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This
Month’s Contents: MESSAGE
FROM SYLVIA RUIZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NATIONAL
RESOURCES 1.
New from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unintended
Pregnancy 2.
New from Advocates for Youth LOCAL
RESOURCES - EVENTS
AND NOTICES New
Mexico Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Center
for Non-Profit Excellence New
Mexico Department of Health New
Mexico Community Foundation Message
from the Young Father’s Project |
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MESSAGE
FROM SYLVIA RUIZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR There are a
number of topics I want to share with you this month. At the Healthy
Teen Network National Conference held in Albuquerque in October, I had the
honor and privilege to present the Spirit of Service Award to Lt. Governor
Diane Denish and Senator Linda Lopez. They couldn’t have selected
two more deserving women for the awards. We had a most
productive NMTPC Board meeting. This was the last meeting for David
Connolly, our Board member from Las Cruces, who has provided leadership
and tireless service in the Las Cruces area. He is very much
appreciated. We welcome Mary Carter of Anthony, NM in his place and
look forward to working with her. NMTPC was just
notified that we have been selected for the New Mexico Women’s Forum’s
2008 Leadership, Empowerment and Advocacy Program Award which has the
stated goal of preparing future generations of women leaders. We
appreciate the opportunity. The young women who will participate in
the NMTPC program will be trained as health promotion specialists and will
work with their peers and professional staff in educating other teens
about sexual health and responsibility, educating legislators, and
learning leadership skills to prepare themselves for future leadership
positions. Hasta
Luego, Executive
Director 505-254-8737 505-254-8741
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1.
New from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unintended
Pregnancy
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2.
New from the Center for Law and Social
Policy Fostering
Connections to Success Act of 2008 Creating
Postsecondary Pathways to Good Jobs for Young High School
Dropouts by Linda Harris
and Evelyn Ganzglass. This paper advocates expansion and better
integration of efforts to connect high school dropouts between the ages of
16 and 24 to pathways to postsecondary credentials that have value in the
labor market. The paper highlights examples of innovations in policy,
program delivery, pedagogy in adult education, youth development and
dropout recovery, and postsecondary education that should be built upon in
developing more robust and successful dropout recovery and postsecondary
education policies and practices to open the door to higher wages and
career opportunities for this population. The authors urge federal
officials, governors, school administrators, college officials, workforce
leaders and employers to provide leadership in building the supports and
pathways at scale to bring dropout youth back into the education and labor
market mainstream. The paper was prepared for the Center for American
Progress. 30 pages. 10/29/2008 CLASP Seeks
Policy Analyst for Paid Sick Days Initiative The Center for
Law and Social Policy is seeking a policy analyst to work on our paid sick
days initiative that emphasizes engaging employers in state efforts to
establish new laws. This position is new to the organization and
will report directly to the Deputy Director. The Policy Analyst will be
tasked with working with colleague organizations around the country to
help identify, engage, and provide technical assistance to interested
employers. To view the job description and requirements, click here. |
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Each
month the |
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Local
Events & Notices From
the New Mexico Association of Family and Consumer
Sciences NMAFCS ANNUAL
MEETING SAVE THE
DATE! MARCH 12-13, 2009!!! The New Mexico
Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NMAFCS) Annual Meeting will
be held on Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13, 2009, at the
Albuquerque Radisson Hotel. The theme is “Celebrating the Past –
Sustaining the Future” and we will commemorate the 100th anniversary of
AAFCS by enjoying an exquisite Thursday evening gala dinner.
Opportunities to reminisce and celebrate abound! Friday, March
13, is dedicated to “sustaining our future”. Dr. Lowell B. Catlett,
Dean of Agriculture and Home Economics at New Mexico State University,
will jump start the day as our internationally famous, visionary keynote
speaker. Many workshops covering a variety of tantalizing topics,
such as using nanotechnology in our lives; navigating the eldercare maze;
distance education and dual enrollment; immigrant Mexican parents’
involvement with their children; and green construction, are being
planned. Mark your calendars NOW, apply for professional leave, and
join us for a truly exciting conference! For registration
information, contact Marie M. Duryea at mduryea@unm.edu or
505-828-0768. New from The Center
for Non-Profit Excellence Employee
Retirement Plans Compliance Changes Effective January 1,
2009 December 2,
2008, 2:00-3:30 PM Center for
Nonprofit Excellence, United Way of Central New Mexico office, 2340 Alamo
SE Register Visit our
website www.centerfornonprofitexcellence.org for more
information and resources! Grant Related
Trainings:
www.centerfornonprofitexcellence.org New
Mexico Department of Health TDV News Flash:
2008 TDV Study Advocates for Holistic View of Teen Experience in Framing
Prevention Efforts A new
investigation sheds light on the possible factors that push teenage boys
to abuse their girlfriends. In their own words, the young men often
describe facing challenges such as growing up with troubled family lives,
having little or no support when they began to fail at school, and
witnessing violence in their own homes and communities. The researchers
identified common themes - from listening to boys who had been referred by
their schools or families to an intervention program for abusive behavior
with girlfriends. They also gathered information from their previous
work. In 2007, Miller
and her colleagues completed a survey of 825 Boston-area youth that was
designed to assess the prevalence of and factors related to teen dating
violence among those who utilize confidential adolescent health clinics.
