MOAPPP November 2005 E-Monthly

MOAPPP introduces a new Adolescent Parent Network Resource Directory

The Adolescent Parent Network Resource Directory is a web-based guide to programs and services throughout Minnesota that work with pregnant and parenting adolescents. It is intended to provide a listing of available resources for pregnant and parenting teens, as well as to facilitate consultation and collaboration between providers around the state. You can search for programs in three ways: by county, by school district, and by service provided. You can access the directory on the MOAPPP website, MOAPPP.org.

The information in this directory was gathered from a self-report survey, administered by MOAPPP and the Department of Education in the summer of 2005. It reflects the most accurate and up-to-date information available at the time. If you provide services for adolescent parents and would like your program to be included in the directory, or if you have updates for the information currently listed, please contact Marilyn Colby Rivkin at [email protected] or 651-644-1447 ext.15.

MOAPPP thanks the Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support for a grant to begin this project.

Let’s Talk Month a Success Across the State

Kudos to the many organizations around the state that planned events and activities in recognition of Let’s Talk Month during October. Visit MOAPPP’s web site for a complete list of those events and activities to help you plan for October 2006. But hey! You don’t have to wait until next October to start “talking” again. Consider planning year round events and activities that include parents in your work with youth. Visit MOAPPP’s web site for more information on Parent-Child Connectedness (PCC). Keep talking!

MOAPPP is Awarded Five-Year CDC Grant

MOAPPP is very happy to announce that we are one of twelve organizations from across the country to be awarded a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With this grant, we will continue our efforts to build the capacity of local organizations to use science-based approaches to teen pregnancy prevention. MOAPPP and our project partner, the University of Minnesota Healthy Youth Development-Prevention Research Center, will work closely with the Healthy Teen Network, Advocates for Youth and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy to offer resources, training and technical support to Minnesota program providers.

Holiday Tribute Gifts to MOAPPP

The gift giving season is around the corner. What better way to acknowledge someone who is important to you this holiday season than by making a tax deductible contribution in their honor to MOAPPP? Your friend, colleague or family member will be sent a timely holiday acknowledgement of your generous and special gift. Give a gift that goes on giving all year… make a tribute gift to MOAPPP today!

“Call for Ideas” for MOAPPP’s 15^th Annual Conference, May 4-5, 2006

We are currently planning the 15^th Annual MOAPPP Conference to be held May 4-5, 2006 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. We need YOUR help to make this conference a success. The MOAPPP conference offers three keynote presentations and 35 workshops on a broad range of topics related to teen pregnancy prevention and adolescent parents. In an effort to ensure this conference offers workshops that challenge, motivate, and inspire participants in their work with youth and families, we are conducting a “Call for Ideas”. Please let us know if you have a workshop you would like to present, know of a great speaker we should contact, or have an idea for a topic you think we should be sure to address at the conference. Please send your ideas and contact information to Marilyn Colby Rivkin at 651-644-1447 ext. 15 or [email protected].

MOAPPP Advisory Board Member Featured at White House Conference On Helping America’s Youth

Dr. Michael Resnick was a featured speaker at the October 27th White House conference on helping America’s youth at Howard University in Washington, DC. Resnick, director of the University’s of Minnesota Healthy Youth Development-Prevention Research Center, said the development of young people is jeopardized by two main sources: their health and behaviors on one hand and on the other, the social contexts in which they find themselves. For more information about the conference visit UMNnews. To read Dr. Resbnick’s comments read the transcript on our website (PDF).

In the News

2004 U.S. Birth Data Released

Teenage birth rates declined again in 2004, but at a much slower pace than observed since the declines started after 1991. Rates fell 2 to 3 percent for non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black teenagers, and were unchanged for American Indians, Hispanics, and Asian or Pacific Islanders. For more data visit National Center for Health Statistics.

Stop it Now! Minnesota Launches Advertising Campaign

Stop it Now! Minnesota’s mission is to prevent child sexual abuse before a child is harmed and before an adult, youth or child acts in a sexually inappropriate way towards a child. For more information, go to www.stopitnow.com.

