Federal Evaluation of Selected Programs for Expectant and Parenting Youth

Understanding the Effectiveness of Healthy Families Healthy Futures in Houston, Texas

Under contract to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Mathematica Policy Research is conducting an impact study of Healthy Families Healthy Futures in Houston, Texas for a Federal Evaluation of Programs for Expectant and Parenting Youth (PEPY). The impact study will be designed to address three main questions:

• Was the program successful in exposing participants to program content, such as information about methods of birth control?
• Was the program successful at improving short-term outcomes, such as use of a LARC and intention to space births?
• To what extent did treatment youth receive the intended program components?

A random assignment design will be used to assess the program's impact on exposure to program content and short term outcomes. Potential study participants were recruited between June 2015 and October 2016, and were considered eligible for participation if they were first time mothers between the ages of 14 and 19, English or Spanish speakers, had not enrolled in the program in the previous six mounts, and were not enrolled in the Nurse Family Partnership program. Potential participants who were eligible and who consented to participate were randomly assigned to (1) a treatment group that was eligible for Healthy Families Healthy Futures (HFHF) services or (2) a control group that was not eligible for HFHF. Random assignment was conducted within two blocks determined by whether study participants were pregnant at the time of random assignment or were parenting at the time of random assignment. The study draws on data from HFHF administrative records on service receipt, a baseline survey administered prior to random assignment, and a follow-up survey administered approximately 12 months after random assignment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must be expectant or parenting

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participated in HFHF in six months prior to random assignment
• Enrolled in Nurse Family Partnership program at time of random assignment
• Oldest child is older than 3 months at random assignment
• Primary language is neither English nor Spanish