The current study was part of this larger research project on adolescent
relationship violence and health. Related News
Articles *Assess for
Date Violence http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/04/03/assess-for-date-violence/724.html *TV Wrestling
Increases Teen Date Violence http://psychcentral.com/news/2006/08/07/tv-wrestling-increases-teen-date-violence/157.html *Teen Suicide
After Date Violence Or Assault http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/06/06/teen-suicide-after-date-violence-or-assault/878.html *Domestic
Violence Can Trigger Asthma http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/05/03/domestic-violence-can-trigger-asthma/797.html *Witnessing
Marital Violence http://psychcentral.com/news/2006/10/17/witnessing-marital-violence/337.html Teen Suicide
After Date Violence Or Assault Wednesday, Jun
6 (Psych Central) -- A new report discovers recent dating violence among
urban teen females and lifetime history of sexual assault among urban teen
males may be associated with suicide attempts. Related
Articles *Assess for
Date Violence http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/04/03/assess-for-date-violence/724.html *TV Wrestling
Increases Teen Date Violence http://psychcentral.com/news/2006/08/07/tv-wrestling-increases-teen-date-violence/157.html *Teen Suicides
- Another Look http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/09/12/teen-suicides-%e2%80%93-another-look/1268.html *Teen Date
Violence Studied http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/10/15/teen-date-violence-studied/3133.html *Family Support
After Teen Suicide http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/04/22/family-support-after-teen-suicide/2174.html New Mexico High
School Survey Shows Decreases in Drug Use, Suicide
Attempts (Santa Fe) –
The New Mexico Department of Health and the Public Education Department
released results today from the 2007 Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey that
surveyed about 11,300 high school students across the state about healthy
and risky behaviors. The survey found several positive trends in risk
behaviors, including decreases in drinking and driving, suicide attempts,
alcohol and drug use and television viewing from 2003 to
2007. “We are pleased
to report that fewer teenagers in New Mexico are participating in
behaviors that put their health at risk,” said Health Secretary Dr.
Alfredo Vigil. “This survey helps us measure important factors so we can
work with community partners to build on students’ strengths and reduce
their risky behaviors.” Every other
year, the Department of Health collaborates with the New Mexico Public
Education Department to invite New Mexico’s 89 school districts to
participate in this survey. It asks students about their risk behaviors
and their protective factors, which include relationships with family,
school, adults and peers, community involvement, life skills and
constructive use of time. The data
clearly demonstrate an important link between risk behaviors and academic
performance. Students who do not engage in risk behaviors have much better
academic outcomes than other students. For instance, while 74.9% of
nonsmokers report getting high grades in school, only 51.4% of smokers
report getting good grades. Similar relationships exist between
academic performance and drug use, alcohol use and other risk
behaviors. “Healthy
students make better learners,” Education Secretary Veronica C. García
said. “This survey provides local school districts information that they
can use to determine school health programs and policies that will
contribute to students’ academic success.” Survey results
also illustrate the relationship between protective factors and risk
behaviors. Students who reported high levels of protective factors were
far less likely to engage in risk behaviors. For example, students who had
a low level of caring and supportive relationships with parents were more
likely to use marijuana compared to their peers who reported high levels
of caring and supportive relationships with their
parents. Key
findings:
“While we are
making progress in reducing risky behaviors among teenagers, we are
concerned that our rates for drug and alcohol use, violent behavior and
suicide attempts are among the highest rates in the nation,” Dr. Vigil
said. “We must continue to focus on our prevention work so we can support
our young people in leading healthy lives,” Dr. Vigil
said. In other areas,
New Mexico students fare better than the national average. New Mexico
students have higher rates of physical activity and lower rates of
sedentary behaviors than the rest of the nation. In comparison to other
students across the country, a higher percentage of New Mexico students
met the recommended levels of physical activity (NM – 43.6%; U.S. –
34.7%). A smaller
percentage of New Mexico students:
Thirty-nine
states collect and report this data to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, which compiles the information into national data.
