SHEC SRAE Young Adult Program - Safe Havynn Education Center (SHEC) will continue implementing the General Departmental Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (GD-SRAE) Program to improve the health, well-being, and future success of young adults ages 18–19 throughout Louisiana. During the current project period, SHEC successfully delivered the evidence-based REAL Essentials Advance curriculum to 455 young adults, exceeding its annual enrollment target while expanding partnerships with colleges, universities, workforce development programs, athletic departments, and community organizations across the state. During the continuation period, SHEC will provide medically accurate, age-appropriate Sexual Risk Avoidance Education to at least 350 young adults through classroom instruction, freshman seminars, student organization workshops, athletic department programming, conference presentations, and other educational events delivered with fidelity to the REAL Essentials Advance curriculum. Instruction addresses all required SRAE A–F topic areas, including healthy relationships, adolescent development, self-regulation, goal setting, success sequencing, communication, resisting peer pressure and sexual coercion, the benefits associated with voluntarily refraining from non-marital sexual activity, and prevention of youth risk behaviors. The project will continue leveraging a statewide network of postsecondary institutions, workforce development programs, and community partners to expand access to evidence-based programming for emerging adults transitioning into higher education, employment, military service, and independent living. Program implementation will be supported by comprehensive participant recruitment, facilitator training, fidelity monitoring, attendance tracking, participant entry and exit assessments, continuous quality improvement, and ongoing performance monitoring to ensure high-quality implementation and measurable outcomes. Through this continuation project, SHEC will strengthen protective factors, improve healthy relationship skills, promote responsible decision-making and future planning, and equip young adults with the knowledge, skills, and motivation needed to make healthy choices that support lifelong educational attainment, career success, economic self-sufficiency, and personal well-being while advancing the goals of the Administration for Children and Families and the Family and Youth Services Bureau.
