Session: Building Solutions for Battling Inequities Among Young, Trauma-Affected Parents (Society for Social Work and Research 27th Annual Conference - Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions)

Young parents who have a history of child abuse and neglect, community violence, and other traumas are at increased risk of poor outcomes as they transition into adulthood due to myriad challenges at individual, family, community, and system levels. Aligned with the conference theme of battling inequities and building solutions, in this symposium, we will share the experiences of young, trauma-affected parents and related strategies for mitigating negative outcomes they experience in late adolescence and early adulthood. The symposium will begin with two phenomenological studies. The first symposium study is among the first to share the experiences of young mothers with child welfare involvement in Ontario. The second symposium study explores how young, maltreated mothers in the Washington D.C./Baltimore area experience parenting in the context of intimate partner violence. We will then present three national (U.S.) quantitative studies. The third symposium study assesses differential treatment young parents of color experience compared to white young parents when involved with the child welfare system. The fourth symposium study examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant and parenting youth in foster care. The final symposium study explores the relationship between early fatherhood and incarceration among young men transitioning from foster care. Symposium attendees will leave having learned the latest research on inequalities affecting young, trauma-affected parents transitioning into adulthood and opportunities for building solutions.