MOAPPP April 2006 E-Monthly

May 4-5, 2006
MOAPPPs 15th Annual Conference “15 Years of Bringing the Pieces Together”

Earle Brown Heritage Center
Brooklyn Center, MN

Join us for two days of dynamic speakers, challenging workshops and many opportunities to network with Minnesota professionals committed to teen pregnancy prevention and support for pregnant and parenting teens.

Early registration deadline is April 14, 2006!

Conference brochures can be downloaded from the MOAPPP website or contact [email protected] if you would like to receive a brochure in the mail.


May 5, 2006
Advocacy Lessons from Shelby Knox

Youth Only
3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Earle Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center, MN
Cost: $15 per person or $50 for a group of five

This dynamic session follows the MOAPPP conference and is open to all teens interested in learning more about advocacy for comprehensive sexuality education. This interactive program will be led by Shelby Knox of Advocates for Youth and Rebecca Fox of SIECUS. To register for this event download the registration form online. If you need additional information or have questions, please contact Leah Sweet, [email protected] or (651) 644-1447×12.

We will also be selling Education of Shelby Knox DVDs at the MOAPPP Conference. The cost is $20.00 for MOAPPP members and $30.00 for non-members. If you are not attending the conference but would like to order a copy, contact Lisa at (651) 644-1447, ext 16 or [email protected].


Call for Exhibitors for MOAPPP Conference

Please join us as an exhibitor for the 15th Annual MOAPPP Conference. Exhibit information and registration forms are now available online. (PDF) The conference convenes approximately 400 social service and health care providers, educators, advocates, program directors, and youth who work to prevent adolescent pregnancy and support pregnant and parenting teens. Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to promote your program, organization or business! Exhibit space is limited so register TODAY!


Become a MOAPPP member today!

MOAPPP is a member-supported organization that relies on annual membership dues from individuals and organizations so that we may provide the many programs and services that you, and others who work with and care about youth, have come to depend on. To join online, please visit www.charitybox.com/MOAPPP. To print a membership form that can be mailed or faxed back, go to MOAPPP.org. Questions? [email protected].

 

Other Announcements

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

The national theme for Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2006 is: “Speak Out: It’s About Time to Prevent Sexual Violence.” April 6th has been designated A Day To End Sexual Violence. In keeping with the “Speak Out” theme, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) is urging programs across the country to organize poetry slams featuring youth. The Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) is also developing a Sexual Assault Awareness Month manual that will contain information about poetry slams and a lot more! For more information and ideas for programs and activities to highlight Sexual Assault Awareness month, please visit www.mncasa.org.


April 20, 2006
Positive Alternatives Act Funding Application Deadline

Positive Alternatives Act Funding Application deadline is April 20, 2006. To be eligible, programs must be a nonprofit organization, have had an alternatives-to-abortion program in place for at least one year as of July 1, 2005 and ensure that its alternatives-to-abortion program’s purpose is to assist and encourage women in carrying their pregnancies to term and in maximizing their potential thereafter. Programs that provide abortions, schedule abortions and provide transportation to abortions are not eligible for this funding. Grant application materials are available on the Minnesota Department of Health’s website.


May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

How is your organization planning on promoting National Teen Pregnancy Prevention (NTPPM) next month? NTPPM seeks to involve communities in promoting and supporting effective teen pregnancy prevention initiatives. Advocates for Youth recently updated its National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (NTPPM) Planning Guidebook (PDF). This guidebook provides strategic tips and examples to help local communities plan and implement activities for NTPPM that include how to involve youth and working with the media. If you are planning to promote NTPPM in your community, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. MOAPPP will be highlighting statewide efforts on our website.


May 3, 2006
National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Hundreds of thousands of teens nationwide are expected to participate in the fifth annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on May 3, 2006. The National Day is organized by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy to reach teens directly through an innovative, online quiz that reflects on the best course of action in a number of tough and realistic sexual situations. Visit www.teenpregnancy.org for a listing of National Day products and materials you can purchase or download for free.


“Sex Has Consequences” Online and Broadcast PSAs Now Available

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is pleased to offer a series of public service announcements (PSAs) featuring the theme “Sex Has Consequences.” The series of 15- and 30-second PSAs are the result of a contest for young filmmakers and were judged by a panel of teens. These PSAs are now available for online preview at www.teenpregnancy.org. PSAs can be customized with your organization’s name and logo.


Two New Research Briefs Available About Teen Pregnancy

Two new Science Says research briefs are available from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: Science Says #21: Teens’ Attitudes Towards Pregnancy and Childbearing, 1988-2002 (PDF) and Science Says #22: Teens Sexual Experience 1995-2002 (PDF).


