The Elevate Youth Programming podcast was developed by RTI International and funded by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB). The Elevate Youth Programming content does not reflect the opinions of FYSB, nor its training and technical assistance contractors, but offers topics to provoke thought and provide grantees with tips and strategies to enhance programming. All of our podcast episodes are available to the public at no cost. Please contact us at apptta@rti.org for any questions.
Seasons and Episodes
In this episode, Youth Substance Use in the Digital Age, we speak with Drs. Andra Wilkinson and Asari Offiong from Child Trends to discuss current trends around availability and access to substances and opportunities to address these concerns within programming.
- CADCA Youth Leadership Training
- Drug-free Communities Coalitions
- High-risk substance use among youth
- One Pill Can Kill
- Step Out of the Frame: Social Media and Our Mental Health
- Substance Use and Sexual Risk-Taking: Connecting the Dots for Adolescent Health Professionals
- Substance use prevention resources for children, youth, and young adults
In this episode, Approaching Youth Mental Health Holistically, we speak with Cherry Yamane and Hannah Rackers from Child Trends to discuss mental health challenges youth face, the landscape of mental health care services, and strengths-based approaches to support youth resilience by creating spaces where youth can thrive.
- Adolescent Suicide Prevention: An Introduction to the Risk Factors of Suicide and Resources for Vulnerable Youth
- Early Serious Mental Illness Treatment Locator | SAMHSA
- Incorporating and Prioritizing Youth Mental Health in Sexual and Reproductive Health Programming
- Kids and teens | Mental Health America (mhanational.org)
- LGBTQIA2S+ Youth of Color Speak Out: Tips for Inclusive Reproductive Health Programming for Youth-Serving Providers
- MediaWise Toolkit
- Mental Health and Well-Being
- NAMI HelpLine | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Step Out of the Frame: Social Media and Our Mental Health
- The Jed Foundation
- The Trevor Project - Suicide Prevention for LGBTQ+ Young People
- Social Media and Teen Mental Health: Guide for Parents & Caregivers to Support Healthy Social Media Use Among Teens
- Supporting Your Teen’s Mental Health: Tips for Parents
- Weathering the Storm: How Supportive Adults can Promote Youth Health and Wellness
In this episode, Teen Dating Violence and Risky Sexual Behavior, we speak with Dr. Marni Kan from RTI International to learn tips and strategies to increase knowledge of TDV, best practices in addressing TDV in programming, and ways to support youth.
- Building Healthy Relationships: A Plug and Play Activity for Youth
- Healthy Relationships Challenge
- Healthy Relationship Checklist
- Healthy Relationships: Assess, Improve, Take Action
- Incorporating Teen Dating Violence Prevention into your Personal Responsibility Education Program
- Like, Love, Follow: Understanding Teen Dating Violence in the Digital World
- Roller Coaster Relationships, Romance, and Destiny: Media Messages in the Real World
- Teaching Students with I/DD About Sexuality and Healthy Relationships
- Teens Talk Relationships Series
- Tools for Healthy Relationships
In this episode we speak with Dr. Stacey Cutbush and Leanne Desselle from RTI International to learn tips and strategies to recognize signs of youth who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual exploitation (SE) or human trafficking (HT) and ways to support youth.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs
- Be In The Know! Sex Trafficking Is Real
- Creating Safe Space: Facilitator’s Guide to Trauma-informed Programming
- Developing & Implementing a Human Trafficking Protocol in PREP Programs
- Human Trafficking Assessment Tool for Educators
- Human Trafficking Child Indicator Tool
- Integrating Effective Practices to Identify Youth Victims of Human Trafficking
- Mandatory Reporting and Keeping Youth Safe
- Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect (childwelfare.gov)
- Sex Trafficking and Adolescents: What Adults need to Know
- Soar to Health and Wellness: Human Trafficking Training
- Trauma-informed Virtual Program Implementation for PREP Grantees
- This is a Safe Space: Trauma-Informed Care
- Survivor-Informed Services Among Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs
In this episode, we speak with Martine Jones and Maria Kelly from Youth Collaboratory to learn tips and strategies to increase program and organizational capacity to support youth at risk for, experiencing, runaway survivors and homelessness.
- Core Youth Outcomes in Youth of Color
- Facts and Figures About Runaway and Homeless Youth
- Human Trafficking: Screening and Assessment Tools and Practices for Runaway and Homeless Youth Settings Tip Sheet
- Mental Health Awareness Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness
- National Clearinghouse on Homeless Youth and Families
- National Runaway Safeline
- NCHYF Youth Peer Mentoring Tip Sheet
- Runaway and Homeless Youth Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building Center
- Survivor-informed Services among Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs
- The Overlap of Human Trafficking and Runaway and Homeless Youth
- Trauma-Informed Care for the Full Range of RHY Services
In this episode, we speak with April Kayser from the Multnomah County Health Department, who coordinates Sexual Health Equity for Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (SHEIDD), or “sheed,” and Nadia Lockheart to elevate a voice of lived experience and learn tips and strategies to advance sexual health equity in working with youth with IDDs.
