A Statewide Effort to Increase HIV and Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Education in Public Schools: The California Experience Jasmin Delgado, Erin Touslee, Amy Smith, Paul Gibson, Sharla Smith, Joyce Lisbin, Alice Gandelman & Gail Bolan California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch 2008 National STD Prevention Conference Confronting Challenges, Applying Solutions Chicago, Illinois, March 10-13, 2008

STD Community Interventions Program (SCIP) Focuses on programs that serve youth and young adults due to high STD rates. Support LHJs to build capacity of schools and community programs to reach youth before they get STDs. Provide local trainings for youth-serving professionals Provide program technical assistance & resources Develop and distribute free educational tools for use with youth

             Local SCIP Coordinator  The Local SCIP Coordinator is a county or city employee who partners with youth-serving organizations (like schools) in that jurisdiction to help integrate STD prevention activities into existing services

High morbidity in CA exists among year olds Sexuality education guidelines have been established and are required for use HIV/AIDS education is mandated in CA Comprehensive sexuality education is optional Abstinence only education is not allowed Schools receive reimbursement for teacher trainings & purchased curricula/resources Why Work With Schools?

Infrastructure already set in place Good opportunity for sustainability Effective way to work with parents Parent workshops/PTAs Large consistent audience of youth Why Work With Schools? (continued)

Statewide collaboration with CDPH and CDE Meetings with staff of Local Education Agencies (LEA) County Office of Education, school districts, schools Sit on local HIV/STD curricula review boards (at district or county level) Advocate with local school boards/PTAs Collaborative teacher trainings Distributed free educational tools How Has SCIP Worked With Schools?

Results of SCIP Working With Schools

N=45. Four of seven agency types assessed listed here. Four response categories were: No change, Slightly More, Somewhat More & Much More Percent of LHJs that increased (“much or somewhat more”) collaborations with agencies, November, 2005

School Program Changes as a Result of SCIP TA and Training, November, 2005 School-Based Program Changes Implemented in local health jurisdiction % of LHJs SCIP “Making the Connections” curriculum now part of school lesson plans 31% New STD/HIV prevention education or STD data added to school lesson plans 47% Increased knowledge of teachers in STD/HIV information 58% New STD screening services on campus or in collaboration with schools 13% N=43. Note: Four out of nine changes assessed are listed here.

Trainings and Resources Delivered 60 teacher trainings were conducted Statewide between January 2002 & October ,800 teachers/school personnel in attendance 1,500 youth providers have received the Making the Connection Between STDs & HIV curriculum 389 youth providers have received the STD 101 for teens slide set (between 6/1/07 to 2/15/08)

Self Reported Change In Ability As A Result of Training Movement of at least 1 step on a 5 point likert scale (1 poor to 5 excellent) % of Participants Describe common STDs & their symptoms83% Summarize STD data trends locally & nationally92% Describe the relationship between HIV & STDs84% Provide clear & simple risk reduction messages about STDs to students at sexual risk for pregnancy & HIV 82% N=416. Note: Of completed retrospective evaluation forms submitted post training.

Program Challenges Time School administrators or school board members insisting on doing abstinence only education Funding: to buy validated curricula or to send teachers to training Local control of training/evaluation

Begin where they are Know your State Education Codes Have free & user friendly resources available Be patient Maintain relationship with county curriculum coordinator or school district coordinator Effective Approaches

Resources From the State of CA STD Control Branch Free Downloads STD/HIV Update for Educators Training STD Overview for Non Clinicians (STDOVNC) Training (in Spanish/English) English version of STDOVNC Training coming on line next year State and local STD data

Acknowledgements Staff from the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center, the CA STD Control Branch & the CA Department of Education: Amy Smith, Carol Kong, Paul Gibson, Joyce Lisbin, Erin Touslee, Gail Bolan, Alice Gandelman and Sharla Smith Local SCIP Partners in Offices of Education Local SCIP Partners in community-based agencies

Acknowledgements SCIP Coordinators from the 45 local health jurisdictions: Alameda CountyMonterey County Santa Barbara County City of BerkeleyNevada County Santa Clara County Butte CountyOrange County Santa Cruz County Contra Costa CountyCity of Pasadena Shasta County Fresno CountyPlacer County Siskiyou County Humboldt CountyPlumas County Solano County Imperial CountyRiverside County Sonoma County Kern CountySacramento County Stanislaus County City of Long BeachSan Benito County Sutter County Los Angeles CountySan Bernardino County Tehama County Madera CountySan Diego County Tulare County Marin CountySan Francisco County Tuolumne County Mendocino CountySan Joaquin County Ventura County Merced CountySan Luis Obispo County Yolo County Modoc CountySan Mateo County Yuba County

QUESTIONS?

Contact Information Jasmin F. Delgado, MPH California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch 3374 E. Shields Avenue Rm C-14 Fresno, CA ph; fax