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ERIC Number: ED575407
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Aug
Pages: 58
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Interim Impacts of the POWER through Choices Program
Goesling, Brian; Covington, Reginald D.; Manlove, Jennifer; Barry, Megan; Oman, Roy F.; Veseley, Sara
US Department of Health and Human Services
Some of the nation's most vulnerable youth are those living in foster care and other out-of-home settings. Many such youth have experienced abuse and neglect, face mental health and substance abuse challenges, and struggle with serious behavioral problems (Casanueva et al. 2014). They are more likely than their peers to have academic struggles and less likely to graduate from high school or attend college (Dworsky et al. 2014). In part for these reasons, they also have higher rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and associated sexual risk behaviors. Estimates suggest that as many as one in three girls in foster care will become a teen mother--a rate more than double the national average (Dworsky and Courtney 2010). Of those who become mothers before age 18, more than one in four will go on to have another child before aging out of their teens (Putnam-Hornstein and King 2014). This report presents interim findings from a large-scale demonstration project and evaluation of the POWER Through Choices (PTC) program, a comprehensive sexual health education curriculum designed specifically for youth in foster care and other out-of-home care settings. The program features ten 90-minute sessions delivered to small groups of youth by trained facilitators in a classroom-based setting. This curriculum-based structure is similar to many teen pregnancy prevention programs delivered to general youth populations in schools and community settings. The PTC program is unique, however, in addressing the needs and risk factors specific to youth in foster care and other out-of-home care settings. Findings from an implementation study of the PTC program were presented in an earlier report (Meckstroth et al. 2014). The present report adds to these findings by describing the short-term impacts of the PTC program on youth knowledge, attitudes, and intentions. A future report will examine the program's longer-term impacts on youth sexual risk behaviors. The following are appended: (1) Nonresponse Analysis; (2) Outcome Measures; and (3) Sensitivity Analyses.
US Department of Health and Human Services. 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201. Tel: 877-696-6775; Tel: 202-619-0257; Web site: http://www.hhs.gov/
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: US Department of Health and Human Services; Health Resources and Services Administration (DHHS), Office of Adolescent Health
Identifiers - Location: California; Maryland; Oklahoma
Grant or Contract Numbers: HHSP233201450030A