Teen pregnancy can be difficult under the best of circumstances, but it can be especially hard for young women in the foster care system or ones that do not have any healthy support system.

Nearly 437,000 adolescents live in foster care or with relatives other than their parents, in most cases as the result of abuse and neglect.1

Teen pregnancy is all too common among this population: Young women in foster care are more than twice as likely as their peers not in foster care to become pregnant by age 19. Even more troubling, many of those who become pregnant experience a repeat pregnancy before they reach age 19.

Studies show that more than 50% of babies born to a woman who was in the foster system will also end up in the Foster Care system.

IT’S TIME TO CHANGE THIS.

1. Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, The AFCARS Report: Preliminary FY 2009 Estimates as of July 2010, 2010. <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report17.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
2. Courtney ME et al., Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 19, working paper, Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 2005.

Our Promise to you:

Being a part of Covered Waters means you are loved for who you are and how God uniquely created you. You will be surrounded by a community of people that want to see you succeed in life. We will strive to walk with you as you set goals, navigate life’s challenges and discover what you need to thrive as you move forward with strength and dignity.

Living at Covered Waters:
We want to be a safe and stable place for you and your child(ren).

We want to serve you, a young woman who is either aging out of foster care or who are seeking an alternative to homelessness / unstable living situation.

Our mission is to give you the relationships, skills, and resources to help you create lasting change in your life; to be able to take care of yourself and your child and change the course of your family for generations to come.

FAITH:

Give the young women options to explore what they believe, see staff modeling and living out the Christian life and provide Christian mentors.

(All participants will know we are a Christian organization and will hear about our faith. They are not required to share our beliefs to be part of Covered Waters. We will simply ask everyone to respect everyone and their beliefs)

GROWTH SUPPORT:

Support will be through a supportive community environment, help obtaining support for mental and emotional help and the resources to continue education and/or employment.

LIFE SKILLS:

Gain the necessary skills and social development to lead to self sufficiency. This could include learning self care, conflict resolution, basic car and house maintenance, meal planning, financial planning, etc.

GOALS:

We want to get to know each young woman and their goals for the future. We hope to provide them with them with action steps to accomplish them. Small steps lead to big change.

FAMILY DEVELOPMENT:

We know there is no manual for being part of a family but we want to model health relationships and boundaries, teach conflict resolution, child safety, safe parenting, how to date with a child, etc.

WELCOME HOME

After the application and approval we will welcome you to your new home! During this phase you will be able to settle in, get to know us, join us in creating your individualized plan and begin thinking about your future.

LETS GET STARTED

During this phase you will begin meeting with your mentor, begin working on your individual plan (which includes beginning a job or continuing education), attend all house required activities and building the skills you will need to build your future.

LEARNING TO THRIVE

In this phase you will continue building on everything you have started, learning to create sustainable and flexible routines in life, create family healthy habits, and learn what brings your joy.

ACHIEVING INDEPENDENCE

The goal for this phase is to become involved in the community, start looking into housing options, create a financial plan based on your income, etc.

LEAVING THE NEST

As much as we would love to keep everyone in our safe environment, we want to see you live your life to the fullest. During this phase we help you transition to independent living. But, don’t worry we will still have opportunities if you want to come back to help other girls, hang out with us during activities, etc.

• Female (young woman) over the age of 19.

• Pregnant or has a young child

• Willing to abstain from drugs and alcohol

• Willing to work on managing mental health issues with medications and/or outpatient counseling services

• Looking for an alternative to homelessness or unpredictability in your living situation

• Motivated and able to finish school and/or get a job

• Ready to make a lasting change in your life by taking part in learning necessary job and life skills that will set you up for success

If you/someone you know fits those requirements, then request an application. If you/someone you know do not fit those requirements, please visit our resource page for a list of options that could benefit you.

We want to get to know you!

On the application, please provide as much information as possible.

After you submit your application, you will hear from us within a couple of business days. We will reach out to start exploring if Covered Waters is right for you and answer any questions you may have.

In the meantime, check out our website and social media pages to get to know us better!

We are not currently accepting applications. We are in the process of setting everything up and hope to be accepting applicants in 2025

If you know of a young woman that needs support, please reach out to us and we can try to connect you with some resources.