk behaviors which will result in immediate arrest and re-evaluation of case plan.
“We continue to monitor and drug test them after the baby is born, to ensure that the baby goes to wellness checks and the mother is taking prenatal vitamins because we want to ensure there’s no substances transferred to the babies,” said Kim Allen, deputy chief probation officer. Allen said the program provides substance abuse treatment and educates teen moms about the harmful effects of drugs on their bodies and their baby’s development.
Destinee, 16, bounced her 10-month-old son Aiden in her arms as he enjoyed a Christmas cookie. She said she has taken many classes to address her issues with drugs, anger management and running away.
“They taught me life skills,” Destinee said. “They educated me more on babies. It was really helpful.”
Destinee is one of the three teen moms who received a certificate at the party for successfully completing the program. The third one is Melissa, 18, who attended the festivities with her 4-month-old son Gonzalo.
“This program helped me a lot with my son, having a better relationship with my family and understanding responsibilities,” said Melissa. Previously, she never listened to her mother and has been on probation for two years now, she said.
Solario worked together with other probation employees to put gift bags together for the moms. Food and gifts were been donated for the party. Each teen mom took home a gift bag with a blanket, pillow, diapers, diaper wipes, baby clothes, and toys donated by Toys for Tots. The moms also got a print of the Santa photo with their baby.
Teen WATCh court personnel, including the judges, Sheriff’s deputies, staff from the offices of Public Defender and District Attorney, and other court staff attended the party. Teen WATCh is a collaborative, with multiple community agencies participating, including social services that work with Probation to help the girls succeed.
