Sex Ed that Grows with a Child A community-wide approach to adolescent sexual health Abi Karlin-Resnick, Executive Director

WELCOME! I learned about puberty, sex, and sexuality from…and the information was…

Objectives Identify key sources of sexual health information for adolescents and pre-adolescents. Articulate the value of implementing a longitudinal approach to adolescent sexual health that impacts multiple adolescent health influencers. Identify three strategies for how to implement a community-wide approach to sexual health education in their local community.

A little about us… 75,000 students 1,000 teachers trained 5 sexual health curricula

A Community-Wide Approach

In practice: Schools & Parents

In practice: Peer Education

In practice: Healthcare Providers Collaboration with STWC, training for healthcare providers, Board of Directors member, area of development Look back at early minutes to see how doctors were involved early on Secret shopper

In practice: Media Messages Show one of the peer ed Vine videos from MA 2 years ago? Picture of MS/HS media activity New Voices for Youth – teen parent video Area of development Note: importance of cross-over between these key influencers – e.g., media messages discussed in school, healthcare providers engaged in peer ed, etc.

Role of policy-making Local, state, national policies Community-wide approach ASSeT (local policy) CHYA Health Content Standards ESSA/Ab-only funding

CA Education Code (Section 51933) Instruction in ALL grades (K-12) Age appropriate Factual info shall be medically accurate Not reflect or promote bias Affirmatively recognize people have different orientations – include examples Teach about gender, gender expression, gender identity and harm of negative stereotypes Encourage communication with parents/guardians/ trusted adults Healthy relationships Decision making, negotiation and refusal skills Shall not teach or promote religious doctrine

CA Education Code (Section 51934) Mandated content (at least once in grades 7/8 and at least once in grades 9-12) STIs (incl. HIV/AIDS) – definitions, transmission, prevention, societal views Pregnancy – prevention, all legal options Minor access to healthcare Sexual safety, consent, sexual abuse/violence, sex trafficking Healthy relationships, decision-making and communication skills Parent/trusted adult communication

Core curriculum components Mixed-gender groups Inclusive of diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual identities Interactive and participatory Communication skills with parents, peers, and partners Cover sexual safety and consent

So what does this look like?

Sex ed that grows with a child & Student agency Puberty Talk: identify and communicate with a trusted adult Teen Talk Middle School: develop internal decision making processes in regards to having sex Teen Talk High School: develop skills to negotiate/ navigate decision making with a partner Teen Talk High School Refresher: develop capacity to disrupt negative or unhealthy behavior in one's surroundings Teen Talk Special Education: develop self-advocacy and support system Parent Talk: reinforce family values and ongoing support system

Not sure if this question fits with the others…

LET’S PRACTICE!

Conditions for success

Small group discussion Conditions for success in your community Challenges to implementing a community-wide approach? Strategies to implement in your community

Take-aways Understand what YOUR community needs Real community change takes time Find your allies – students, parents, teachers, administrators, healthcare providers, policy-makers, advocacy organizations Consistent messaging from ALL influencers If one of your influencers can’t implement, you’ll need to adapt the role the other influencers play for youth We started almost 30 years ago because of ONE student that brought a whole community together to address a problem that we didn’t know existed.

Questions?

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Abi Karlin-Resnick Perryn Reis Want more info? Abi Karlin-Resnick abi@health-connected.org Perryn Reis perryn@health-connected.org