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Upcoming Workshops
Two for One: Integrating Teen Pregnancy and HIV Prevention
Time: 9:00am - 4:30pm
Date: November 4-5
Location: SC Campaign Office in Columbia
Fee: $75
Overview:
This highly interactive two-day training will build the capacity of adolescent reproductive health professionals to identify and implement the most appropriate science-based prevention program of those that have been shown to reduce both teen pregnancy and the transmission of HIV. This workshop is a must for all providers working to target both pregnancy and HIV/STD transmission behaviors!
Presenters:
Kristy Ackerman Stoneburner, MPH, CHES, CPP
Program Coordinator LRADAC
Erin Johnson, MPH, CHES Director of Training and Technical Assistance, SC Campaign
REGISTER NOW!
For more registration information please contact Bernetta Cooper at (803) 771-7700. | |
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2009 Annual Report Released
The SC Campaign is pleased to release its 2009 Annual Report. As you read through our organizational highlights of the past year, be mindful of two very important things:
First, our celebratory exclamations about declining teen pregnancy rates have been replaced with cautious optimism for the years ahead. For the first time in over a decade, teen pregnancy rates are back on the rise. Amidst this troubling news is the sobering reality that far too many of our young people are not being reached with traditional prevention approaches delivered in traditional prevention settings. Make no mistake that we have work left to do on this critically important issue.
Second, and more importantly, know we share this data not meaning to discourage you. If anything recent data trends have provided a constant reminder that we all need to invest more - more time, more effort, more energy, more finances - to turn the tide on increasing teen pregnancy rates. To this end, the SC Campaign is committed to doing more than it ever has, reaching more youth-serving professionals than ever through innovative strategies, continuing to research answers to difficult questions, and driving the conversation about preventing teen pregnancy forward.
Thank YOU for a wonderful year! Click here to read the 2009 Annual Report. |
The Buzz: How 'Teen' is Nineteen?  Even before it hits the newsstands, November's Teen Vogue has people talking.
Why? Because the cover displays two 19-year-old supermodels, one of whom, Jourdan Dunn, is pregnant.
Critics say Dunn shouldn't be there because she is a role model for teen girls. She makes pregnancy look cool - and there are way too many pregnant teens already.
Click here to read more |
Check out Let's Talk Month Special Guest Dr. Melisa Holmes: THE TALK is Elementary
Every year, I seem to get at least one phone call from a panic- stricken mom with a child in the fourth grade. It usually goes something like this (in a flustered whisper), "Help!! My precious, innocent little [insert child's name] just came home from school and told me that one of her friends told her what sex is. When I asked her what she was told, her description included words like 'under the sheets,' 'wiggling,' and 'poking.' She seems upset and scared. Now what do I do?!?!"
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Research Corner
Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy Decline Worldwide as Contraceptive Use Increases
Increases in global contraceptive use have contributed to a decrease in the number of unintended pregnancies and, in turn, a decline in the number of abortions, which fell from an estimated 45.5 million procedures in 1995 to 41.6 million in 2003. While both the developed and the developing world experienced these positive trends, developed regions saw the greatest progress. Within the developing world, improvement varied widely, with Africa lagging behind other regions, according to "Abortion Worldwide: A Decade of Uneven Progress," a major new Guttmacher Institute report released.
Relationship Dynamics and Consistency of Condom Use Among Adolescents
Research on adolescent condom use often focuses on the influence of parents, peers and environmental factors. Although most sexually active teenagers have sex within dating relationships, little is known about associations between the characteristics of these relationships and consistency of condom use.
Among teenagers who had had sex with their dating partner, both negative relationship dynamics (conflict, partner's controlling behavior, mistrust, jealousy, perceived partner inferiority) and positive qualities (love, enmeshment, salience, self-disclosure) were negatively associated with consistent condom use (odds ratios, 0.7-0.9).