The Impact of Sex and HIV Education Programs in Schools and Communities on Sexual Behaviors among Young Adults

Now available on the Healthy Teen Network website, this new report by Douglas Kirby, B.A. Laris and Lori Rolleri addresses the effects of sex and HIV education programs, characteristics of effective programs, and implications for policy and practice. Douglas Kirby is a keynote speaker at the MOAPPP Annual Conference on Thursday, May 4, 2006.


National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Releases Guide for Replicating Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs

As more research emerges on effective teen pregnancy prevention programs, practitioners in states and communities are often urged to “replicate programs with fidelity,” but actually doing so can be difficult. Copy That: Guidelines for Replicating Programs to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (PDF) addresses this important topic.


Eighth Annual European Study Tour

Advocates for Youth and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte are sponsoring the eighth European study tour, October 20-November 6, 2006. Apply now to travel to Netherlands, France and Germany to identify the strategies, programs and policies that have positively influenced adolescent sexual behavior and outcomes in these countries. For more information and to download the application, please visit www.advocatesforyouth.org

In the News

Factsheet about Low Income Children

Millions of children with low-income parents are still without the basics, even though the majority of low-income parents work. Young children continue to be disproportionately affected. The National Center for Children in Poverty fact sheet series, Basic Facts About Low-Income Children, 2006 edition (PDF), tracks children in the United States who live in low-income families by age: birth to age 18; birth to age 6; and birth to age 3.


State By State TANF Funding and Pregnancy Prevention

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) created a state-by-state chart on states’ use of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds in fiscal year 2004. Take a look at your state’s information to see if it is using TANF funds for pregnancy prevention efforts. For more information, visit CLASP’s website.


The Society for Adolescent Medicine Released a Research Study and a Position Paper About the Potential Dangers of Abstinence-Only Until Marriage Programs

The January 2006 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health includes these articles, which carefully examine the evidence about these programs and also outline the potential dangers of ineffective programming. Both the research study (PDF) and the position paper (PDF) are available online.


Girl Scouts Publish Study Findings on “New Normal” for Adolescent Health

The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living, combines focus group research with a nationally representative online survey of more than 2000 eight to 17-year-old girls from different racial, ethnic, geographic, and socio-economic backgrounds. For more information visit www.girlscouts.org.


Bridging Two Worlds: How Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs Can Better Serve Latino Youth

This report from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy summarizes the research, provides guidance on effective programs for Latino youth, and provides advice from those working with Latino teens, as well as the advice of Latino teens themselves. Read the report at www.teenpregnancy.org. (PDF)


Forum for Youth Investment article by Karen Pittman, “Secret to Success: Deliver Meaning”

This forum examines low rates of youth participation in some prevention programs and challenges organizations to help young people find meaning in what they do. For more information please visit www.forumfyi.org.


It’s a Guy Thing: Boys, Young Men, and Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Although girls have traditionally been the major focus of efforts to prevent teen pregnancy, the importance of targeting teen boys and young men is increasingly apparent to researchers, practitioners, parents, and others who work with youth. One of the many reasons for this new focus is that the substantial reductions in teen pregnancy and birth rates in recent years can be attributed, in part, to dramatic shifts in the sexual behavior of boys. Please visit the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy’s online store. A new report from the National Campaign, It’s a Guy Thing (PDF), addresses the role of boys and young men in teen pregnancy.


MOAPPP Events

April 7 & 24, 2006
Screening of “The Education of Shelby Knox”

April 7:
Hosted by the School of Public Health and the Minnesota Public Health Association
National Public Health Week Film Festival
University of Minnesota’s Mayo Auditorium, East Bank
5:30 p.m.

April 24:
Lutheran Social Services
2414 Park Ave S. Minneapolis

Join us for a free screening of the acclaimed documentary featuring youth advocate, Shelby Knox.

Please contact Leah Sweet, [email protected] or (651) 644-1447×12 to RSVP.


May 4-5, 2006
MOAPPPs 15th Annual Conference “15 Years of Bringing the Pieces Together”

Earle Brown Heritage Center
Brooklyn Center, MN

Join us for two days of dynamic speakers, challenging workshops and many opportunities to network with Minnesota professionals committed to teen pregnancy prevention and support for pregnant and parenting teens.

Conference brochures can be downloaded from the MOAPPP website or contact [email protected] if you would like to receive a brochure in the mail.


May 5, 2006
Advocacy Lessons from Shelby Knox

Youth Only
3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Earle Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center, MN
Cost: $15 per person or $50 for a group of five

This dynamic session follows the MOAPPP conference and is open to all teens interested in learning more about advocacy for comprehensive sexuality education. This interactive program will be led by Shelby Knox of Advocates for Youth and Rebecca Fox of SIECUS. To register for this event download the registration form online. If you need additional information or have questions, please contact Leah Sweet, [email protected] or (651) 644-1447×12.

