Comprehensive Sex Education for Vulnerable Youth in Hampton Roads, Virginia - The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood (VLPP), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, proposes to replicate evidence-based and evidence-informed program models that have been proven through rigorous evaluation to reduce teenage pregnancy, behavioral risk factors underlying teenage pregnancy, or other associated risk factors. Specifically, VLPP will implement this project utilizing two curricula, Get Real and Power Through Choices. The core components of both curricula will be offered with fidelity. These programs will address four of six adult preparation subjects: healthy relationships; adolescent development; parent- child communication; and healthy life skills. The project goal is to educate youth on issues including abstinence, healthy relationships, parent and child communication, healthy life skills, STI and protection methods, which research has found ultimately reduces teen pregnancy.
The specific priority population for the Get Real curriculum will be all Health 1 students (ages 14-15) attending five traditional and one alternative Newport News public high schools. Newport News demographics reveal the majority of these public high school students come from low-income areas with high rates of teen pregnancies, teen births, sexually transmitted infections, and other associated risk factors. The specific priority population for the Power Through Choices curriculum will be youth in out-of-home care settings, including incarcerated youth, youth in foster care, and youth in residential treatment centers. VLPP currently has eight partners throughout Hampton Roads (Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach), and will continue to work with local agencies to identify appropriate partners for providing this curriculum.
This program will require $350,000 to fully implement. Funding will be used to maintain needed personnel including an Education Director, PREP Program Coordinator, and three Educators; to purchase required program materials; to provide ongoing training to ensure the core components of the curricula are presented with skill, medical accuracy, and fidelity; and to evaluate each program to determine effectiveness.