Religiosity and teen birth rate in the United States
The present study compiled publicly accessible data on birth rates, conservative religious beliefs, income, and abortion rates in the U.S., aggregated at the state level. Data on teen birth rates and abortion originated from the Center for Disease Control; on income, from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and on religious beliefs, from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey carried out by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. We computed correlations and partial correlations.
With data aggregated at the state level, conservative religious beliefs strongly predict U.S. teen birth rates, in a relationship that does not appear to be the result of confounding by income or abortion rates. One possible explanation for this relationship is that teens in more religious communities may be less likely to use contraception.
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Workshops and Events
National HIV/AIDS Strategy Meeting
President Obama and the White House Office of National AIDS Policy want to hear from people all across the country about what the Federal Government should do about HIV/AIDS. Everyone with an interest is HIV/AIDS is invited to attend.
Date: October 26
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Columbia Metropolitan
Convention Center
1101 Lincoln Street
Columbia, SC 29201
For more information contact Mindy Stewart at 703-536-4992 or register online. APPCNC Annual Hispanic Symposium The Hispanic Symposium focuses on helping health providers and educators increase their knowledge of Hispanic culture and Hispanic health and learn from the experiences of those who are implementing successful programs for Latino youth in North Carolina and other areas of the US. Date: November 9 Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm Location: The Friday Center Chapel Hill, NC Cost: $60
For more information or to register, please click here.
Stewards of Children WorkshopPresented by Aiken Youth Empowerment, Stewards of Children is a revolutionary sexual abuse prevention training program that educates adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. The program believes and teaches that child safety is an adult's job. Stewards of Children is designed for organizations that serve children and youth. Dates: October 20 and November 13Time: 8:30am - 12:30pmLocation: The Aiken Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Services - Community RoomFor more information or to register, please click here.
 Healthy Teen Network 30th Annual ConferenceJoin HTN in beautiful Tampa, FL as they celebrate 30 years of working on behalf of America's youth. This year's conference theme is "Celebrating Healthy Teens and Young Families: 30 Years of Making a Difference," and promises to be a great opportunity for you to gain new skills, learn about the latest tools in working with youth, and meet people from all over the country in the adolescent health field.Date(s): October 21-24Location: Hyatt Regency Tampa Tampa, FLView Preliminary Conference Brochure and register online now! |
In the News
South Carolina Teachers Lead Nation in Training to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse
Reuters - South Carolina teachers are leading the nation to keep kids safe thanks to a public / private initiative to help prevent, recognize and react responsibly to signs of child sexual abuse. By the end of this year, 20,000 S.C. teachers and school employees will complete child sexual abuse prevention training. That's more than 40-percent of the state's 54,000 school staff and sets a national record among U.S. school systems, according to Darkness to Light (D2L), a national non-profit that administers the training. By the end of 2010, state officials anticipate more than 38,000 (75-percent) school teachers and school employees will complete the training. Click here to read more
Senate Finance Committee Votes to Fund Comprehensive Sex Education: Failed Title V Abstinence-Only-Until Marraige Also Restored
SIECUS - The Senate Finance Committee approved an amendment offered by Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) to fund a comprehensive sex education funding stream, The Personal Responsibility Education for Adulthood Training.The amendment provides $75 million for states; $50 million of which would be geared to evidence-based, medically accurate, age-appropriate programs to educate adolescents about both abstinence and contraception in order to prevent unintended teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. The remaining funds would be for innovative programs as well as research and evaluation. The amendment passed 14-9 with Republican Senator Olympia Snowe (ME) joining all the Democrats voting in favor.
Teen Birth Rates Higher in Bible Belt
AOL News - U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.
The relationship could be due to the fact that communities with such religious beliefs (a literal interpretation of the Bible, for instance) may frown upon contraception, researchers say. If that same culture isn't successfully discouraging teen sex, the pregnancy and birth rates rise. Click here to read more |
Grants Available
Do Something Awards to Honor Young Social Change Activists The Do Something Award is for individuals. The applicant must be 25 or under, and must be a U.S. or Canadian citizen.
