This evaluation report presents findings from a large-scale demonstration project and evaluation of OhioHealth's Teen Options to Prevent Pregnancy (T.O.P.P.) program. The T.O.P.P. program is an innovative, new clinic-based intervention that aims to reduce rapid repeat pregnancies among expectant and parenting adolescent females. The 18-month intervention employs a unique combination of telephone-…
On October 25, 2023, FYSB presented a Grant Management Training Webinar, in which Roni Brooks and Girma Araya, Grants Management Specialists from the Office of Grants Management (OGM), provided grantees with a comprehensive overview of the following:OGM Role, Responsibilities, and ServicesGrants Policies & RegulationsPayment Management System (PMS)Submission of Federal Financial Status…
Participant recruitment is a critical component of successful Personal Responsibility Education Programs (PREP) and requires planning and attention. Similarly, keeping youth engaged and connected during programming is important for program fidelity and ensuring youth receive the benefits of the program. During this webinar, attendees heard from grantees that are working in non-school settings…
On Monday, December 11th, 2023, presenters Taya McMillan and Brian Southwell from RTI shared information with Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) grantees on the topic of gaining community support for sexual health programming. This webinar explored concepts, approaches, and recommendations to mitigate distrust, misinformation, and other challenges that surround sexual health programming.…
Although teens can benefit in many ways from using social media, studies have shown that social media use is linked to anxiety, depression and lowered self-esteem among teens. This brief animated video gives youth-serving providers a platform to initiate conversations with youth about healthy and unhealthy social media use. It is narrated by three teens who talk candidly about their experiences…
Adolescents who experience sexual coercion can face a range of sexual and reproductive health outcomes leading to significant physical, emotional, and social consequences, including a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and having unwanted pregnancies as well as increased risk of experiencing depression and anxiety. Conversations around coercion and consent should happen…
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. Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) providers are in a unique position to build relationships that foster…
Nearly all teens have access to and use social media. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2022, 95% of teens have used social media and the same percentage have access to a smartphone. This webinar, tailored for facilitators delivering Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) curricula, will highlight what we know about the research related to social media and youth. Participants…
Although teen birth rates decline, disparities remain. Watch this video to discover how combining proven pregnancy prevention practices with adult preparation skills can increase a teen’s chance for success. Video publication date: July 26, 2016.
During this session three panelists share their most successful strategies in expanding their programs into schools, youth-serving agencies and other community venues.
This session was part of the FYSB SRAE Virtual Topical Training presented by Public Strategies on September 15-17, 2020.
This tool helps Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention programs reflect on strategies for identifying and engaging community partners and supporting and sustaining these partnerships over time. Grantees can use it to discover effective methods for identifying suitable community partners; explore strategies for engaging and maintaining strong, productive relationships with these partners; explore best…
This snapshot report provides important information about unhoused youth. It also explores the factors that may contribute to housing instability among youth and how grantees can support unhoused youth and their families.
The Messages Matter Quick Guide is an abridged version of the Messages Matter toolkit. The quick guide builds upon key concepts, approaches, and activities presented in the Community Saturation Sourcebook and The Community Saturation Toolkit. Please note: For optimal printing, the quick guide should be printed on 11x17 paper.
Helping teens develop a positive body image is crucial for their mental and emotional well-being. Teens’ bodies change rapidly during puberty at the same time they are being exposed to media and messages that often show narrow and unrealistic standards of the ideal body type. This new resource from the Family and Youth Services Bureau helps parents and other caregivers counter these harmful…
This session, based on the generative discussion framework of the Community Café model, demonstrates how thoughtfully designed questions asked within an intentional listening environment can strengthen programs, grow leadership, and develop the field to benefit the participants being served.
This session was part of the FYSB SRAE Virtual Topical Training presented by Public Strategies on…
This infographic is designed to be shared directly with youth in your programs. It explains, using youth-friendly language, how to safely meet and interact with peers and potential romantic partners through social media. It also includes resources and hotlines for youth to learn more about digital safety and how to obtain confidential support if they have experienced digital dating abuse.
