In 2003, the Adolescent Sexual Health Working Group (ASHWG) was formed as a way to help address this issue. ASHWG is a collaboration of agencies focused on the sexual health of adolescents in California.¹ The vision of ASHWG is to:

"Create a coordinated, collaborative, and integrated system among government and non-government organizations to promote and protect the sexual and reproductive health of youth in California."

One of the main goals of the working group is to ensure that educators, counselors, and case managers working in the area of adolescent sexuality can deliver effective behavioral interventions to protect the sexual and reproductive health of youth in California.

In order to meet this goal, the group formed a subcommittee of public and private sector professionals, and collected feedback from members as well as national experts in sexual and reproductive health. Based on this feedback, the group developed a set of Core Competencies for providing sexual health education and counseling consistent with the mandates of the California Education Code.

The Core Competencies outline the knowledge, abilities and skills necessary to be an effective and highly qualified educator, counselor, or case manager in the area of adolescent sexual health. These competencies are applicable to a wide range of professionals, including classroom teachers, community educators, clinic staff, HIV counselors, STD counselors, family planning counselors, case managers, outreach workers, and peer educators.

The Core Competencies are divided
into five major domains:

A. Professional and Legal Role

This domain covers the legal and ethical considerations that guide interactions with youth. It is important for providers to be aware of personal and professional boundaries and to understand one’s own personal beliefs, values, and biases.

B. Adolescent Development

Professionals working with youth should have an understanding of how sexual decision making is related to an adolescent's cognitive, psychological, social, emotional and physical development.

C. Youth-Centered Approach and Youth Culture

Providers should respect youth and understand the influence of peers and youth culture. They should utilize approaches that build upon the strength of each individual and avoid using fear-based messaging.

D. Sexual and Reproductive Health

These competencies cover not only anatomy and the prevention of infection and unplanned pregnancy, but also sexual development, gender, sexual orientation, and relationships.

E. Pregnancy – STIs – HIV

These competencies highlight the fact that providers need to have a basic understanding of risky behaviors, their consequences, prevention, treatment and risk-reduction strategies.

The competencies can be used in a variety of ways.

Providers may use it:

• As a self-assessment tool
• As a training guide
• For staff development
• To design job descriptions
• To evaluate work performance

ASHWG’s long term goal is that the Core Competencies will become the standard for California educators and counselors. ASHWG is currently developing tools and resources that will connect the competencies to basic functions for human resource managers, including job descriptions, screening tools, performance management and more.

CFHC staff have been involved in the development and review of the Core Competencies, and we are excited about the potential to improve adolescent services through the application of the Core Competencies in the sexual and reproductive health field.

To learn more about ASHWG or to download the Core Competencies, visit the California Adolescent Health Collaborative website. Visitors are asked to fill out a short registration form so that ASHWG can track requests. You may also request to receive automatic notification on all future tools and updates.

Footnotes

1. ASHWG is comprised of staff from: the California Department of Public Health (CDPH, including Office of AIDS, STD Control Branch, Office of Family Planning, and Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Branch), the California Department of Education (CDE), California Family Health Council (CFHC), Center for Health Training (CHT), Gay/Straight Alliance Network, Center for Research on Adolescent Health and Development (CRAHD), ETR Associates, and California Adolescent Health Collaborative (CAHC), a project of the Public Health Institute.

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