Metro Teen Parent Program to Be Cut

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Lawmakers have agreed on a tentative budget plan, which includes budget cuts, and cuts at the state health department could mean doing away with healthcare for pregnant teens at an alternative school in the metro.

The cuts could mean getting rid of prenatal care and checkups for dozens of teenage mothers who are in dire need of the program to stay in school.

The wall is covered with pictures of the children the clinic has cared for over the years, but with a looming state budget cut, those walls could be no more.

"We need this here because some girls don't have what other people have," teen mom Stephanie Ganske said.

The Emerson Teen Parent program helps moms like Ganske get prenatal and postnatal care. She can afford to go to school while visiting the clinic in between classes with her little Zachary close by.

"I had to come here with my second child because I had no transportation to get to anther clinic, or another doctor or anything," Ganske said.

The state budget could cut the health care program that's helped hundreds of teen moms through high school. Taking it away could have a dramatic impact on their students' livelihood.

"This is their only resource, we're their only family they have so it's not just about the clinic and the service; it's about trying to connect and keep them on the right track, so it's important to their whole being," Emerson High School Principal Dr. Debra Thomas said.

Ganske is one of many heading on the right track, with the clinic. She's proof graduation can happen. Her big day is Friday.

"It's like one big family and everybody shows that they care compared to if you were to go to another school as teen mom," Ganske said. "Here they show that they care and they want you to succeed in life."

Ganske plans to major in nursing at Oklahoma City Community College.