Unmarried U.S. women gave birth to a record 1.47 million infants

Unmarried U.S. women gave birth to a record 1.47 million infants in 2004, accounting for 35.7% of all births in the country for the year, according to a preliminary report released on Friday by the National Center for Health Statistics. Kaiser also has a summary article.

New Research Brief on Sexual Relationships Between Young Adolescents and Older Individuals.

Sex Between Young Teens and Older Individuals: A Demographic Portrait draws on recently released data on first sexual experiences from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth to present an updated look at sexual relationships between young adolescents and older individuals. The research brief, produced by Child Trends, specifically examines males and females whose first sexual intercourse was at age 15 or younger with an individual 3 or more years older. Available at www.childtrends.org (PDF).

New Paper Reviews Sexual Risk and Protective Factors

The following paper and accompanying matrix—Sexual Risk and Protective Factors: Factors Affecting Teen Sexual Behavior, Pregnancy, Childbearing, and Sexually Transmitted Disease—provides an exhaustive analysis of the more than 400 factors that can effect teen sexual behavior. Sexual Risk and Protective Factors: An analysis by Douglas Kirby, Ph.D., Gina Lepore, B.A., and Jennifer Ryan, M.A. can be downloaded at www.teenpregnancy.org.

U.S. News and World Reports Examines the National Sex Education Debate

U.S. News & World Report this week examined the national debate over comprehensive sex education and abstinence-only instruction and which curriculum is more effective in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies and cases of sexually transmitted diseases. Read more on the Kaisernetwork. A teachers guide to the issues is also available online.

Hollywood Fails to Show Realities of Unprotected Sex

The Hollywood film industry fails to show the negative consequences of unprotected sex, such as unplanned pregnancies, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. For more information, visit www.kaisernetwork.org or the Guardian.

Challenge Filed to Inaccurate Abstinence-Only Funding

Advocates for Youth and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) filed a challenge to the federal government’s funding of inaccurate and ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. For more information, visit www.advocatesforyouth.org.

Most Pediatricians Would Give HPV Vaccine; 11% Believe It Would Encourage Risky Sexual Behavior, CDC Survey Says

Most pediatricians say they would be willing to give to boys and girls a vaccine that prevents infection with the sexually transmitted disease human papillomavirus, but some say “inadequate” insurance reimbursement, parental refusal and continuity of care could be barriers to the distribution of such a vaccine. For more information, visit www.kaisernetwork.org.

Protecting America’s Youth: Schools and Communities Tackle Youth Sexual Risk Behaviors

About half of high school age people in the United States have had sexual intercourse, and one in four sexually active teens contracts a sexually transmitted disease every year. Although the teen pregnancy rate is dropping, it still remains at crisis level in some states and communities. Failure to educate young people about these risk behaviors can have dire consequences. In the October 17th Web conference, “Protecting America’s Youth: Schools and Communities Tackle Youth Sexual Risk Behaviors,” sponsored by The Council of State Governments, state legislators and health experts speak about protective factors and effective prevention strategies for youth and how parents, schools and communities are involved. Click here to view the audio and/or slides.

New Research explores teacher connectedness and health-related outcomes among detained adolescents

“Findings from this study suggest that adolescents’ perceptions of connectedness with teachers are an important correlate to engagement in fewer health risk behaviors,” state the authors of an article published in the October 2005 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study found that adolescents with low teacher connectedness were 1.8 times more likely to have had sex. They were also 1.5 times more likely to have been high on alcohol or drugs during sex, 1.5 times more likely to have had sex with a partner who was high on alcohol or drugs during sex, and 2.1 times more likely to have had sex concurrently with multiple partners in the 2 months before they were detained. Article: Voisin DR, Salazar LF, Crosby R, et al. 2005. Teacher connectedness and health-related outcomes among detained adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health 37(4):337.e17-337.e23. Abstract available from www.jahonline.org.

New Research assesses intervention to screen male adolescents for Chlamydia

Authors found that the Chlamydia male screening program was effective in identifying Chlamydia via an “accurate, acceptable, and feasible screening mechanism.” write the authors of an article published in the October 2005 issue of the American Journal of Public Health: Tebb KP, Pantell RH, Wibbelsman CJ, et al. 2005. Screening sexually active adolescents for Chlamydia trachomatis: What about the boys? American Journal of Public Health 95(10):1806-1810. Abstract available at www.ajph.org.

