Project Summary:
Young parents in Wisconsin face persistent maternal health and educational inequities, including delayed or inadequate prenatal care, higher rates of preterm birth and postpartum depression, and limited access to coordinated school-based support. In the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), school nurses and student service staff report high caseloads and inconsistent processes for identifying and supporting pregnant and parenting students, leaving many young parents without timely connection to health, mental health, and academic resources.
To address this need, MMSD, the Young Parent Collective (YPC), Public Health Madison & Dane County, and the Medical College of Wisconsin collaboratively developed the Pathways to Thrive model—a school-based, community-engaged framework that strengthens coordinated referral pathways, reduces stigma in professional practice, and expands access to maternal health, mental health, peer support, and academic and career planning. This project will expand the implementation of Pathways to Thrive in MMSD and build infrastructure to scale the model statewide. Activities include: strengthening coordinated systems of care; training school staff in stigma reduction and young parent engagement; merging district and public health data to better understand young parents' needs; and training young parents as research and evaluation fellows who will serve as co-designers, co-evaluators, and advocates.
Evaluation will track changes in access to early prenatal care, mental health supports, school engagement, and systems-level coordination. By deepening district–community partnerships and centering lived expertise, this project aims to reduce disparities in maternal and mental health, strengthen educational stability for young families, and establish a replicable model that Wisconsin school districts can adopt to improve health equity across generations.
Community Partners: Madison Metropolitan School District, Young Parent Collective, Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative, University of Wisconsin-Madison