Policy & Practice October 2016

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TEEN PREGNANCY continued from page 27
Policy&Practice October 2016 40
� We convened an internal Sponsor
Group of the child welfare services
director and four assistant direc-
tors, and one assistant director who
was also a member of the Project
Coordination Team. This group was
tasked with final approval of the
recommendations from the Steering
Committee.
� We convened an internal Project
Coordination Team—a senior
manager, middle manager, policy
analyst, supervisor, social worker,
training coordinator, and super-
vising public health nurse—all
from child welfare services.
This group served as the bridge
between the Sponsor Group and
the Steering Committee. It devel-
oped joint agendas; completed
diligence on recommendations;
drafted prototypes of recommended
practitioner tools and policy to
reflect recommended elements;
developed a training curriculum
for social workers to reflect recom-
mended elements; coordinated
logistics to implement Sponsor
Group–approved recommenda-
tions; developed and implemented
marketing recommendations;
completed continuous quality
improvement tasks; shared their
knowledge with other counties;
collaborated with community
partners to optimize recommended
interventions; pursued emergent
opportunities such as grant
funding; and delivered policy and
resource awareness training to
social workers, caregivers, and com-
munity partners.
6. Practitioner tools
are essential
These require significant front-
load investment but yield a favorable
return in the form of policy and
practice fidelity. We produced a
reproductive and sexual health
policy, a reproductive and sexual
health resource guide, youth consent
rights notification, a medical provider
report with reproductive and sexual
health prompts, and training for
social workers (with separate modules
on policy, soft skills, and technical
skills). These tools were heavily vetted
by the Steering Committee and with
subject matter experts. These tools
were also developed through an
iterative process to reduce them to the
simplest essentials.
7. Youth need “askable
adults”—The more
the better
Some will be naturals and most
will benefit from training and support
to develop the comfort and skills of
an “askable adult.” They can include
parents, family members, social
workers, judicial officers, court-
appointed special advocates, foster
and kinship caregivers, transition-age
youth service providers, and attorneys.
Your plan should include strategies
to develop these individuals (e.g.,
training).
8. Peers are influential
Youth and young adults learn from
each other; therefore, it is important
to include strategies to develop their
accurate understanding of sexual and
reproductive health and resources.
We created a sexual and health
resource guide, funded a dedicated
public health nurse with a confidential
line, and partnered with community
partners to increase youth and young
adult access to comprehensive sexual
health education such as Cuidate, a
cultural adaptation of Making Proud
Choices.
We also partnered with school dis-
tricts as California’s passage in 2016
of Assembly Bill 329 mandated that
schools provide comprehensive sexual
health education in middle and high
school.
One area we are working to improve
is the stronger enlistment of peers in
outreach to other youth and young
adults.
9. Healthy sexual
development is not
all about sex
It is important to attend to the
foundation of healthy sexual devel-
opment by developing healthy
relationships with peers and adults
shaped by normalcy activity (see
what-young-people-need-to-thrive/)
Figure 3: Pregnancy Prevention as a Breakthrough Strategy for
SuccessfulTransition to Adulthood – Another View
Fewer youth/
young adults have
mistimed/unintended
pregnancies that
may inhibit their path
to socio-economic
security—to
successful transition
to adulthood.
Youth/young adults
engage with
“askable adults”.
Youth/young adults are
aware & informed of sexual/
reproductive health rights,
information and resources.
Youth/young adults use the
most appropriate forms of
contraception to decide
when to get pregnant, and
to prevent STI.
Youth/young adults access
sexual/reproductive health
resources.