March 15, 2007

Just Released!

Community-Based Abstinence Education 2007 Program Announcement

Staffing Alert

New Acting Director in the Division of Abstinence Education

Media Stories

Teenagers Urge Peers To Abstain From Sex
The Howard University (Washington, DC) District Chronicles, March 11, 2007

Sex-Ed Course Update Nixed: Proposal To Add Unit on Contraception Abandoned by Board
The Baltimore (MD) Sun, March 11, 2007

Teen Girls 'Date' Dad, Pledge Purity
ABC News.com, March 6, 2007

Montgomery County Public Schools Bars Rockville Pregnancy Center From Schools After Critics Attack Gum-Chewing Game
The Walt Whitman High School (Bethesda, MD) Black & White, March 4, 2007

Doyle Rejects Abstinence Money
Associated Press, March 3, 2007

Facts Scream Need for Abstinence-Only
The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer, March 2, 2007

Is True Love Worth the Wait?
The Harvard University Independent, March 1, 2007

Funding Opportunities

The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth maintains a listing of organizations identified as potential funding sources for abstinence education programs. The listing includes grant descriptions and contact information.

Improving the Well-Being of Children – Native American Healthy Marriage Initiative – Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant No. HHS-2007-ACF-ANA-NI-0021)
Grantees will improve child well-being by removing barriers to healthy marriage, helping couples sustain healthy marriages, and equipping youth and young adults with skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about healthy relationships, including skills that can help them eventually form and sustain a healthy marriage. Eligible applicants include community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, tribes, and village governments.
Deadline for applications: March 26, 2007

Compassion Capital Fund Targeted Capacity Building Program – Office of Community Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant No. HHS-2007-ACF-OCS-IJ-0036)
Grants of up to $50,000 each will be given to approximately 200 nonprofit organizations, including community-based, faith-based, and tribal organizations. Recipients must use the grant to fund programs targeting the issues of at-risk youth, homelessness, healthy marriage, or rural communities. The funds must also be used to build capacity in one or more of the following areas: leadership development, organizational development, program development, revenue development strategies, and community engagement.
Deadline for applications: April 10, 2007

Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) Program – Family and Youth Services Bureau; Administration on Children, Youth and Families; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant No. HHS-2007-ACF-ACYF-AE-0099)
The purpose of the CBAE program is to educate young people and create an environment within communities that supports teen decisions to postpone sexual activity until marriage. The anticipated number of awards is 50 to 60, with funding ranges between $250,000 and $600,000.
Deadline for applications: April 23, 2007

Recent Research

Marriage and Divorce: Changes and Their Driving Forces (February 2007)
The authors of this report, published by the Institute for the Study of Labor, or IZA, in Bonn, Germany, document key facts about marriage, divorce, and cohabitation in the United States over the past 150 years. They also compare these U.S. trends with those of other nations. The authors consider the driving forces behind these changes, including the availability of the birth control pill outside of marriage, access to abortion, improved household technologies, changes in wage structures, and changes in the legal structure of marriage.

Promoting Social Inclusion in Schools: A Group-Randomized Trial of Effects on Student Health Risk Behavior and Well-Being (September 2006)
The authors of this article, published in the American Journal of Public Health [Volume 96(6):1582–1587], conducted an intervention designed to promote social inclusion and commitment to education among eighth-grade students. They sought to determine whether promoting these positive values would also reduce health risk behaviors, including the initiation of sexual intercourse, substance use, and antisocial behavior. The authors found that 4 years later, participants reported health risk behaviors at a rate 25 percent below that of nonparticipants.

Upcoming Events

Abstinence Education Evaluation Conference
‘Strengthening Programs Through Scientific Evaluation'
March 19–20, 2007
Baltimore, MD – Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
Conference registration has closed.

Abstinence Education Grantees Regional Training
CBAE Grantees and State Title V Coordinators in Regions 1 through 4
April 24–25, 2007
Boston, MA – The Omni Parker House
Deadline for conference registration is April 9, 2007
Deadline for hotel registration is April 4, 2007
Contact: Frank Bazela at abstinence@pal-tech.com
Note: Each grantee is invited to send one person; participation is limited to the first 50 people who register.

Abstinence Education Grantees Regional Training
CBAE Grantees and State Title V Coordinators in Regions 8 through 10
May 24–25, 2007
San Francisco, CA – The Hilton Fisherman's Wharf
Deadline for conference registration is May 9, 2007
Deadline for hotel registration is April 27, 2007
Contact: Frank Bazela at abstinence@pal-tech.com
Note: Each grantee is invited to send one person; participation is limited to the first 50 people who register.

Abstinence Education Grantees Regional Training
CBAE Grantees and State Title V Coordinators in Regions 5 through 7
June 28–29, 2007
Chicago, IL – Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro
Deadline for conference registration is June 13, 2007
Deadline for hotel registration is May 29, 2007
Contact: Frank Bazela at abstinence@pal-tech.com
Note: Each grantee is invited to send one person; participation is limited to the first 50 people who register.

Other News/Misc.

Abstinence Education Media Resources Fact Sheet
Looking for materials to support your program? This new fact sheet contains links to many valuable resources, including brochures, conference materials, and how-to guides.

Focus on Staff

NINA DEGEORGE is a project assistant for the Administration for Children and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau. She joined the staff in September 2006 after graduating from Mount St. Mary’s University with a B.A. degree in English in May 2006. Her prior work experience includes two summer internships with a government contractor, Abacus Technologies, working onsite at the U.S. Department of Energy and in Abacus’s human resources department in Chevy Chase, Maryland. DeGeorge resides in Annapolis, Maryland.

Quote for the Day

"The safest sex is no sex."

(Magic Johnson, quoted in The Charlotte (NC) Observer, March 1, 2007)