Evidence-based interventions provide educators with a roadmap to convey vital information to students. If your organization has been using the same program for a number of years, you may find you need to switch things up. Innovative Teaching Methods is an umbrella term for teaching methods that can improve participation, student engagement, and retention of information and create more student-…
This report discusses the implementation structure of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) programs in four states—California, Maine, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. The report discusses areas in which the states differed as well as similarities in their approaches to implementation. Original publication: November 2016.
Parenting can be challenging, especially in the teen years. Teens are undergoing emotional and physical changes associated with puberty and often feel significant stress and pressure related to school, jobs, extracurricular activities, and peer relationships. Parents and caregivers often want to build closer relationships with the teens in their lives but are unsure where to begin.This guide for…
This report and digital brief from OPRE provide results from the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Studies of Performance Measures and Adulthood Preparation Subjects project. Grantee-submitted data on performance measures are used to describe PREP programs that operated from 2017 to 2021 and the youth they served.View the ReportView the Interactive Brief
This fact sheet from OPRE summarizes highlights of findings based on performance measures for Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grantees for the 2020–2021 reporting period.Fact Sheet
This brief from OPRE presents findings from youth focus groups conducted as part of the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education National Evaluation (SRAENE). The focus groups were conducted to collect information on youth’s perspectives and to understand how youth experienced SRAE programming.Review the Brief
This toolkit provides information on instruments that Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) grant recipients can use to measure youth engagement in SRAE programs and what facilitators do in the classroom that promotes this engagement (which we refer to as facilitator quality that promotes youth engagement, or more simply, facilitator quality). Measuring youth engagement and facilitator quality…
Messages Matter is designed to help youth-serving providers navigate and address common challenges that can impede youth programming. This resource offers practical information and tools to expand community buy-in, increase parent engagement, and disrupt misinformation. Messages Matter builds upon key concepts, approaches, and activities presented in the Community Saturation Sourcebook and the…
Almost all teens report using the internet daily; nearly half of them are online “almost constantly.” It is clear that social media is here to stay, and it is important for parents and caregivers to understand how they can support teens’ mental health when it comes to social media use.The Social Media and Teen Mental Health guide from the Family and Youth Services Bureau can help.This guide…
Training resources for topical training.
Adolescents who experience sexual coercion can face a range of sexual and reproductive health outcomes leading to significant physical, emotional, and social consequences, including a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and having unwanted pregnancies as well as increased risk of experiencing depression and anxiety. Conversations around coercion and consent should happen…
On February 28, 2024, Asari Offiong and Zabryna Balén from Child Trends provided grantees with tools and information on using an empowerment framework to engage and educate youth in SRAE programming. They provided an overview of what an empowerment framework is, highlighting its connection to agency, autonomy, and positive youth development. They also provided background on why this framing is…
This webinar for Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) grantees was presented on March 20, 2024 by presenters Morayo Akande, MPH, Arik V. Marcell, MD, MPH, and Annie Smith, PhD, MPH from John Hopkins University, and Kathleen Tebb, PhD, from University of CA, San Francisco. This webinar explored how Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) grantees can support young male adolescents in their…
This webinar provides information regarding youth substance use in the context of sexual and reproductive health education. Presenters offer an overview of current trends in youth substance use and facilitate discussion on what grantees are seeing in the field. The presenters then provide information on the connections and parallels between youth substance use prevention and sexual and…
Healthy Families San Angelo, a community-based organization in San Angelo, Texas, successfully implemented two home visiting programs, Traditional Healthy Families and Steps to Success. The Steps to Success program is part of the federal Personal Responsibility Education Program and offers counseling on contraception and adequate birth spacing, as well as parenting and child development issues.…
PCEs are specific experiences during childhood—including adolescence—that can help build a young person’s sense of belonging and connection. PCEs have been found to be connected to greater health and well-being in adulthood and can buffer the impact of Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs). This webinar will focus on current research related to PCEs, including what they are, their impact on well-being…
Are you an Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) grantee receiving funding from Family and Youth Services Bureau? Do you want to take your teen pregnancy prevention efforts to the next level, but unsure of where to start? The Exchange is the place for you. This video provides an orientation to The Exchange website and its offerings.