Asian and Other Community Health Workers Needed

Currently two campuses offer the eleven credit training course – Minneapolis Community Technical College (MCTC) and South Central College in Mankato. Admission criteria: High School diploma or GED, proficiency in English, and an oral interview. Training includes core skills, fieldwork/internship, and lasts approximately one semester. After completion of training, the CHW’s have regular monthly meetings with peers. The CHW Peer Network meetings are open to interested persons. (Contact Andrea Leinberger Jabari 612-230-3254 or LuAnn Werner at 612-230-3255) For information on the CHW program at MCTC contact Carmen Franzmeier at 612-659-6212.

Students must also complete 80 hour internship. For more information e-mail Pauline Cahalan at .

MOAPPP Events

December 11, 2005
AFFIRM: An Event for Adolescent Girls and the Adults in Their Lives

1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Sabes Jewish Community Center (JCC), St. Louis Park

AFFIRM, sponsored by NCJW in partnership with schools and organizations throughout the Twin Cities, is an event for 6^th – 8^th grade girls and the important adults in their lives. This year’s program focuses on a number of key issues in girls’ lives, including Fitting In: How to deal with popularity, jealousy and mean girls; Fitting It All In: How to deal with stress and over-scheduling; and When Nothing Fits: How to deal with media pressures and body image. For more information and registration, go to www.ncjwmpls.org.

May 4-5, 2006
MOAPPP’s 15^th Annual Conference

Save the date for the 15^th Annual MOAPPP conference.

Other Events

Multiple dates November 6 – November 21, 2005
The Talk: An Intercourse on Coming of Age

Youth Performance Company
Bryant Lake Bowl, 810 West Lake Street, Minneapolis

Hormones are raging, moods are jumping, curiosity is peaking and pressure is building! Can you remember the big challenges of pubescent life? Then let’s talk about it! This original, teen-driven work includes sketch comedy, songs, and personal stories–guaranteed to promote the facts with “real teens” and Youth Performance Company’s wild, wacky stamp of reality! Tickets: $10-$12. Call 612.825.8949.

November 8, 2005
Reproductive Health Update: What’s Current in Contraceptive Technology, STI Prevention and Treatment

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
University of Minnesota, Continuing Education and Conference Center

Co-sponsored by Health Care Education and Training, Inc., the Healthy Youth Development–Prevention Research Center and the Annex Teen Clinic. For nurses, nurse practitioners, health educators and other interested health care staff and providers. Continuing Education Units available. For further information contact Jenny Stephenson at or 317-247-9008.

November 9, 2005
2005 APPCNC Hispanic Symposium

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina will hold a one-day symposium on effective practices in teen pregnancy prevention programming for Hispanic/Latino youth. Learn from the experience of those who are implementing and studying successful programs for Latino youth in other areas of the US and for Latin American teens. Nolo Martínez from the Center for New Carolinians will deliver the morning keynote address. Speakers will include Debra Delgado of The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Registration is available online.

November 16, 2005
On Gender & Equity for the Asian American Woman

8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Midtown YWCA

RSVP to Heidi at

November 16-19, 2005
Healthy Teen Network 2005 Annual Conference

HTN’s (formerly NOAPPP) annual conference, Leading the Charge: Making a Difference in the Lives of Teens and Young Families, will be held in Chicago, IL. Conference information available online.

December 2, 2005
Every Student Connected: How to Create a Safe and Respectful School Climate

Zuhrah Shrine Center
Cost: $20.00

For more information, contact Jeannette Raymond at .

December 6, 2005
Reducing Underage Drinking Through Policy Change

8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Bloomington Civic Plaza
Cost: $30.00

For more information, contact Julie Wilbert at .

March 27-28, 2006
Minnesota Conference on Adolescent Females (MCAF)

Save the date for the 16^th Annual Minnesota Conference on Adolescent Females, hosted by the Girls Coalition of Minnesota. For more details, visit www.mngirls.org.