Success for Life

Because teen and young adult families are generally at a higher risk for abusing and neglecting their children, Success For Life, a Prevention and Early Intervention Family Strengthening program was developed to provide comprehensive services through the provision of support/referral services, case management, parent education, mentoring and marriage/relationship skills training. Services are provided through group meetings, in-home visits and middle and high school class presentations.

The specific goal of the Success For Life program is to increase the functioning of teen and young adult parents, thus decreasing incidence of child abuse, neglect and generational poverty. This goal is accomplished through education, support and advocacy. With support, young parents are able to translate education and insight into life style and goals that have a lasting effect on the future of the child and young family.


Many teen and young adult parents do not have appropriate models nor the necessary parenting skills needed to make good decisions concerning the well-being of their children. According to the Child Welfare League of America, children born to teen mothers tend to have higher levels of incarceration and higher rate of adolescent childbearing themselves. Without intervention, one-forth of teen mothers have a second child within two years of their first. According to Beyond ABC: Growing Up in Dallas - Texas has the second highest rate of teen births in the nation.


Success For Life provides assistance with the management of crisis situations. Case managers and mentors are assigned to young families where there is:

• risk for child abuse/neglect
• risk for a parent dropping out of high school
• risk for a parent abandoning the family

Success For Life recognizes the importance of the role of the young father in the life of his child. The young father's good intensions of providing for his child financially and emotionally can only be realized through education and development of appropriate parenting skills. When empowered with adequate tools and confidence, young fathers will interact meaningfully and lovingly with their children. With adequate support young mothers and fathers, become and remain competent and nurturing parents.

The Success For Life program is funded by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.