update on the teen pregnancy prevention initiative tppi, jackson county

1. Update on the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI), Jackson County Michelle White, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative Coordinator

3. Teen Pregnancy is Closely Linked to Other Critical Social Issues Poverty and Income Disparity Overall Child Well-Being Infant Mortality Out-of-Wedlock Births and Marriage Responsible Fatherhood Workforce Development Education Levels/School Failure Child Abuse and Neglect Child Welfare Juvenile Delinquency/Incarceration

4. History of Jackson County Health Department Received Abstinence Funding since 1990 Leader in community for teen pregnancy prevention: Jackson County Abstinence Partnership, Jackson Youth Partnership, etc. Received $1.35 in funding for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Project (TP3) from 2000-2003 Provided education to majority of school districts in Jackson County (i.e., puberty, STD�s, abstinence, birth control)

5. Why the United Way and Teen Pregnancy Prevention? The mission of the United Way of Jackson County is to improve people�s lives by mobilizing the caring power of Jackson County to create lasting change in community conditions Jackson County has a long history of high teen pregnancy rates Teen Pregnancy was identified as a priority area through United Way�s community needs assessment process in 2005

6. What is the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI)? Advisory Committee made up of local teen pregnancy prevention �experts� Mission is to reduce the teen pregnancy rate in Jackson County and address contributing factors for Jackson County�s young people Recently conducted a strategic planning process in 2006-2007 to develop a community-wide plan for reducing Jackson County�s teen pregnancy rate Receives $75,000 per year for 3 years Pursuing Hope for Our Youth Copy on www.uwjackson.org

7. Who makes up the TPPI? Community agencies � Health Department, Center for Family Health, Allegiance Health, Planned Parenthood, counseling agencies, United Way, Jackson Public Schools, African American churches Labor and Delivery nurses Concerned Citizens Parents Teens

8. Strategic Planning Process for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative Assessed Teen Pregnancy Prevention programs in place for Jackson County Collected information on successful programs on national, state, and county levels Conducted 6 focus groups locally with teens, teen parents, and parents for ideas and feedback

9. Strategic Planning Process for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative Analyzed Jackson birth rates by age, race, and birth certificate data Collected valuable input from stakeholders group and target population Key theme was lack of hope in Jackson County�s youth Identified Jackson specific needs and gaps Advisory Committee ranked interventions to determine direction of initiative

10. Why the Disparities? Generational Cycles/Cultural Patterns Poverty Lack of hope for a successful future Desire for unconditional love Lack of parental connection Status/positive attention from friends Very accepted in certain communities

11. Overall Goals of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative Implementation of the Carrera Program Multi-faceted holistic approach to teen pregnancy Education Employment Family Life and Sex Education Lifetime Individual Sports Self-Expression Mental Health Services Comprehensive Medical and Dental

12. �Hope is a powerful contraceptive. The way that you help young people avoid pregnancy is by providing them with real evidence that good things can happen in their lives.� Dr. Michael A. Carrera Children�s Aid Society - Carrera Program

13. Overall Goals of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative Parent & Community Education in Neighborhoods with High Teen Pregnancy Rates House to House program - Prenatal Task Force Daughters of Promise - Monument of Faith Parent/Teen Connectedness Workshops

14. Overall Goals of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative Advocacy Plan for Jackson County Work with sex education committees within local school districts Encourage comprehensive sex education at the high school level Educate the public on teen pregnancy Increase awareness on programs currently in place

15. Community Call to Action Event Official release of our strategic plan Took place March 13, 2008 with 140 in attendance Moderator, United Way Executive Director, TPPI Coordinator, 6 panelists for a 2 hour event Invited key leaders, elected officials, schools, faith-based organizations, young people Positive media attention Promoted on local cable channel after event Multiple demands for presentations after this event

16. Media Campaigns Targeting Parents and Teens Website Development � www.tppijackson.org Six Billboards Radio Advertising Television Advertisements

19. Citizen Patriot Coverage

20. School � Based Sex Education � Jackson Public Schools Committed to comprehensive, long-term sex education programming Sex Education Advisory Committee meets monthly Puberty: the Wonder Years curriculum for 4th-6th grades Safer Choices curriculum for 7th-8th grades Healthy Relationships/Michigan Model for all 9th graders Comprehensive Sex Education beginning in 7th grade

21. Local Teen Pregnancy Video Selected 8 teen parents ( 5 females and 3 males) to a participate in a video targeting teens that focuses on prevention Began the process in April of 2008 Goal = 17 minute video with discussion guide to show in local tpp programs, distribute to all school districts and to community agencies Created both an abstinence-only and a comprehensive version

22. GET REAL Summer Program Abstinence Mini-grant for summer of 2008 80 inner-city young people (males and females) Hired 4 African American staff to lead program Program was 3-4 days per week, 1 field trip/week Purpose is to expose young people to new opportunities, empower them, incorporate guest speakers and personal testimonies, weekly themes, mentoring, positive role modeling, parent programming, overnight retreats

23. Other Critical Services/Programs Teen Parent Program Teen Health Center at Parkside Center for Family Health Planned Parenthood Big Brothers Big Sisters Crisis Counseling Services Faith-Based Programming Afterschool programs and recreation centers

24. What Success Will Look Like� Implementation of the Carrera Program in 2009 Parent/Community Education being offered through creative strategies in targeted neighborhoods All Jackson County School Districts implementing age appropriate, research-based, long term sex education programming

25. What Success Will Look Like� Jackson County residents being more aware of the issue of teen pregnancy More adults mentoring young people Looking for all opportunities to instill hope in Jackson County teens Businesses, Agencies, Faith Community, Funders all getting more involved in positive youth development

26. Obstacles and Challenges Consistent and Long-term Funding Regular attendance in programs outside of school Hiring reliable, dedicated staff Parental involvement Lack of caring adults in teens lives Breaking the cycle - Generational Patterns Dealing with Poverty Teen Pregnancy is NOT always viewed as a negative thing