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205 12th Street SE Cedar_Rapids,_IA_52404 (319) 364-8909
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The mission of Young Parents Network, an agency dedicated to adolescent pregnancy prevention and prenatal and parent education, is to empower teens, young adults, and young families, through the development of basic life skills, leading to positive outcomes. YPN focuses on the development of four basic life skills:
We believe these skills are essential for youth and families to strengthen our community. |
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| TIMELINE | |||
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Young Parents Network was founded in 1985, with support from Mercy Medical Center. In 1988, “seed money” to support the Young Fathers group was received from the Hall Perrine Foundation. Since that time, the agency has grown significantly, providing expanded programming to a wider service area. Beginning in 1985 with one program, the Young Moms group, YPN has grown to serve over 14,000 young parents, children and youth during FY ’06
YPN is a
fiscally responsible agency, utilizing volunteers and resources to provide
quality services to an ever-growing number of clients at a low cost-per-client
ratio. Our achievements are
attributable to diversifying services true to our mission, allowing us to reach
a greater number of people with the important message of parent education and
teen pregnancy prevention.
Young
Parents Network fills a large void in our community, and surrounding rural
communities, by offering prenatal and parenting education and support, plus
pregnancy prevention programming, to a very high risk population of youth, young
parents and their children. All of the services YPN offers to this area and the
rural counties we serve are unique and one of a kind. Services benefit the very
young children of these parents by preventing child abuse & neglect,
preventing low birth weight infants, and decreasing the number of children being
raised in single parent homes in poverty.
YPN’s
group services, and in-home based programming, for pregnant and parenting teens
and young adults are offered through the Prenatal and Parenting Program (Young
Moms and Young Dads) in Cedar Rapids, and through the Outreach Services Program
in Benton, Iowa, and Jones counties. The in-home based program, Parents as
Teachers (PAT), serves families with children ages 0-5 who receive personal
visits from a Certified Parent Educator, within Benton, Iowa, Jones and Linn
Counties. |
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YPN’s Youth
Development Program is dedicated to offering abstinence education to area youth.
The program targets, but is not limited to serving 6th through 12th
grade youth in Linn, Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, and Washington counties. The main focus of
this programming is to provide information and the opportunity for youth to
develop or enhance life skills in an attempt to reduce the rate of teen
pregnancy.
YPN over
the years has established a strong network of referrals and collaborations.
Partnerships include but are not limited to: Mercy Medical Center and Mercy
Medical Center Family Practice Center, St Luke’s Hospital, HACAP, Area
Substance Abuse Council, Metro High School, JTPA/Promise Jobs, Grant Wood AEA,
ISU Extension, Department of Human Services, Linn County OB-GYN, the Taylor
Family Resource Center and local school districts. YPN serves on the Linn County
Empowerment Parent Education Consortium, the Family Resource Development
Association, and Partnership for Safe Families, and collaboratively provides
parent education programs for moms and dads throughout Linn County.
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In July 2005, Young Parents Network and Four Oaks announced a collaboration to benefit area children and families. YPN entered an affiliation agreement with Four Oaks which provides many benefits to the local communities served by these two not-for-profit agencies. The affiliation allows YPN to leverage resources by sharing business services, with a shared focus on prevention programming enhancements. With this unified effort YPN will be able to make scarce resources go farther and do what is most important, serving more children and families. |
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| BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2007-2008 | |
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Kent Baker,
United Fire Group
Ron Bode,
Gazette Communications
Matt Carstens,
Bradley & Riley P.C.
Carol Cassells,
Educational Service Center
Bernardo Gauna,
Alliant Energy
Julia Hawkins,
Mercy Care Community Physicians
Kent Jackson,
St. Luke’s Hospital
Karl Keeler,
Mercy Medical Center
Brad Kiburz,
Rinderknecht & Associates |
Julie Ligtenberg,
Deloitte Tax Ida Martin Sorensen, St. Luke’s Family Health Center
Dana Nichols,
Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust
Jane Pate,
Ament, Inc.
Ron Pins,
Wells Fargo Business Banking
Jason Rexroth,
Linn County OB/GYN P.C.
James Shipman, Simmons, Perrine, Albright & Ellwood, P.L.C.
Dan Thies,
OPN Architects Brooke Willey, Yellow Book USA |
| BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2007-2008 | |
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Terri Christoffersen, Community Volunteer
Dana Ehrhart, Community Volunteer
Brad Hart, Bradley & Riley, P.C.
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Sue Olson, Community Volunteer
Nancy Penner, Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C. |
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