Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM) Education will use Tier 1, TPPP funds to implement a systems-based approach to preventing teen pregnancy among high-risk, juvenile-justice involved, or at-risk youth, within the highest-need counties in its service area. A needs assessment conducted by PPMM in 2019 revealed an almost complete absence of sex education curricula within in sites serving this population of youth, and only a patchwork of offerings aligned with best practices for promoting optimal health and preventing teen pregnancy.
To fill that gap, the PPMM Sex Ed Equity (S.E.E.) Project will implement a coordinated, systems-level approach to offer Power Through Choices (PTC), an evidence-based, trauma-informed program developed for this population of focus. The S.E.E. Project will be supported by a multi-modal strategy to train and support; “youth influencers,” who surround the teens: parents/guardians, foster parents, group home/detention center staff, social workers, PPMM community partner staff; and the involvement of more than a dozen community collaboratives, regional working groups, and state-wide partnerships. The S.E.E. Project includes additional leverage points, such as linkage to PPMM’s health centers where teens can access free or sliding-scale services or app-based appointment services; an online learning platform and resource center for youth and their caregivers, access and introduction to Planned Parenthood’s popular chat tool, ROO; tools and resources for the participating youths’ parents/caregivers to fortify program outcomes; and professional development trainings for partner site staff. The S.E.E. Project will also be offered in Spanish--critical for reaching the Latinx population, currently with the highest rates of teen pregnancy by race in California and Nevada.
The S.E.E. Project will be implemented in Fresno, Kern, Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Yolo counties in California, plus Washoe county and Carson City (a county-level city) in Nevada. The S.E.E. Project will enroll 1,066 youth (age 13-18) in Year 1 and 1,200 youth per year in Years 2 and 3. Overall, the S.E.E. Project will achieve a saturation rate of 34% of the target population in California counties, and 42% in the targeted Nevada counties. Youth for the S.E.E. Project will be recruited through current partner sites throughout the 12 targeted counties. Partner sites include youth residential and detention facilities, service programs for justice-involved youth, service sites for youth on probation, foster youth support service programs, service centers for homeless youth, Boys and Girls Clubs, Job Corps sites, alternative schools, and behavioral health centers. To support the adults surrounding the target youth population, the S.E.E. Project will offer a S.E.E. Project Toolkit, which includes resources, and access to an Online Learning Center that will support the curriculum delivered to teens. In-person and online learning programs for adults will be offered to 1,066 adult caregivers, and 185 site staff and other youth influencers in Year 1 of funding.
PPMM is the largest affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a 501c3 organization offering low-cost family planning, reproductive health services, primary care, and educational services since its founding in 1963. PPMM Health Centers had more than 350,000 visits to its 35 health centers in FY19. PPMM Education reached more than 86,000 individuals in 2019 and plays a vital role in California and Nevada by providing people across the lifespan with sex education to promote sexual health and wellness serving the diverse populations of its 42-county service area, tailoring its services and programs to meet the needs of diverse and special populations toward the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies and promoting responsible attitudes, behaviors, and communication related to sexuality and health.