their unplanned pregnancy or perpetual dysfunction from their biological families. Similar to other mothers, one mother explained how “after I got pregnant and stuff, I just, like, distanced myself a lot from a lot of people" (Mother C, 18-year-old living with a partner). Although most mothers identified someone to listen to their problems (n = 22), support members were often dealing with their own crises including shelter living, mental health problems, or addiction. For example, one mother viewed her father’s calls from prison as her source of emotional support. Practical support was even more limited. Most mothers stated that they could rely only on themselves. This self-reliance, however, sometimes resulted from few network resources rather than a network member’s lack of desire to help. One mother explained her experience upon returning from a day visit with her aunt: [L]ast time I went up there, when she dropped me off, my auntie started crying when she saw the condition of the house I was in, and she wanted me to come back up there with her. But I couldn't impose on the fact 'cause my auntie and my uncle – they got six kids…they're retired military and everything, but still, like, the house is not big enough. (Mother H, 21-year-old living in a group home) Similarly, another mother explained how she reached out to family for groceries when she was eight months pregnant and on bedrest: “I hate asking people for things, and I've always been like that growing up, so having to do that, it was really hard for me." (Mother A, 20-year-old living with family) Weak networks were particularly problematic for mothers in maternity homes because of their volatile circumstances. One mother explained how her son’s recent health problems illuminated her limited support: [H]e had a little bit of oxygen in him, and I was taking a shower, and I didn't realize it. And my son was like basically dead, and I was scared…I couldn't take my daughter to the hospital with me. The hospital gave me a hard time. I couldn't contact nobody. (Mother B, 21-year-old living in a group home) In addition to mothers facing uncontrollable situations, several mothers described how rash decisions that ended their maternity home placement (e.g., fighting, running away when angry, moving in with a boyfriend) showed the limits of their network support. For example, one mother who decided to move in with a boyfriend who quickly left her homeless declared leaving foster care “the worst decision of my life” (Mother P, 21-year-old living in a group home). The very conditions that dictate maternity home placement— the need for safe housing and care during pregnancy and early motherhood—often translate to few network supports. However, several mothers felt supported by family or friends, typically from new romantic partners or extended family. Supported mothers also recognized that support may disappear further increasing self-reliance. When asked about her support when she left a maternity home, one mother explained: “It was good. It lasted for a good minute. It was all right” (Mother Q, 18-year-old mother living in a group home). Another resident who was eight months pregnant perceived family support, but also expressed concerns that her family would not accept her after her son’s birth (Mother R, 19-year-old living in a group home). Theme Summary
Mothers and providers both wanted mothers to develop connections within and outside of the maternity home. However, the circumstances that led mothers to the maternity home placement (e.g., unplanned pregnancy, rejection from family) commonly led to mothers’ hesitancy to trust others. Moreover, their lack of trust, coupled with unhealthy ways of handling conflict (e.g., fights), contributed to high “drama” in the homes and early departures for mothers and staff members alike.
FLORIDA INSTITUTE FOR CHILD WELFARE
Theme 4: Slow Progress Towards Independence Similar to the common desire for connection, mothers and providers voiced similar goals for mothers: to live with their children in stable housing, to further their educations, and to obtain good jobs. With these shared goals, mothers often lacked immediate, goal-oriented plans and celebrated much smaller successes. For example, one mother claimed success by “waking up with [my] kids every morning.” (Mother S, 20-year-old living in a shelter). Likewise, another mother explained that although she still lacked a high school diploma, childcare, and employment, she reached success simply by living: [A] few years ago I didn’t think I was going to make it out alive past 18. I'm just doing a lot better emotionally, physically. I just changed a lot, and I'm glad that I changed…the way that I am now, nobody would recognize me back then. (Mother K, 18-yearold living with her partner) Providers at all four maternity homes reported offering mothers a variety of services from concrete resources, connection to services, and periodic check-ins after home exit. Despite these, providers explained that mothers often “struggle” or experience “hiccups” once they leave the home because there is no one to enforce structure (e.g., school, employment) or address other daily needs. As one provider stated, “it’s really, really hard for them to be selfmotivated” (Home D, Participant 1). Similar to mothers, providers recognized the importance of small successes. Yet, compared to mothers who celebrated survival, providers defined small successes as incremental, measurable progress in which they made “piece by piece” improvements to become healthy, independent, and stable providers for their children (Home C, Participant 1). Mothers gave themselves grace in reaching their goals because of high levels of adversity and their unstable environments. They were engaged in “a chess game” waiting for an interruption to their delicate balance of resources. One mother explained her day-today coping strategy: "When it comes to [my son], I'm not really a long-term thinker. I kind of think momentarily because any given situation can change" (Mother I, 19-year-old living in a group home). Likewise, when asked what supports could help them, many mothers stated that they did not need supports despite their limited resources. For example, one mother explained how she was “taking it day-by-day to…work and progress;” she just requested “patience” (Mother T, 22-year-old living with a partner). Mothers valued their autonomy and commonly voiced that they did not need outside resources. Yet, mothers’ difficult adjustment to independent living was common. And, while valuing independence, mothers wanted concrete skills to succeed. One mother explained how she needed more than a bed when she exited the maternity home: They'll just be like, "Oh, well, you've got to get out of here so we're going to get you an apartment.” Okay, then how is she going to pay her bills? How is she going to get back and forth to work? How is she going to go to work and who is going to watch her baby? Nobody thinks about any of that. They just expect you to just figure that out on your own, and I don't like that because I'm obviously here for a reason. I'm in a situation; I need help in my situation. I don't need you to just help me find somewhere to lay my head. I need help figuring this out. Like, how am I going to do this? (Mother N, 22-year-old living with her partner) For this mother, to “do this” meant to successfully juggle the demands of living independently. And, as with this mother, most mothers desired additional classes on financial literacy. Congruent with providers’ concerns about low levels of service engagement, some mothers admitted that while they had attended classes, they were not ready for the content at the time. In addition, mothers desired assistance with obtaining driver’s licenses and cars to prepare to live on their own. Only one mother in the sample owned a car, and most lacked driver’s licenses. As such, mothers 13