The University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center and the CDC
provide technical assistance with New Mexico’s survey. To view New
Mexico’s county reports, visit the Department of Health’s website,
http://www.nmhealth.org/epi/yrrs.html. Other reports
on specific topics from the survey will be posted in coming
weeks. For the first
time this year, the Department of Health and the Public Education
Department also conducted a survey among middle school students. Results
from that survey will be available in the next couple of
weeks. Study
First to Link TV Sex To Real Teen Pregnancies Teenagers who
watch a lot of television featuring flirting, necking, discussion of sex
and sex scenes are much more likely than their peers to get pregnant or
get a partner pregnant, according to the first study to directly link
steamy programming to teen pregnancy. The study,
which tracked more than 700 12-to-17-year-olds for three years, found that
those who viewed the most sexual content on TV were about twice as likely
to be involved in a pregnancy as those who saw the least. "Watching
this kind of sexual content on television is a powerful factor in
increasing the likelihood of a teen pregnancy," said lead researcher Anita
Chandra. "We found a strong association." The study is being published
today in Pediatrics, the journal of the American
Academy of Pediatrics. There is rising
concern about teen pregnancy rates, which after decades of decline may
have started inching up again, fueling an intense debate about what
factors are to blame. Although TV viewing is unlikely to entirely explain
the possible uptick in teen pregnancies, Chandra and others said, the
study provides the first direct evidence that it could be playing a
significant role. "Sexual content
on television has doubled in the last few years, especially during the
period of our research," said Chandra, a researcher at the nonpartisan
Rand
Corp.
Studies have found a link between watching television shows with sexual
content and becoming sexually active earlier, and between sexually
explicit music videos and an increased risk of sexually transmitted
diseases. And many studies have shown that TV violence seems to make
children more aggressive. But the new research is the first to show an
association between TV watching and pregnancy among
teens. The study did
not examine how different approaches to sex education factor into the
effects of TV viewing on sexual behavior and pregnancy rates. Proponents
of comprehensive sex education as well as programs that focus on
abstinence said the findings illustrate the need to educate children
better about the risks of sex and about how to protect themselves,
although they disagree about which approach works
best. "We have a
highly sexualized culture that glamorizes sex," said Valerie Huber of the
National Abstinence Education Association. "We really need to encourage
schools to make abstinence-centered programs a priority." But others
said there is no evidence that abstinence-centered programs
work. "This finding
underscores the importance of evidence-based sex education that helps
young people delay sex and use prevention when they become sexually
active," said James Wagoner of Advocates for Youth. "The absolutely last
thing we should do in response is bury our heads in the sand and promote
failed abstinence-only programs." Chandra and her
colleagues surveyed more than 2,000 adolescents ages 12 to 17 three times
by telephone from 2001 to 2004 to gather information about a variety of
behavioral and demographic factors, including television viewing habits.
Based on a detailed analysis of the sexual content of 23 shows in the
2000-2001 TV season, the researchers calculated how often the teens saw
characters kissing, touching, having sex, and discussing past or future
sexual activity. Among the 718
youths who reported being sexually active during the study, the likelihood
of getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant increased steadily
with the amount of sexual content they watched on TV, the researchers
found. About 25 percent of those who watched the most were involved in a
pregnancy, compared with about 12 percent of those who watched the least.
The researchers took into account other factors such as having only one
parent, wanting to have a baby and engaging in other risky
behaviors. Fifty-eight
girls reported getting pregnant and 33 boys reported being responsible for
getting a girl pregnant during the study period. The increased risk
emerged regardless of whether teens watched only one or two shows that
were explicit or surfed many shows that had occasional sexual content,
Chandra said. "It could be a
child wasn't watching that much TV per week but was watching shows that
got a pretty high rating on sexual content, or it could be a kid who was
watching a lot of hours but on average was getting just moderate amounts
of sexual content from each show," Chandra said. Among the shows
the teens watched were "Sex and the
City," "Friends"
and "That '70s Show." Chandra would not identify the others but stressed
that they included dramas, comedies, reality shows and even animated
programs on broadcast and cable networks. "We don't want to single out any
individual programs," Chandra said. The researchers
recommended that parents spend more time monitoring what their children
watch and discussing what they see, including pointing out the possible
negative consequences of early sexual activity. Programmers should also
include more-realistic portrayals of the risks of sex, such as sexually
transmitted diseases and pregnancy, the researchers said.