We will also be selling Education of Shelby Knox DVDs at the MOAPPP Conference. The cost is $20.00 for MOAPPP members and $30.00 for non-members. If you are not attending the conference but would like to order a copy, contact Lisa at (651) 644-1447, ext 16 or [email protected].


May 11, 2006
MOAPPP’s Annual Benefit Event

6:00 – 9:30 p.m.
The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant

MOAPPP will recognize its 15-year history as Minnesota’s resource for teen pregnancy information. A buffet dinner will be served and musical entertainment will be provided by Ginger Commodore and the GCQ quartet. The evening’s emcees will be Lori and Julia, “Drivetime Divas” of FM 107. You can purchase your tickets online now. Please contact Lisa [email protected] or (651) 644-1447×16 with any questions.

 

Other Events

April 3 – May 4, 2006
Underage Drinking Forums

10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Multiple Locations

The Minnesota Prevention Resource Center is offering forums on Underage Drinking in eight Minnesota communities this spring. Go to www.emprc.org for more information.


April 7, 2006
Metro Area Networking Breakfast: Professionals Who Work with Men

9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Maria’s Restaurant
11th Ave. and Franklin St.
South Minneapolis

This informal group generally meets the first Friday of the month to discuss fatherhood and men’s services topics. It’s a great opportunity to network, meet other professionals and share an update about your services for men and fathers. The meeting is open to the public; no RSVP is necessary; meet in the back room.


April 8, 2006
Youth Engagement & Voter Registration Rally

1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Augsburg College
Sateran Auditorium
2211 Riverside Ave
Minneapolis

The rally is for urban, suburban, multi-cultural, immigrant and underrepresented youth from across the state. For more information call Deborah at (763) 476-8677 or e-mail .


April 19, 2006
YOUTH SPREADIN’ THE TRUTH

7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Neighborhood House
179 Robie Street East, St. Paul

Minnesota Teens for AIDS Prevention (MN-TAP) is holding a community forum on comprehensive sexuality education. Come learn about the issues and the comprehensive sexuality education bills in the Minnesota House and Senate. The forum is open to youth, parents, educators and concerned citizens. Register today!


April 20, May 18, and June 15, 2006
Attention Adolescent Parent Providers: Monthly Reflective Practice Group for Professionals Working with Infants, Toddlers and Families

5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
St. David’s Child Development & Family Services
Cost: $80

Working with infants, toddlers and their parents is both rewarding and challenging, evoking powerful feelings in the professionals who deliver these relationship-based services. Co-sponsored by CEED and the Center of Excellence in Children’s Mental Health, these meetings will encourage the thoughtful observation of oneself and others. The content for each group will emerge from the practice experiences of the participants. The size of the group will be limited, and participants will be asked to commit to the entire series of four sessions. A flier with more information and registration forms is available online. (PDF)


April 26, 2006
African Immigrant and Refugee Youth: Acculturation and Community Impact

1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Model Cities Brownstone Room
834 University Ave. W., St. Paul

This Minnesota Dialogue on Africa features Dr. Leon Rodrigues, Associate Dean for Diversity and Community at Bethel College, leading a panel discussion addressing the issue of acculturation among African immigrant and refugee youth, and its impact on families and communities. Please RSVP to Stephanie Haddad at .


April 28,2006
The 7th Annual Latino Youth Peace Conference

8:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
YWCA Minneapolis, Downtown
1130 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis

A fun and intergenerational event for the community by Latino youth. For more information please go to www.oportunidad.org.


May 3, 2006
5th Annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Sponsored by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and National Day founding partners Teen People magazine and TeenPeople.com, the National Day is designed to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding teen pregnancy and other consequences of sex. For more information, please visit www.teenpregnancy.org.


May 19, 2006
Creating Effective Public Health Messages Using Strategic Frame Analysis

8:15 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Continuing Education and Conference Center
University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus

As public health professionals, we have an obligation to help policy makers understand and support the issues we care so passionately about. We have the data and the case studies, the research and the experience, but it is still difficult to obtain sufficient funds, supportive policies and public support for our work.

Improving how we communicate about health issues can increase our professional effectiveness. In this seminar, we will explore the techniques of Strategic Frame Analysis. This approach studies deeply held assumptions and world views that people hold, and tests participants to determine their impact on people’s support for strategies to address social problems. Recognizing that there is more than one way to tell a story, strategic frame analysis taps into decades of research on how people think and communicate. The result is an empirically-driven communications process that makes academic research and program evaluation understandable, interesting and usable. See the brochure (PDF) for more information and registration.