MOAPPP January 2004 E-Monthly

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Table of Contents

MN-ENABL Evaluation Released

The Minnesota Education Now and Babies Later (MN-ENABL) evaluation is now available online at www.saynotyet.com. The state and federally-funded abstinence-only program’s evaluation indicates that there was an increase in sexual intercourse, as well as in intention to have sex before finishing high school among the surveyed teens in the year after they participated in the program. The evaluation concludes that the program should include a comprehensive approach, providing information on both abstinence and contraception. MOAPPP has recommended to the MN Department of Health that the program be changed to incorporate a science-based curriculum that has been shown to have positive results in delaying sexual activity, and that includes information about protection and contraception. The Minneapolis Star Tribune featured a story on the report on Sunday, January 4. Access this story and related links online at www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=21528. A related article on Understanding “Abstinence” has just been posted at: www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/gr060504.pdf

Minnesota Sexuality Education Resource Review Panel recommends two curricula

MSERRP recently added two curricula to its list of recommended sexuality education and HIV prevention resources. “Streetwise to Sex-wise: Sexuality Education for High Risk Youth” (2001) and “Unequal Partners: Teaching About Power and Consent in Adult-Teen Relationships” (1999). Both curricula are available from The Center for Family Life Education, www.ppgnnj.org. For detailed review summaries and a complete list of MSERRP reviewed materials, go to MOAPPP.org/projects/mserrp.asp.

Call for Exhibitors for MOAPPP Conference

MOAPPP seeks exhibitors for our annual conference, Building Hope: Building Lives, May 6-7, 2004. Exhibit registration fees are $125.00 and entitle you to: two full days to display your products/services; one 8′ skirted table on which to display your information/products; breakfast, lunch and snacks for one exhibitor; and inclusion of your organization in the list of exhibitors provided to all conference participants. For more information, go to MOAPPP.org/training/annualconference.asp

Teens and TANF: How Adolescents Fare Under the Nation’s Welfare Program

This report provides background on the welfare program and summarizes research on the implications of several TANF policies, including: Teen Parents Receiving TANF Benefits, Youth Living in TANF Families, and Youth that Participate in TANF-Funded Programs. The report is available at: www.kff.org/womenshealth/3390-index.cfm.

“Breaking Ground”

In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a groundbreaking initiative called the Community Coalition Partnership Programs for the Prevention of Teen Pregnancy (CCPP). A new publication from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy spotlights the approaches that worked and the challenges encountered during the first two years of CCPP. Download “Breaking Ground” at www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/pdf/BreakingGround.pdf.

Lessons Learned About Effective Policies and Practices for Out-of-School-Time Programming

This report published by the American Youth Policy Forum provides findings and observations from school-based, community-based, and voluntary activities for youth in the out-of-school-time (OST). It discusses the challenges to out-of-school-time program implementation and is available for download at www.aypf.org/pdf/LessonsLearnedOSTPrograms.pdf.

“Preventing Teen Pregnancy: What Works and What Doesn’t”

This presentation by John Santelli (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and Jennifer Manlove (Child Trends) is available at www.hhp.umd.edu/FMST/fis/current.htm.

“With One Voice 2003”

This annual survey of adults and teens by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy suggests that teens are more cautious about early and casual sex than perhaps is generally believed. To read or order the report, view a summary of the survey, or to read news articles about the survey, please visit www.teenpregnancy.org.

Talking About “It”

You can access this educational booklet that provides information on sexual violence prevention among school aged youth at www.co.ramsey.mn.us/PH/hi/viol_free_sexual_viol.asp.

Births: Final Data for 2002

The CDC reports that the national teen birth rate has declined 30% since 1992 to 43 births per 1,000 females in 2002. Teen births among black teens represented the sharpest drop. The birth rate among black teens decreased from 114.8 births per 1,000 females in 1991 to 66.6 births per 1,000 females in 2002, a drop of more than 40%. You can view the study at www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_10.pdf.

MOAPPP’s 2004 Legislative and Policy Agenda

You can view MOAPPP’s agenda for the 2004 Legislative session at MOAPPP.org/advocacy/agenda.asp.

Health Resources updated directory now available

2003 Health Resources Serving Diverse Cultural Communities Directory, Created by the Refugee Health Program at the MN Department of Health (MDH), is now available. The directory includes the seven-county metro area. The directory is available in .PDF format online at: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/refugee/directory.html. Hard copies of the directory can be requested from MDH. Contact Jeanne Watson at or at (612) 676-5530.

Study Assesses Association Between Adolescents’ Level of Linguistic Acculturation and Their Well-Being

Adolescents of all racial and ethnic groups from a non-English [speaking] home environment are at higher risk of a range of psychosocial and parental risk factors than the majority population of non-Hispanic white English-speakers,” state the authors of an article published in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The authors conclude that “these findings emphasize the need to design risk-reduction interventions for adolescents that take the vulnerabilities of immigrant youth into account, and to implement preventive mental health services for youth that are targeted toward new immigrants of all races and ethnic groups.” Journal of Adolescent Health 33(6):479-488. For more information, see the MCH Library bibliography, Adolescent Mental Health, at www.mchlibrary.info/databases/bibmenu.html and the MCH Library organization list, Culturally Competent Services, at www.mchlibrary.info/databases/orgmenu.html.

16 Million U.S. Women Need Public Support to Prevent Unintended Pregnancy

“Preventing Unintended Pregnancy: The Need and the Means,” a new analysis by Adam Sonfield, highlights the ongoing problem of unintended pregnancy in the United States (where half of all pregnancies are still unintended) and discusses the existing strains on the nation’s system of care designed to meet women’s reproductive health needs. Currently, thirty-four million U.S. women need contraceptive services and supplies to help them prevent unintended pregnancies – nearly half of whom need public support for such care because they are poor or low-income, or are teenagers. See www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/gr060507.pdf.

Title X

The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) has announced several new Title X program priorities that will affect the delivery of subsidized family planning services for low-income women, according to “Title X Program Announcement Articulates New Priorities for Nation’s Family Planning Program,” by Cynthia Dailard. See www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/gr060513.pdf.