"Unfortunately, that continues to be relatively rare compared to the
portrayals of the positive aspects," Chandra said. Critics of
television programming and experts on teen pregnancy said the research
provided powerful new evidence about the role of TV in youth
behavior. "This is very significant," said Melissa Henson of the
Parents
Television Council, a watchdog
group. "It gives us plenty of reason for concern." Kelleen Kaye of
the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy praised the
study but stressed that the causes of teen pregnancy are complex.
"We need to be cautious about overreaching in our expectations about the
role the media can play in our effort to prevent teen pregnancy," she
said. "We don't want to assume this is the whole
story." Several experts
questioned whether the study had established a causal relationship."It may
be the kids who have an interest in sex watch shows with sexual content,"
said Laura Lindberg of the Guttmacher
Institute. "I'm
concerned this makes it seem like if we just shut off the TV we'd
dramatically reduce the teen pregnancy rate." Chandra
acknowledged that other factors might play a role but said the findings
are compelling because the researchers were able to track the teens over
time and found such a striking relationship. "The magnitude
of the association we did see was very strong," she
said. From
the New Mexico Community Foundation The New Mexico
Community Foundation is pleased to inform you that the New Mexico
Integrated Services in Schools Initiative (NMISSI) is now known as
Elev8 New Mexico, with the tagline: Support.Learn.Achieve.
Our new logo is available in both English and Spanish. An event at
Gadsden Middle School was held on November 13, 2008 to both dedicate our
new school-based health center and to launch our new name and logo.
The integrated
services in schools work that we implement in partnership with you,
serving hundreds of middle school students across the state, will continue
to be led by New Mexico Community Foundation. The new Elev8 New Mexico
identity better reflects our role in the national Elev8 initiative.
Elev8 is a national movement dedicated to providing middle-school youth
and their families with an integrated array of services to help students
succeed in school and life. Elev8 offers high-quality, out-of-school time
learning opportunities, comprehensive, age-appropriate school-based health
care, and connects parents with economic and other resources for which
they are eligible, also engaging them in schools. By delivering these
program components in a carefully coordinated way, Elev8 strives to ensure
that by the time students complete 8th grade, they are prepared for high
school and will go on to graduate. Working with
middle-school youth, parents, teachers, local program directors and
policymakers, elements of the new identity—from the texting style of the
name, to the graffiti logo—was developed with youth in mind to best
capture the spirit of this ambitious national program. The name and logo
were selected through a process of intensive audience research that began
last spring, with the groups mentioned above. Youth suggested the original
program names tested with these audiences. In New Mexico, attention was
paid to the views of populations such as Native Americans, immigrants,
Hispanics, middle/low-income, and rural youth and
families. Schools, local
nonprofits and community partners like you currently work together in
Elev8 programs in New Mexico, Chicago and Oakland. Elev8 will share
lessons from its work with local, state and national policymakers to help
influence supportive policies and ways to prepare young people for the
future. Elev8 was developed by The Atlantic Philanthropies’ Disadvantaged
Children & Youth Program, which has made a substantial investment in
the four-year implementation at each local initiative. As Elev8 moves to
launch its national website, Elev8 New Mexico will follow suit,
implementing communication strategies to better inform you and other New
Mexicans about this movement and our work.
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Message
from the Young Fathers’ Project The New
Mexico Conference on Boys and Young Men held in Albuquerque at the
Hilton Hotel on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 was a great success.
Thank you to all of the people who worked so hard to make the Conference a
success. Special thanks to two of NMTPC’s Board members, Paul
Golding and Dave Breault, and the Young Fathers’ staff members Carlos
Balladares and Robert Valencia who participated. Referral form
for the New Mexico
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Back issues of
NEWS FLASH are available at our
web site. If you want to
be removed from the NEWS FLASH monthly list serve, click here
to email us New Mexico Teen
Pregnancy Coalition
Physical
Address: 540 Chama NE, Phone: (505)
254-8737 Fax: (505)
254-8741 Email:
nmtpc@nmtpc.org Web site:
www.nmtpc.org *** NEWS
FLASH is funded by
grants from New Mexico
Department of Health Family Planning
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