July 31, 2007

Media Stories

True Life: I'm Celibate (video program)
MTV.com, July 26, 2007

Workshop for Teenagers Urges Abstinence
The Augusta (GA) Chronicle, July 26, 2007

Behind Closed Doors: Teens and Abstinence (audio program)
National Public Radio, July 23, 2007

Girls Going Mild(er)
Newsweek, July 23, 2007

Teen Sex Rates Stop Falling, Data Show
The Washington Post, July 22, 2007

Local TV Stations React to Trojan Condom-Promotion Commercial
Medical News Today, July 19, 2007

Abstinence Education Faces an Uncertain Future (free registration required)
The New York Times, July 18, 2007

Congress Considers Program Funding of Interest to Faith-Based Groups
Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, July 17, 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.

National Center for Marriage Research – Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (HS-07-030)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation will fund university-based institutions to facilitate a National Center for Marriage Research. The center will conduct and disseminate policy-relevant research, build research capacity and networks, increase awareness of issues related to marriage and family structure, and provide support and mentoring to students in careers related to marriage and family research and policy. Deadline for applications: August 2, 2007

Two Should Know – Paso del Norte Health Foundation (El Paso, Texas)
Grant recipients will implement effective and imaginative programs working to both (a) reduce poor health outcomes such as sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, and sexual abuse, and (b) promote positive emotional and social health outcomes. The foundation serves people living in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties in West Texas, Doña Ana and Otero Counties in southern New Mexico, and the city of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. It has funded abstinence education programs in recent years. Deadline for applications: August 31, 2007

Parenting Capacities and Health Outcomes in Youths and Adolescents (R21) – National Institutes of Health (Cycle III)
Grant recipients will increase the skills and capacities of parents and caregivers to improve the health outcomes of their young and adolescent children. This includes interventions that help parents to decrease risk behaviors, including sexual behaviors, in their children and to build protective factors. Deadlines for applications: October 16, 2007, and November 5, 2007

Recent Research

Understanding Failure of Condom Use Intention Among Adolescents: Completing an Intensive Prevention Intervention (2007)
The authors of this article, published in the Journal of Adolescent Research [Volume 22(3):248-274], interviewed 26 inner city youth about their intentions and practices of using condoms. While "every teen had strong, well-articulated intentions to use condoms ... 24 of the 26 teens also had strongly held beliefs that justified an exception to this commitment." This was true of both boys and girls, although for different reasons. As a result, even though these adolescents verbally express the message of "safe sex," they do not necessarily practice it.

Cumulative Risk for Early Sexual Initiation Among American Indian Youth: A Discrete-Time Survival Analysis (2007)
In this article, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence [Volume 17(2):387-412], the authors assess risk factors associated with early initiation of sexual intercourse among Native American youth. Risk factors included maternal education, maternal history of adolescent pregnancy, parental divorce, peer influence, alcohol/drug use, and school performance, attachment, and attendance.

Other News/Misc.

Abstinence as Empowerment
In the first-ever podcast from the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, staff member Adrian Burnim talks to a young woman who says abstinence is more than a decision not to have sex—it's a way of valuing herself.

2007 Fact Sheet on Reproductive Health: Adolescents & Young Adults
This newly released fact sheet from the National Adolescent Health Information Center presents statistics and trends related to sexual experience, pregnancy, birth rates, and sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents. Within topics, data is shown by race/ethnicity, gender, and age.

African American Healthy Marriage Initiative Newsletter (July 2007)
This issue highlights youth marriage education and youth outreach efforts through a variety of articles, research summaries, and grantee profiles.

In the Spotlight

Georgia's Children & Youth Coordinating Council
Through its Children & Youth Coordinating Council (CYCC), Georgia provides long-term, intensive abstinence education programs for adolescents within a youth development framework. CYCC has provided nearly 150,000 adolescents with a powerful and healthy lifestyle choice that develops character and self-regulation and helps youth resist sexual activity. Technical assistance and program monitoring have been the foundation of CYCC's success. Toward that end, each grantee (among 20–30 grantees each year) must submit a monthly status report, and each participant must complete a pre- and post-test with parental consent. State program staff then conduct two site visits per program each year. The visits combine program observation with an audit utilizing CYCC's Georgia Abstinence Education Score Card. Program staff are also available to provide technical assistance throughout the year. In addition to providing grants to community organizations, CYCC distributes free educational products, organizes a biannual educators' conference and annual trainings and seminars, and promotes abstinence in other ways. In June 2006, 900 youth from across the State attended Georgia's first Abstinence Education Youth Summit; the summit is planned to be a biannual event. Last winter, the council's Everybody's Not Doing It, Join the Real Majority media campaign aired two half-hour productions in all major media markets in Georgia during primetime weekend viewing. CYCC also has produced numerous public service announcements and the council maintains an educational Web site; all products are available in Spanish. Georgia's State-funded abstinence education program began in 1991 and incorporated Title V funding beginning in 1997. Since 1991, births among Georgia's 15–17 year olds have decreased by 43 percent, despite a 25 percent increase in that age population. Among young women ages 15–19, the birth rate has declined 30 percent over the same time period. Georgia's progress in reducing adolescent childbearing saved taxpayers an estimated $227 million in 2004 alone. For more information about CYCC's programs, please contact Danielle Reudt.

Quote for the Day

"It's so important for youths to hear the (abstinence) message from other youths. When the kids can identify with someone their own age, they are going to listen."

(Mary Crawford, The Augusta (GA) Chronicle, July 26, 2007)