Chapter XII-Pregnancy Services

IV. Goals and Objectives

The purpose of Pregnancy Services is to enable the individual faced with an unplanned pregnancy to decide what s/he wants to do about the pregnancy, in terms of what is best for the expectant parents and the unborn child, and to provide the expectant mother and other involved individuals with the support necessary to carry out the decision. Pregnancy Services may be provided as a means of enabling clients to maintain or achieve the following goals and objectives:

A. Economic Self-support

1. To allow a client to choose among alternatives which can moderate the economic consequences of an unplanned pregnancy.

2. To provide for the cost-of-care and services if a residential placement is needed.

B. Personal Self-sufficiency

1. To enable a client to develop or maintain stability by providing the supportive counseling and assistance needed in a stressful situation.

2. To support the attainment or maintenance of the goal of "Economic Self-support." Attainment of partial or total economic self-support contributes to personal self-sufficiency by providing the financial resources necessary to purchase the goods and services required for independent living. Self-support also stimulates the self-esteem and positive motivation essential to the ability to care for oneself and others.

C. Preventing or Remedying Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation, or Preserving, Rehabilitating or Reuniting Families

1. To enhance the prospects that an existing marriage will remain intact through avoidance of the stresses that lead to marital disintegration and which are, in turn, often caused by overwhelming child-caring responsibilities.

2. To provide a client with satisfactory alternative ways of resolving a difficult situation, thus deterring the potential abuse and/or neglect of an unplanned child by arranging for the child's welfare following birth.