Having that talk with teens may feel daunting for many parents and caregivers—but it doesn’t have to be. Research shows that teens want to hear what their parents/caregivers have to say and value their opinions when making important decisions. Establishing good communication around these topics can prevent teens from engaging in risky behaviors that lead to pregnancy and sexually transmitted…
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. During adolescence, risk-taking is a normative part of development. However, when youth engage in unhealthy risks, it presents…
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. Mental health challenges are increasing in youth, with…
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. Teaching adolescents how to form safe and healthy relationships is a key part of helping them refrain from engaging in risk-taking behaviors…
This webinar was held on April 11, 2024. It explored recent resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) focused on promoting the mental health and well-being of students. Presenters Anna Yaros, PhD, and Katy Suellentrop, MPH, from RTI International invited Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) grantees to consider how they might support their school partners in…
Adolescent pregnancy prevention programs are uniquely positioned to support the development of young people’s strengths, leadership skills, and healthy relationships. These programs can foster opportunities for positive youth development by integrating youth–adult partnerships (YAPs) into their programs. Through shifts in norms, including power, communication, collaboration, decision-making, and…
Self-determination is having the attitude and ability to choose and set goals, make life decisions, and work to reach one’s aims. Youth-serving providers can use self-determination principles in their programs to protect youth against risk behaviors, promote mental health, and help youth gain skills and values needed to become healthy adults. This tip sheet will help Adolescent Pregnancy…
This session reviews the legislative criteria and background that guides SRAE programing including the rationale for required components and topics to be covered and the need to ensure that all programmatic elements, including program staff, facilitators, curricula and messaging are contextualized in SRAE’s Optimal Health model.
This session was part of the FYSB SRAE Virtual Topical…
This resource guide provides tips and strategies for adolescent pregnancy prevention (APP) grantees and their partners to articulate their missions and goals to help audiences gain a clear understanding of what APP programs can offer. The resource guide summarizes the benefits of branding and provides examples of how branding can help your organization promote your programs. Use the accompanying…
This resource from We Think Twice™ can supplement your organization’s programming with middle and high school youth by offering them tools to help improve their well-being. The interactive lesson includes:
Coping and self-care practices and techniques.
Links to online resources to improve well-being and mental health.
Information about when and how to facilitate conversations about mental…
This dynamic lesson from We Think Twice™ is designed to supplement your organization’s programming with middle and high school youth. It provides youth information on identifying healthy and unhealthy messages in the media related to sex, dating, and relationships and encourages them to base their own ideas about these topics on facts, dispelled myths, and their own values. The…
Youth are often unaware of the potential long-term impacts and safety implications of digital technology. This lesson from We Think Twice™ is designed to supplement your organization’s programming with middle and high school youth by engaging youth in pondering questions about digital technology (e.g., posting on social media, accepting or declining a friend request, giving out personal…
While teen birth rates decline, disparities remain. Hear OhioHealth’s story about how its Teen Options to Prevention Pregnancy (TOPP) Program supports pregnant and parenting teens. Video publication date: May 26, 2016.
Youth are constantly bombarded by images of bodies. Whether they are conscious of it or not, they receive messages about which bodies are “good bodies” and which ones are “bad bodies” from media, doctors, family, peers, and others. For a young person, these messages can be difficult to navigate, especially along with body changes that occur during adolescence. Educators have a responsibility to…
Program management is a critical aspect of ensuring compliance with Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) legislative and notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) requirements and high-quality program implementation. This interactive webinar will offer an opportunity for PREP grantees to learn about program management tips and strategies used by current grantees to ensure PREP legislative…
A growing barrage of stressors has led to nearly 42% of U.S. high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.1 This infographic provides grantees with information about each of those stressors and the ways supportive adults can alleviate them. Learn how supportive adults can create a safe environment for youth, normalize talking about mental health, promote…
This webinar for Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) grantees described key principles of trauma-informed approaches and explored how youth-adult partnerships can be used as a strategy to strengthen trauma-informed approaches in SRAE programming to address the effects of community violence and other trauma on youth. The webinar reviewed effective practices for integrating trauma-informed…