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Healthy Teen Network News
Nonprofit Times Names Healthy Teen Network Board Member Alphonce Brown a Leader in U.S. Fundraising
Alphonce Brown, Director of Development for National Minority AIDS Council and member of Healthy Teen Network's Board of Directors, was recognized as "one of the most efficient and influential fundraisers" by the Nonprofit Times. >From the article: "There is no fundraising executive anywhere who has done more to promote diversity within the fundraising profession [than Alphonce Brown]. He has and continues to mentor fundraisers who will broaden the pool of professionals and thus donors."
Save The Date for Healthy Teen Network's 30th Annual Conference!
Healthy Teen Network's 30th Annual Conference will be held October 21-24, 2009, in Tampa, FL.
If you are local to Florida or the Southeastern US and are interested in being on the 2009 conference advisory committee, contact Rita Lassiter at Rita@healthyteennetwork.org or (410) 685-0410.
Advocates For Youth Launches New Youth Activist Website
Amplify is the name of Advocates for Youth's new interactive website, which will serve as a vehicle for youth-led grassroots activism around sexual and reproductive health. As the site says, "Amplify isn't about making the world suddenly perfect--it's about change, about standing up for what we believe in. It's also a place to celebrate the incredible work [young people] are doing across the United States and around the world."
Advocates President James Wagoner says, "Amplify brings together new media technologies as tools for young people to influence policy and culture in America and around the world. This online community is working to showcase issues of sexual health and reproductive justice and to highlight the cultural hypocrisies inherent in a society that uses sex to sell everything from the Super Bowl to soda pop, yet is afraid to provide young people with age appropriate, science-based sex education."
Headlines of the Week
Stimulus Bill Includes STI Prevention Funding; Removal of Family Planning Provision Criticized
This week, the House of Representatives passed President Obama's $819 billion plan to stimulate the struggling U.S. economy. The stimulus package included funding for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, but did not include a Medicare provision that was among points of contention between the parties. (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/29/2009. Time Magazine published this question and answer piece to help clarify the issue.)
The Myth of Rampant Teenage Promiscuity
According to this article, the latest news about changing moral values and risky behavior among young people has parents very worried. The news is troubling, but may also be misleading. While some young people are clearly engaging in risky sexual behavior, a vast majority are not. In some ways, today's teenagers are more conservative about sex than previous generations. Today, fewer than half of all high school students have had sex: 47.8 percent as of 2007, according to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, down from 54.1 percent in 1991. (New York Times, 1/26/2009)
Teaching Teenagers About Harassment
A new campaign from the Advertising Council highlights the growing problems of "textual abuse," where harassment of children occurs by way of text messages. The campaign includes a Web site, ThatsNotCool.com, which encourage teenagers to set their own boundaries. It is intended to appeal to all teenagers, not just those with serious problems. (New York Times, 1/26/2009)
Clinton Approved as Secretary of State, Plans To Advance Women's Rights
The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the appointment of former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state in the Obama administration by a vote of 94-2. Clinton has said she is committed to advancing women's rights in the U.S. and abroad (Richter, Los Angeles Times, 1/22). During her Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, Clinton said, "Of particular concern to me is the plight of women and girls, who comprise the majority of the world's unhealthy, unschooled, unfed and unpaid." (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/23/09).
State News
ALABAMA
Huntsville Tweens, Teens Getting Preventive Care
Huntsville doesn't appear to fit the mold of a new report by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine which says "the system of care for tweens and teens is fragmented and poorly designed. Few doctors specialize in adolescents' complex needs, or provide comprehensive care that earns their trust. Most at-risk are the poor." Pediatricians here increasingly see young patients with grown-up concerns, like STDs, drugs, alcohol, obesity, smoking, and pregnancy. (The Huntsville Times, 1/20/2009)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Teen Pregnancy in DC's Latino Community
Teen pregnancies are climbing within the region's Latino community. Alvaro Simmons, Chief Operating Officer of Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care, joined WAMU 88.5 FM to talk about teen pregnancy in the Latino community.
FLORIDA
Delray Beach Senator Wants New Sex-Ed Policy in Florida Schools
A South Florida senator wants Florida public schools to ditch the wait-until-marriage message that's long been the basis of many sex-education classes. State Sen. Ted Deutch, D- Delray Beach, has filed legislation that would require schools to teach students about condoms and other contraceptive methods starting in the sixth grade. People on both sides of the issue, however, say the bills do not have much of a chance during this spring's legislative session, given their controversial nature and lawmakers' focus on the state's financial woes. (Palm Beach Post, 1/29/2009)
MISSISSIPPI
Lawmakers Debate Teaching Sex Education in Bible Belt
Legislators are debating whether teachers should talk about sex, in a comprehensive way, in Mississippi classrooms. Mississippi's teen pregnancy rate was more than 60 percent higher than the national average in 2006. Sexually transmitted diseases also are on the rise in the state, and experts say Mississippi's perpetual poverty is tied to the number of teenage, single parents. Openly discussing sex, particularly with teens, is still considered taboo in many circles of the Bible Belt state. State law doesn't require sex education in public schools. (The Sun Herald, 1/25/2009)
Funding and Other Opportunities
Adolescent and Young Adult Health Grants
The Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation is accepting applications for its grants to help non-profit organizations improve the well being of vulnerable children around the world through funding their programs, equipment and supplies, and construction projects.
