Manassas Center Provides Teen Mothers a Place to Focus on Their Issues

In the living room of a converted brick ranch house in Manassas, three teenage girls sat around a large sofa, sifting through the intimate complications of their lives. All three had moved into the home, now the E. Carrington Family Enrichment Center, because they were either pregnant or had recently become a mother and also had a diagnosed mental health disorder.

Yet the scrutiny they faced from house parent Peggy Jennings, a former Lorton prison official, could have applied to any teenager in a troubled relationship.

"What is [your boyfriend] doing?" Jennings asked a 16-year-old teen mother who was holding a bottle of baby formula in the mouth of her 3-month-old boy. "Where does your relationship stand?"

"He wants to take my relationship to a higher level," the young mother responded.

"How old is he?" asked another girl, 18, who at the time was due any day.

"He's almost 18. He wants me to live with him," the young mother said, her voice rising in confidence.

"If you start playing house, that's what you'll be doing," Jennings said, her voice softening. "I had a baby at 22. Even then, it was frightening. I played house. You lose sight of yourself. Somewhere inside you, you must say, 'I want to be better.' "

The young mother, her baby enfolded in her arms, nodded. She was sensing a new maturity.

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The Carrington Center, run privately by Manassas psychotherapist Jan Chambers inside her former home, is bucking a trend in the field of services for pregnant and parenting teens. Located near Manassas's historic Old Town, the tiny center is one of two teen maternity homes licensed under Virginia's Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and integrates psychotherapy services into the schedules of its adolescent and young-adult residents. In contrast to the center's program, more and more pregnant and parenting teens are receiving such therapeutic help as outpatient services or through licensed professionals visiting their homes, said Les Saltzberg, licensing director for the behavioral health agency.

Unlike the residents at many other teen maternity homes, the Carrington teens have a diagnosed mental health disorder -- ranging from anxiety, depression, conduct disorder, post-traumatic syndrome to attention deficit disorder. The Washington Post granted anonymity to the teenage residents, and their specific conditions were not disclosed, because of the center's confidentiality policies.

There are only a handful of teen maternity centers across the region, according to experts, and even those that do not specialize in mental health provide some counseling. Judith Dittman, executive director of the 37-year-old Alternative House in Fairfax, which for the past seven years has provided a home to pregnant or parenting 18- to 21-year-olds with mental health issues, said more homes like hers are needed. "We've been full since we've opened," said Dittman, whose center is licensed by Virginia's social services department.