Teen Pregnancy Prevention: From Condoms & IUDs to Savings Plans and College Applications CityMatCH Conference | Salt Lake City | September 28, 2015 | Erin Addington |

Teen Pregnancy Prevention NEFL Healthy Start Coalition: maternal and child health non-profit serving the greater Jacksonville area Formed Teen Pregnancy Task Force to address high rate of teens births, repeat teen births Evidence-based Teen Health Project identified as a best practice in Task Force Action Plan Coalition piloted Teen Health Project in 2011 with private funding, expanding in 2012 through the federal Personal Responsibility Education Program Erin Addington |

Teen Health Project Overview Comprehensive Sex Education Teens ages years old attend 8 hours of education that focus on HIV/STI education, pregnancy prevention and skills training Parent Workshop Parents of adolescent enrollees are offered a workshop that focuses on HIV/AIDS, pregnancy prevention information and parent-child communication Teen Leadership Councils Subset of teens meet every other week for six months Complete health and service-related activities, develops a community project Hear from experts on topics like financial; education and career goals; and healthy relationships. Erin Addington |

Beyond condoms and IUDs Safe sex practices are key to preventing unintended teen pregnancies Abstinence Condoms/Birth control Negotiation skills Safe sex alone won’t eliminate teen births Allow youth to see a positive, healthy future for themselves Funder (Competitive Personal Responsibility Education Program): Incorporate adult preparation topics: Adolescent Development Education & Career Success Financial Literacy Healthy Life Skills Healthy Relationships Parent-child Communication Erin Addington |

Incorporating topics By using the Teen Leadership Councils, the Coalition is providing a safe, voluntary and comfortable setting for the youth to learn about topics that they’re not always educated on at school or at home. Teen Leadership Councils have more leeway than the evidence-based youth education classes. Opportunity to provide consistent, accurate information that they can easily integrate into their lives. Erin Addington |

But isn’t this stuff BORING? Youth attend class all day, voluntarily come to Teen Health Project after school and on weekends Program competes with sports, extracurricular activities, jobs, family responsibilities for attention Budgets, college applications, savings plan, communication skills It doesn’t have to be… Erin Addington |

These are critical subjects The majority of our youth come from low-income households, public housing Teen Leaders receive $400 stipend after completing the program Youth come from families with no college education Exposure to neighborhood violence, domestic violence Erin Addington |

Personal Finance Eva Baker, 19-year-old from Jacksonville, FL Runs a blog for teens that focuses on financial responsibility Nationally-recognized for her website, initiatives Erin Addington |

It costs HOW much?? What is a budget? How can a budget help you reach your goals? Goals that teens might have regarding money. Housing, food, transportation and a baby – on the average income of a Jacksonville resident. The envelope system. Envelopes system tutorial. Erin Addington |

Education & Career Goals Travis Pinckney Motivational speaker, entrepreneur and founder of the College R- E-D Culture, a college readiness program Grew up in government housing around drugs, crime. Failed the ACT and SATs eight times before passing and receiving a full college scholarship Erin Addington |

That can be me? Importance of setting goals How to set goals Preparing for college College readiness skills Erin Addington |

Healthy Relationships Dustin Arceneaux, Senior Community Educator Planned Parenthood of South, East, North Florida Engaging expert in variety of adolescent reproductive health topics Erin Addington |

So that’s what a relationship should look like? How to keep open communication Improving listening skills Defining: What is healthy? What is unhealthy? Trust, respect Dating violence Erin Addington |

Feedback from the youth He reinforces messages in our program about taking care of yourself and making good decisions. I plan to listen more and be on the same page with people I know. I should study every night and try to make all of my grades good all the way to 12th grade It’s time to revisit some of my old goals. I’m going to stop watching YouTube videos for two hours each day. I’m going to write more goals down and follow my dreams and hopes. I’m going to change how I handle my challenges. The program has kind of put me back on track after hearing from the guest speaker we had (on education and career goals). I learned how to choose the perfect female. Erin Addington |

Lessons learned Don’t underestimate the ability or interest of youth to understand complex concepts To reach teens, use local faces of success. Utilizing people from the same neighborhoods or hardships as the teens shows them that there are achievable opportunities beyond the life they know. Erin Addington |

And most importantly… Make it fun! Erin Addington |