Supports and Services for Expectant and Parenting Youth in Foster Care - Pennsylvania

Date: October 2025

Youth's Parental Rights
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

In policy: Pennsylvania statutes and regulations do not offer specific guidance on the rights and obligations of the noncustodial parent of a child residing with the parent in a residential facility/program. Guidance offered in policy does not preclude services being offered to a father wishing to reside in a parenting program with his young child.

Information and education related to the role, rights, and responsibilities of the noncustodial parent helps support the potential for continuity of relationships for the infant/toddler and productive visitation experiences. It may also increase understanding of the value of developing/maintaining healthy relationships between the parents.

Placement Options
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

A 'specialized setting for pregnant, expecting, and parenting youth' is a licensed child residential facility that incorporates and demonstrates implementation of the specialized settings program standards in providing prenatal, postpartum, and parenting supports for youth while promoting the safety, permanence, and well-being of the youth and his or her child. The facility program description and programming must serve only youth who are pregnant, expecting, or parenting.

A certified specialized setting for pregnant, expecting, and parenting youth allows the youth and his or her infant to return or stay in the same setting following delivery, maintaining supports and relationships.

Health Services 
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

Specific heath-care considerations must ensure that the medical needs of pregnant youth are met in a consistent manner and that youth have information about options available to them to support their involvement in their health-care plan. Pregnant youth present special health-care considerations, including postpartum needs, which must be specifically addressed in the program description and service planning.

The facility must ensure that all pregnant youth receive comprehensive prenatal care, including the following:

  • Assisting the youth in scheduling an initial appointment and providing transportation to appointments as scheduled by the medical caregiver
  • Addressing special dietary considerations identified by the medical caregiver 
  • Monitoring and documenting the frequency and scheduling of appointments or testing as determined by the medical caregiver 
  • Ensuring that arrangements for the birth of the infant are made by the end of the first trimester or by the second prenatal visit if the youth enters the facility after the first trimester
  • Ensuring that a staff member or volunteer accompanies the youth to the hospital or birthing center when she is ready to deliver and that the staff member or volunteer remains with the youth at least until health care personnel are assigned to her
  • Allowing the youth to request that family members also be present at the birth
  • Ensuring that the youth is connected to individual and group community-based resources and services, including, but not limited to, the following:
    • Nurse Family Partnership or other early home visiting programs
    • Parenting education groups
    • Other public benefit programs and supports

Parent Preparation for Expectant Youth
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

Specialized settings for pregnant, expecting, and parenting youth must provide guidelines addressing how the parent in placement will be informed of parental obligations, including both parent's legal rights to information and contact with the child. The program description must also include written guidelines to engage the parent in discussions regarding establishing paternity, and the noncustodial parent's legal and visitation rights with the child. Other issues that should be discussed include the following:

  • How the parent can appropriately deal with future questions he or she may have about the other parent
  • How the parent can best manage visitation arrangements with the child's other parent
  • Potential legal implications based on the age differential between the parents
  • Specialized settings policies that ensure that custody orders are followed and support the parent in care to recognize the other parent's right to visitation
  • Specialized settings policies that address onsite visitation by the other parent who may be a minor child

Education and Services to Support Parenting Youth
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

Specialized settings for pregnant, expecting, and parenting youth must provide information to parenting youth about the following:

  • Age-appropriate stimulation, games, and other recreational activities for the infant
  • Child care options, subsidies, and selection of appropriate caregivers for the child
  • Infant health and nutritional care, including infant feeding options, including, if the mother expresses interest in breast feeding her infant, the following:
    • Education and support for her, preferably with a nurse, to offer consistent breastfeeding advice
    • Exploration of insurance coverage for a breast pump for nursing mothers
    • Staff encouragement to the nursing mother and if they are not successful, reassurance that it is acceptable to use formula
    • Proper storage of breast milk and prepared formula
  • Changes in relationships between parenting youth and family members
  • Dealing with the parenting youth's feelings about the relationship with the other (noncustodial) parent of the infant
  • Age-appropriate discipline
  • Best parenting practices
  • Appropriate installation and use of a car seat 
  • Education for the parent about his or her child's educational needs, education obligations and opportunities, and the differences between preschool and daycare and the value of both
  • How to initiate and maintain connections to community-based resources and programs supporting the parenting youth in this caregiver role
  • Health education and physical care for infants/toddlers (including nutritional needs), physical and mental health needs, pregnancy prevention, personal care, hygiene, personal grooming, physiological changes experienced during pregnancy and childbirth, sexually responsible behavior, and pediatric cardio-pulmonary resuscitation

