Event One: Strengthening Our Practice: Refining Our Aim __________________________________________________________________________ Ask Us About - 1.2 Miami __________________________________________________________________________
Illinois HIV Prevention
Adolescent HIV Tool Kit
Issue: In an effort to strengthen state agency partnerships to improve HIV, STD and unintended teen pregnancy prevention, staff from Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) have met regularly for the past one year. A major outcome of these meetings has been the development of a plan to integrate sexual health issues across a variety of programs and provider’s who work with adolescents
Setting: A series of one-day regional training workshops across the state of Illinois that targets community-Based organization service providers, school personnel, local health department staff, administrators and others serving adolescents in school and community-based settings.
Project: Through our contractor Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, an adolescent sexual health tool kit (in the form of a flash drive) has been developed to assist public health departments, community-based organizations, and schools to effectively respond to the sexual health needs of their adolescent clients and students. The outline and structure for the toolkit was developed with input from state agencies; as well as participants of the two pilot trainings. Participants at future regional trainings will learn the elements and examples of science-based sexual health programs and gain tools necessary to identify the needs and resources most relevant for the youth they serve. The workshops will lead participants through a process to assess the risk and protective factors that influence adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior in the communities they serve. In addition, the workshop will provide participants with innovative strategies and new technologies for being a resource for youth in regards to their sexual health. Workshop participants will receive a toolkit and flash drive for updating resources as they become available. Resources available in the toolkit include: elements of effective sex education, Illinois state laws related to sex education, risk and protective factors for adolescents and web-links for resources and information.
Results: 152 participants have received the toolkit since the project started in 2008. Evaluation from pilot trainings revealed that participants demonstrated an 80% increase in knowledge in science-based adolescent sexual health program approaches. Feedback from pilot trainings participants has identified a number of priority areas for inclusion for future trainings events. These include: parent communication, LGBTQ issues, sexual health messages using technology, school board policy change and working with faith-based communities.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Glenn Steinhausen
217-557-7323 gsteinha@isbe.net
