California Family Health Council, Inc.

The EPICS Program: Meeting Youth Where They’re At!

Young women 15 – 24 account for more than 50% of all reported chlamydia cases annually. The CDC recommends that all sexually active women under age 25 get screened for chlamydia every year, yet fewer than half receive this service. To address this issue, CFHC developed the Educational Partnerships to Increase Chlamydia Screening (EPICS) Program in 2007. The program provides funding, training and technical assistance to Title X agencies that operate school based health centers. [Continue]

May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

Hundreds of thousands of teens nationwide are expected to participate in the eighth annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on May 6, 2009. Too many teens still think “It can’t happen to me.” The National Day helps teens understand that it can happen to them and that they need to think seriously about what they would do in the moment. Be sure to promote the National Day in your community.

Take time this month to promote parent-child communication in the community you serve. Youth who feel they can talk with their parents are less likely to get pregnant or get someone else pregnant. As a health care provider, educator, or other professional serving families, you can help both kids and parents communicate better with each other about sex. Visit Talkwithyourkids.org to learn more.

Core Competencies for
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

The Adolescent Sexual Health Working Group (ASHWG) is a collaboration of agencies focused on the sexual health of adolescents in California. The group has developed a set of Core Competencies that 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. [Continue]

Key Elements of Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Comprehensive sexuality education is an effective and important way to increase knowledge about sexuality and help people make informed decisions about sexual behaviors. Effective sexuality education is about a whole host of important life lessons for people throughout the lifespan, as well as for youth K-12. [Continue]

Partnering for Progress

CFHC’s Special Populations Project ( SPP ) and Faith-Based Community Outreach Partnership Project (FBCO) focus on creating and maintaining partnerships and collaborations between community-based organizations (CBOs), such as social service and faith-based organizations, and Title X providers. Find out what these innovative partnerships have been able to accomplish. [Continue]

New Sexual Health Text Messaging Service

The California Family Health Council, the California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch, and Internet Sexuality Information Services, Inc., (ISIS), have partnered in the launch of Hookup, a statewide text messaging service for youth. By sending the word “hookup” as a text message to 365247, youth can get hooked up with weekly sexual health tips. [Continue]

Teensource.org: Helping Youth Make Healthy Choices

If you work with young adults, make sure to let them know about Teensource.org, CFHC’s sexual health website for youth ages 13-24. It provides useful information on healthy and responsible sexual choices. Youth can find medically accurate information on sexual and reproductive health, relationships and other issues that impact them, all in an entertaining and interactive format. [Continue]