• Crisis intervention
• Individual and family counseling
• Primary and preventative health services
• Drug and alcohol abuse counseling
• Employment counseling, training and placement
• Summer and part-time job development
• Referrals to community-based services
• Recreation
• Mental health and family counseling services
• Pregnancy prevention programs
• Learning support services
• Services for LGBTQ students
• Violence prevention

Many sites also provide teen parenting education, transportation, day care, tutoring, family planning, and hotlines. Programs operate before, during, and after school, and during the summer; some even operate on weekends. There is a level of consistency among the programs: each site gives students a place to go to get homework help, a doctor's appointment, or a lead for a job.

Community and Population Served by the Organization

SBYSP serves teenagers, primarily aged 10 to 19, who are at risk of dropping out of school, or who are in need of counseling services beyond the scope of the school's own programs. SBYSP also involves the parents and family in the process when appropriate.

Research Questions

• The issue of housing for adolescents is problematic. SBYSP is interested in assessing students’ perceptions and understanding of the housing options available to them after high school. Are students prepared to either find adequate housing or deal with other housing situations? If adolescents decided to live at home, cohabit with a partner, rent a room/apartment, or live with roommates, do they anticipate the tensions and challenges these choices entail? SBYSP is also interested in assessing the available housing options for low-income jobs within the Mercer County area. Where can adolescents go to find safe and affordable housing?

• The issues of Hispanic teen mothers are relatively difficult to assess. SBYSP would like a student who could effectively engage this population to run a focus group with Latina teen mothers. SBYSP is interested in gauging the major challenges and issues facing these young mothers. What are their current living situations? What services can be offered or created to support their needs and assets?

• SBYSP would like students to examine their Family Intervention and Empowerment Program (FIEP), which is run by the Princeton Family Institute. What factors and variables have contributed to this program’s success? Students could brainstorm with the directors of the Princeton Family Institute to assess the best research interests of that program.
  
  
• What are the differences in rates of adolescent pregnancy in urban versus rural regions? How do their rates compare statewide and nationally?
  
  
• At what stage in their pregnancy do adolescents in the SBYS program access the healthcare system? Why this stage? Is it a lack of courage, a lack of knowledge, or an attempt to hide the pregnancy as long as possible? Students could also talk to school nurses involved in the program. How does the answer to this question vary by region (urban/rural)?
  
  
• What education is available to teen mothers about the healthcare system? Are there comprehensive services that meet both the emotional guidance needs (often teen mothers come from abusive families) as well as technical information/education needs of adolescent mothers?
  
  
• What about the money? Who can have health insurance in NJ? There is a program called Kids & Family Care that ensures mother and child insurance, but are they getting it? How is healthcare provision determined? What role does U.S. citizenship or immigrant status play?
   
• How do adolescent pregnancy rates vary by ethnic populations? How does citizenship or immigrant status affect these rates? What countries, specifically, have the highest and lowest rates? How would a law making it difficult for illegal immigrant parents of US born children to gain citizenship affect adolescent birth rates?
  
  
• What is the impact of immigration on SBYSP schools? How does it affect teen pregnancy, finishing high school, school crowding, and the number of languages spoken by faculty or staff, for example?
  
  
• Members of the SBYSP community have noticed a phenomenon of elderly citizens renting small apartments to teenagers that have been kicked out, are pregnant and on their own, are coming out of foster care, or are simply young and living independently. How widespread is this phenomenon? Is this a model that should be encouraged? How best could non-profits like SBYSP facilitate this? Students could plan a pilot program including a screening questionnaire to match teens with elderly partners, orientation materials, and a monitoring plan.
  
  
• Union City, NJ has a program in place that guarantees employment for any teenager who seeks it. SBYSP would be interested to have a student or students study this program and recommend ways in which it could be replicated in a place like Trenton.

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