HCET's adolescent health programs strive to improve behavioral, social, emotional, and sexual health outcomes for young people. Since 2004, adolescent programming supported by HCET has been delivered in a variety of settings, including schools, community centers, hospitals and clinics, juvenile detention centers, foster care agencies, and county courts. Supported focus areas include teen and unplanned pregnancy prevention, sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention, positive youth development, preparation for adulthood, and healthy decision making. All programming and curricula supported by HCET are inclusive, medically accurate, age appropriate, and evidence-based.
The STAR project provides evidence-based adolescent pregnancy and substance abuse prevention to middle school youth in rural communities. Programming targets southern and western Indiana, in regions that have high instances of teen birth, HIV, and Hepatitis C due to prevalent intravenous drug use. Funding is provided by the Family Youth Services Bureau’s Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Program.
The IN-PACT project provides evidence-based adolescent pregnancy prevention and positive youth development programming to youth in foster care, court-involved and incarcerated teens, and LGBTQ adolescents in Indiana. Funding is provided by the Family Youth Services Bureau’s Competitive Personal Responsibility Education Project.
The Indiana Kids Healthy Teen Connections project provides evidence-based positive youth development and adolescent pregnancy prevention to foster care and court-involved youth and families in Marion County and greater Indiana. Programming is provided both in schools and at Marion County Juvenile Court. The Healthy Teen Coordinator works closely with judges and case workers at the Marion County Juvenile Court to provide education, counseling, and linkages to health care for teens and parents/guardians currently engaged in the foster care system. Funding is provided by the Indiana Kids Program through the State of Indiana.
The Youth RISE! project implements evidence-based, K-12 adolescent pregnancy prevention, youth development, and parent education in Clinton County, a rural, primarily Hispanic and Caucasian community in Northwest Indiana. Funding is provided by the Office of Adolescent Health’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention program.
WI PREP and PYD programs prepare teens for adulthood by offering adolescent programs with proven positive outcomes in counties with high teen birth rates. HCET plays a key role on the PREP/PYD Program Support team and provides grantee training and technical assistance, project coordination, and quality improvement activities. Funding is provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
In partnership with the University of Michigan's Adolescent Health Initiative, HCET coordinates Adolescent Champion Model replication at participating health centers throughout Wisconsin. Aiming to create an adolescent-centered environment, the ACM leads doctors, nurses, and clinic staff through an 18-month quality improvement process, including rigorous evaluation and trainings to ensure their clinics are welcoming spaces that meet the needs of all adolescents. Funding is provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Curricula for Youth Workers, Professionals, and Parents:
My Sexual Health: My Future is a medically accurate, skills-based human growth and development curriculum for middle and high school students. Topics include anatomy and physiology, self-esteem and self-care, values, healthy relationships and decision making, sexually transmitted infection, pregnancy prevention, communicating consent, and more.
The Talk2Protect text messaging service provides an easy and convenient way for parents to access evidence-based and unbiased education and resources that will help them talk to their teens about sex and relationships to avoid teen pregnancy, STD’s and unhealthy relationships.
It's That Easy! A Guide to Raising Sexually Healthy Children is designed to help parent educators incorporate issues of sex and sexuality into their work with families and provide guidance for important parent/child conversations.