- 10 Principles of Disability Justice — Sins Invalid
- A Facilitator’s Guide to Sexual and Reproductive Health Education for Youth with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities
- A Sexuality Policy That Truly Supports People with Disabilities
- Community Resources | OHSU
- Creating Equitable Spaces: A Guide for Adolescents and Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- Creating Inclusive Sexual Health Content
- Digital Citizenship for Youth with IDD
- Disability Rights and Sexual Health
- In Their Own Words: Guidelines for Supporting the Sexual Health of Young People Experiencing Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities
- Increasing equity in the classroom for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Tips for using classroom accommodations
- Our Whole Lives - Taking a Special Education Approach
- Personal Responsibility Education (PREP) Services For Youth With Disabilities
- Popular Education Workshops | Multnomah County (multco.us)
- Sex Ed for Individuals with I/DD
- Sex Ed for Self-Advocates | Organization for Autism Research
- Sex, Disability and the Direct Support Professional: Ethically Supporting Sexual Choices
- Sexual Health & Youth with Developmental Disabilities | Multnomah County (multco.us)
- Sexual Health Education for Young People with Disabilities - Research and Resources for Educators
- Sexual Health Education for Young People with Disabilities - Research and Resources for Parents/Guardians
- Sexual Health Equity for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (SHEIDD)
- Sexual Health Resource Toolkit: Adolescent Development
- Sexual Health Resource Toolkit: Internet Safety
- Sexual Health Resource Toolkit: Sexual Abuse Prevention
- Sexual Health Toolkit for Parents of Youth with IDD
- SHEIDD Resource Review Guidance Sheet to Evaluate Curricula for use with Youth with IDDs
- SHEIDD Review of Sexual Health Education Curricula Designed for People with Disabilities
- Teaching Students with I/DD About Sexuality and Healthy Relationships
- Working with Vulnerable Youth to Enhance their Natural Supports
In this episode, “Adolescent Health and Sexually Transmitted Infections,” Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Christy Altidor and Jerrica Davis from the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) to discuss sexually transmitted infection (STI)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) trends and tools and resources to advance adolescent sexual health.
In this episode, “Addressing Controversy in Communities,” Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Lashantynia Clayton (dhs.ga.gov | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram), Ginger Harris (tn.gov/dcs | Facebook | Twitter), and Zoa P. Schescke (CoSHI) to discuss youth engagement and community misinformation.
- Community Engagement to Tackle Misinformation about Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs
- Community Saturation Toolkit: Resources for Youth-Serving Program Providers
- Effective Communication Through Data Visualization
- Gateway to Health Communication
- Misinformation and Public Health: Implications for Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Grantees
- Misinformation/Disinformation Archives
In episode 5, “Community and Interpersonal Violence,” Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Drs. Stacy Sechrist and Stefany Ramos from RTI International to discuss the impact of community and interpersonal violence on youth and APP programming.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs
- Be In The Know! Sex Trafficking Is Real
- Connecting the Dots: An Overview of the Links Among Multiple Forms of Violence
- Creating Safe Space: Facilitator’s Guide to Trauma-informed Programming
- Developing & Implementing a Human Trafficking Protocol in PREP Programs
- Healthy Relationship Checklist
In this episode, “Trauma-informed care: Resilience,” Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Drs. Vicki Johnson-Lawrence and Lissette Saavedra from RTI International to discuss the impact of internal and external factors on trauma-informed approaches and youth resilience.
- Adolescent Suicide Prevention: An Introduction to the Risk Factors of Suicide and Resources for Vulnerable Youth
- Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs
- Building on the Strengths of Young People: A Relationship-focused, Trauma-sensitive Approach Webinar
- Building Resilience in the Face of Emerging Threats to Child and Youth Well-Being
- Fostering Resilience in Youth and Encouraging Youth Awareness of Mental Health
- Grief, an epidemic withing the pandemic: Empowering children, youth, and families in urban communities to work through their grief & trauma
In this episode, “Navigating Staff Turnover,” Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) grantees Melissa Ballard and Jill Gwilt from Mission West Virginia’s Teaching Health Instead of Nagging Kids (THINK) program to discuss program management and staff retention.
- 13 Recruitment Strategies That Will Transform the Way You Hire
- How to Reduce Employee Turnover
- Recruitment and Retention of Individual with Disabilities
- Beyond the Finish Line: Tips for Sustaining Your Project
- Developing Effective Sustainable Personal Responsibility Education Programs
- Reproductive Health National Training Center
In this episode, “Sustainability,” Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Drs. Asari Offiong and Mindy Scott from Child Trends to discuss steps program staff can take to plan for sustainability.
- Beyond the Finish Line: Tips for Sustaining Your Project
- Building Sustainable Programs
- Developing Effective Sustainable Personal Responsibility Education Programs
- Engaging Community Partners for Positive Youth Development
- Engaging Stakeholders for Sustainability: Telling Your Story
- How to Scale Up Effective Programs Serving Children, Youth, and Families
In episode one, "Building and Strengthening Partnerships," Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Debbie Herget and Edna Wallace with RTI International's Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Division to discuss strengthening partnerships with schools.
In episode two, "Navigating the New Norm," Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Kelly Gainor from ETR to discuss engaging students, implementing adaptations with fidelity, and maximizing time with participants in a virtual setting.
In episode three, "Health Equity," Elevate Youth Programming, sat down with Dr. Asari Offiong and Catherine Schaefer from Child Trend to discuss integrating a health equity perspective into Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) and other youth-centered programs.
In episode four, "This is a Safe Space: Trauma-Informed Care," Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Drs. Hannah Lantos and Brandon Stratford from Child Trend to discuss creating trauma-informed spaces that are safe and supportive for all young people.
Host
Dr. Kineka J. Hull is a Public Health Researcher at RTI International with expertise in studying risk behaviors among adolescents and youth; sexuality and contraceptive use among African American Women; sexual abuse prevention, including human trafficking; and working with diverse, underserved, vulnerable, and rural populations. She has led studies focusing on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy prevention, healthy communication, and COVID-19.
Producer
Lauren Mangum is a Multimedia Communication Specialist at RTI International. She is an expert in producing virtual and on-site training events along with providing graphic support and media production expertise for projects. Ms. Mangum is also the producer of the Just Science podcast, which is designed to highlight key leaders in forensic science research, practice, and innovation. The podcast has released over 100 episodes and generated over 100,000 listens.