The issue of assisting parenting youth in finishing high school is not addressed in the laws and policies reviewed. For information on assisting youth in foster care complete high school, see Educational Supports for Youth in Foster Care - Pennsylvania | Child Welfare Information Gateway.
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Economic and Concrete Supports 
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

Specialized settings program descriptions for pregnant, expecting, and parenting youth must address how the physical site is configured to meet the safety needs of the youth and his or her child. Special physical site considerations include the following: 

  • Protective covers for all electrical outlets accessible to infants 
  • Protective guards for hot water pipes and other sources of heat that are accessible to children
  • Anchors for top-heavy and unsteady furniture
  • Safety gates for stairs, ramps, balconies, porches or elevated play areas
  • Safety gates to block steps in all outdoor areas 

The facility shall provide a crib for each infant under 18 months of age. Safe sleeping practices as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics must be followed. The facility shall provide a crib or bed for each toddler 18 months of age or older. Cribs must meet current industry safety standards. Crib mattresses must fit snugly, and each infant must have a fitted sheet covering the crib mattress for his or her exclusive use.

Appropriately sized car seats must be securely installed and correctly used, in accordance with State law, whenever transporting an infant/toddler.

Services and Supports for Parenting Youth That Promote Self-Sufficiency
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

Specialized settings for youth who are pregnant, expecting, or parenting must provide parenting education and an expanded life skills curriculum focused on parenting skill development. The program for preparing the parenting youth for self-sufficiency includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Instruction in food preparation, including food shopping and child nutrition
  • Career planning and job training, including, but not limited to, discussion of entry level requirements for job openings in the community and assistance in obtaining the skills and qualifications for these positions
  • Financial training, including the following:
    • Money management and banking
    • Loans and interest rates
    • Fraud and cyber protection
    • Budgeting
    • Credit recovery
    • W-2s and income taxes
    • Leases, agreements, contract language, and reading the fine print 
  • Life Skills, including the following:
    • Laundry
    • Hygiene and personal care 
    • Living space maintenance 
    • Locating affordable housing 
    • Using public transportation

Foster Care Prevention Strategy for any Child Born to the Youth
Citation: OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03

Many infants in these programs are not adjudicated dependent or under the care and responsibility of the county child welfare agency (CCYA). In these cases, primary responsibility for addressing the health-care needs of the infant must be assumed by the parent, but the facility staff maintains responsibility to monitor, document, and support the parent in meeting the health-care needs of the youth's child. All programs certified as specialized settings for pregnant, expecting, and parenting youth must implement specific policies addressing health and safety planning for the infant in care that address the following items:

  • Documentation of assessments of the health and development of the infant 
  • Monitoring weight gain, developmental services, nutritional plan, milestones, and overall plan for medical care
  • Discussion with the youth about sharing information regarding the infant's health with facility staff, especially if the infant is not under the care and responsibility of the CCYA
  • Assessments and referral (if appropriate) for early intervention services
  • Immunization schedule and well-baby medical appointments
  • Documentation of referral to Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, Infants, and Children 
  • Assessment of interest in the child by the noncustodial parent, including whether the infant's paternity has been legally established when the father is the noncustodial parent
  • Assessment of the youth's parenting capabilities, including, but not limited to, his or her ability to feed and play with the infant, provide for the infant's grooming, provide for medical care, and use child care responsibly
  • Staff use of a parenting checklist to regularly review the health, safety, and development of the infant with the parent
  • How the facility will ensure that each parent obtains and follows a written plan developed with the infant's health-care provider regarding the feeding schedule, specific formula, nutritional needs, and introduction of new foods
  • How the facility will ensure that each parent obtains education related to safe sleeping practices (no cosleeping) and safe baby bathing techniques