Deadline: Rolling
The Annenberg Foundation: Health and Human Services, Education, and Youth Grants
The Annenberg Foundation provides support for projects within its grantmaking interest areas of education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community; health and human services; and animal services and the environment.
Deadline: Rolling
William T. Grant Foundation
The William T. Grant Foundation is accepting letters of inquiry regarding grants for research on social environments that affect the daily lives of youths ages 8 to 25 and how those settings can be improved, and for efforts to apply research evidence in public policy that affects young people. On average, grants range from $100,000 to $600,000 each over two or three years.
Deadline: 5/12/2009
American Savings Foundation: Youth and Family Grants
The American Savings Foundation is an independent, charitable foundation dedicated to strengthening the community by supporting education, human services, and the arts. Grants are available for community organizations that support youth and families.
Deadline: Rolling
Other Opportunities
Call for Nominations: The Robert F. Allen Symbol of H.O.P.E. Award
The Robert F. Allen Symbol of H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Through Empowerment) Award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to promoting cultural diversity within health promotion or who have demonstrated significant achievement in serving the health promotion needs of underserved populations.
For more details on award criteria and nomination and selection process, visit the American Journal of Health Promotion web site.
Deadline for nomination is 4/24/2009.
Resources
Measuring Youth Program Quality: A Guide to Assessment Tools
The Forum for Youth Investment recently released the second edition of their report, "Measuring Youth Program Quality: A Guide to Assessment Tools." This compendium of program observation tools provides information on each tool's purpose, history, structure, and methodology. It is an invaluable resource for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers trying to choose or develop such a measure and an important addition to the Foundation's work on improving youth programs. This second edition includes a new measurement instrument and updated information about many of the tools in the first edition, which was originally published in March 2007.
Federal Agencies Launch New Web Site for Youth-Serving Organizations
A group of 12 federal departments and agencies have unveiled a new Web site entitled, FindYouthInfo.gov. The new site was developed to help community organizations find resources and tools to support youth efforts. The site provides targeted information to help youth-serving organizations and community partnerships plan and implement effective youth programs through research, resource mapping, and community partnerships.
What Child Welfare Advocates Can Do For Unaccompanied Youth
The Legal Center for Foster Care and Education has developed this factsheet for those working with unaccompanied youth. (As defined by the McKinney-Vento Act, unaccompanied youth are young people experiencing homelessness who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.) This and other factsheets can be accessed through the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education.
Research
Managing the Media Monster: The Influence of Media (from Television to Text Messages) on Teen Sexual Behavior and Attitudes
This report is intended to inform practitioners and programs about what research says about adolescents and media influence. Published by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this report examines how the media influences sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behavior--both positively and negatively. (Via MCH Alert)
STD Surveillance Data from the CDC
The CDC has just released national sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance data for the year 2007. The report shows persistent and staggeringly high rates of STDs as well as a disproportionate burden of infections on women, minorities, and youth. After the release of this data the National Coalition of STD Directors called for a renewed commitment from the newly elected President and Congress to fight the STD epidemic.
Promising Teen Fatherhood Programs: Initial Evidence Lessons from Evidence-Based Research
To date, few teen fatherhood programs have been evaluated and even fewer have undergone rigorous (i.e., experimental) evaluations. Much can be learned from examining program practices across those existing teen fatherhood programs that have adhered to specific rigorous evaluation research criteria as are described below. This brief identifies ten characteristics of "model" and "promising" teen fatherhood programs using rigorous evaluation criteria.
Can I Get Pregnant from Oral Sex? Sexual Health Misconceptions in E-mails to a Reproductive Health Web Site
The researchers of this article sought to identify sexual and reproductive health misconceptions contained in e-mails sent to a university emergency contraception Web site. Of the total questions sent to the Web site, 303 (27 percent) contained underlying misunderstandings about sexual and reproductive health issues. When analyzing content, investigators found five major thematic categories of mistaken beliefs: sexual acts that can lead to pregnancy; meanings of "protected" sex; timing of pregnancy and pregnancy testing; hazards of emergency contraception to women and fetuses; and confusion between emergency contraception and abortion. |