Young mothers face long waits at teen-parent units

Funding restrictions are forcing young mothers onto waiting lists for Teen Parent Units.

A Teen Parent Unit (TPU) is a state-funded learning centre that helps students who are pregnant or young parents continue their high school education.

Out of the 367 secondary schools in New Zealand, only 24 have TPUs and most only have room for 30 or 40 young parents at any one time.

New Zealand has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the OECD, with 28.4 per 1,000 births to women aged 15-19 years.

Chairperson for the Association of Teen Parent Educators New Zealand (APTENZ), Terri Cunningham, said while “we are doing pretty well, we could be doing better”.

With a ratio of one staff member to every 10 students, some TPUs say there are waiting lists of half a dozen young women at any given time, impacting access to their education.

The Ministry of Education covers all TPU facilities across the country, and individual units receive different levels of funding.

Ministry of Education criteria for establishing a TPU is based on community need, whether there are enough students to sustain it, proximity to an early childcare centre and how a host-school would be affected.

TPU funding is then given to its host-school, and finances are externally controlled.

This is broken down further by taking into consideration the funding needs and criteria of each individual student on the roll at a TPU.

A teacher at the He Whare Manaaki Tangata TPU in Levin, Misty Sciascia, said the issues around funding come down to a case-by-case basis.

“Every student comes with a different set of criteria. What kind of criteria they meet depends on what funding they get from Work and Income or Life to the Max, and that depends on how much the Ministry cover us, or don’t. There’s a process.”

He Whare Manaaki Tangata is in a unique position. It is funded for 35 students and currently only has 18 students on the roll. Ms Sciascia said this is partially because they are a “young” facility.

“It takes a long time for the community to recognise that you [as a TPU] exist.”

A spokesperson from He Tuarahi Tamaraki, a TPU in Wellington, said it constantly has a waiting list, and applicants face wait times.

Eden Campus in Auckland is funded for 25 students, but this can extend upward to 30 if there are more applicants.

Each person on the waiting list for a TPU misses out on services that may be difficult for them to source outside of a school system, such as healthcare and counselling, as well as budgeting and parenting courses.

For a pregnant teen or young mum, these units provide more than just their education. They become their support system.

Nineteen-year-old Sarai Selwyn had her son two years ago, and attended the He Wero o nga Wahine TPU while she was pregnant.

“I really didn’t want to drop out [of school], I wanted to finish my education.

“It was amazing. They were really focused on your goals and getting you to where you need to be. They help you with your academic studies all while teaching you about becoming a parent as well.”

Ms Selwyn said TPUs would benefit a lot from more community and government support, and more TPUs are needed.