Empowering Youth 2.0 - Child & Family Resources, Inc. (CFR) Prevention Programs for Youth are foundational programs that support the agency’s mission to empower children, youth, and families to build bright, thriving futures. Child & Family Resources puts an emphasis on building community partnerships and providing health education. Through the Empowering Youth 2.0 Project, CFR will provide 600 at-risk youth ages 12-19, over three years, with Love Notes, an evidence-based curriculum. This program aims to empower youth with the knowledge, skills, and support needed to make healthy decisions, reduce engagement in risky behaviors, and build a foundation for success by strengthening protective factors, developing youth assets, and promoting positive community change. The geographic focus of the proposed program is Pima, Maricopa, and Apache Counties. These counties were selected based on school data, which showed high rates of free and reduced lunch, which can lead to an increase in risky behaviors and teen birth. Arizona ranks 18 out of 51 in teen birth rates, and rates increase to higher levels when examining certain populations within these counties in Arizona. Love Notes SRA 4.1 Sexual Delay was designed and developed specifically for the proposed target population and is medically accurate, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed. LoveNotes teaches participants benefits of making healthy decisions regarding relationships, risky sexual behaviors, STI/pregnancy prevention, and drugs & alcohol, where content is all related to the impact of these things on romantic and other types of relationships. The curriculum integrates adulthood preparation subjects: adolescent development, educational and career success, financial literacy, healthy life skills, healthy relationships and parent-child communication. A significant teaching in the LoveNotes curriculum is giving youth an understanding of how family and life influence financial and educational behavior and decisions. Youth learn ways to improve relationships, while developing leadership, self-regulation, and communication skills that prepare them for their future. The intended result of this programming is a community of youth who are empowered to create their own path for the future. This program intends to promote sustainability of programming through training of community partners/members who can support or provide programming after the end of the funding cycle. In the last six months (December 1, 2025-May 30, 2026), the Empowering Youth 2.0 Program has provided direct LoveNotes curriculum to 239 youth across two counties in Arizona. Of this number, 52 were full survey participants and 187 were participants of LoveNotes mini sessions. Empowering Youth 2.0 has also indirectly served 753 individuals through outreach events and social media engagement. In the year to date, 373 have received at least one session of Love Notes and of this number, 151 were full survey participants. In the 2026-2027 grant year (year 3), Empowering Youth intends to provide services to 225 youth, to meet expected initial grant outcomes. The Empowering Youth 2.0 team in the last six months has also began implementing sustainability practices. This includes youth leadership development in partnership with internal program The Resilience Initiative. Youth leadership development focuses further on LoveNotes initiatives from a leadership perspective including vision setting, advocacy skills, and thinking critically about choices.