Award winners will have identified a problem and have devised clear and measurable methods for addressing the problem; made a significant long-term commitment to improving the lives of others; cultivated long-term and respectful relationships within their community; demonstrated that they have directly and individually fueled the success of their work; extensively and tangibly improved the lives of others; created great awareness about their issues or causes; serve as program founders and/or leading activist/advocates; have a clear growth plan for their work that ensures sustainability and continued impact; and already be recognized as top leaders within their issue or cause.
The 2010 awards program will present four winners with $10,000 each, and one grand-prize winner with $100,000 toward their organization or cause. Application deadline is December 15, 2009.
Grants Address Poverty Issues in South Carolina
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is committed to confronting the fundamental causes of poverty and reducing its impact throughout the state of South Carolina. The Foundation's Caritas Fund provides grants to nonprofit organizations and faith-based agencies that provide outreach services in order to meet the basic needs of the poor. These awards of up to $3,000 for a one-year period are designed for organizations with annual budgets of less than $250,000. The final Caritas Fund application deadline for 2009 is November 2. Visit the Sisters of Charity Foundation's website to review the application guidelines and submit an online request.
HIV Prevention Projects for Community Based Organizations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces the availability of fiscal year 2010 funds for a cooperative agreement program for community-based organizations (CBOs) to develop and implement HIV Prevention Programs in the following two categories:
- Category A: HIV prevention services for members of racial/ethnic minority communities (e.g., African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos) in which there may be a high risk for HIV infection.
- Category B: HIV prevention services for members of groups [i.e., men who have sex with men (MSM), injection drug users (IDUs), HIV-infected persons] in which there may be a high risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV infection, regardless of race/ethnicity.
A letter of intent is due September 9 and the application is due October 26. Youth Service Projects Supported in the U.S. and Canada
Pay It Forward Foundation Mini-Grant Program
The Pay It Forward Foundation was established to inspire students to realize that they can change the world, and to provide them with opportunities to do so. Pay It Forward Mini-Grants are designed to fund one-time service-oriented projects that are identified by youth as activities they would like to perform to benefit their school, neighborhood, or greater community, and that include learning goals for the youth participants. Projects must contain a "pay it forward" focus - that is, they must be based on the concept of one person doing a favor for others, who in turn do favors for others, with the results growing exponentially. Schools, churches, and community youth groups (with an adult sponsor) in the U.S. and Canada may apply for funding. The application deadlines are September 15 and February 15 of each year; however, requests may be submitted at any time. Visit the Foundation's website to download the Mini-Grant guideline
Applications Invited for Target Field Trip Grants
The Target Corporation has announced that it will award 5,000 field trip grants of up to $800 each for the coming K-12 school year. Grant funds may be used for visits to art, science, and cultural museums; community service or civics projects; career enrichment opportunities; and other events or activities away from the school facility.
Grants will be awarded in February 2010. Applications can be completed online anytime between August 5 and November 3, 2009.
Click here for complete application instructions.
Powered by Service Offers Funding to Seed Youth-Led Service ProjectsUsher's New Look, a nonprofit organization founded by entertainer Usher Raymond IV that supports underprivileged youth in using their talents to become community leaders, has announced the launch of Powered By Service, a new initiative to encourage young people around the world to become involved in addressing the most pressing problems facing their communities - from preventing malaria and stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS to ending gang violence and increasing access to clean water. |
Website of the Week:
Time to Talk
TimeToTalk provides easy-to-use guides and tips to help you have ongoing conversations with your kids to keep them healthy and drug-free.
Talking to your kids about the risks of drugs and alcohol isn't as hard as you think. We're here to help make talking even easier. We've got free, easy-to-use, research-based tools and tips to help you have ongoing conversations with your kids to keep them healthy and drug-free.
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DHEC WORKSHOPS & INFO  The STD/HIV Division is now accepting registration for the following training opportunities:
- Using Process Evaluation to Strengthen EBI's - October 27-28, 2009
- Fundamentals of HIV Prevention Counseling - November 12-13, 2009
- HIV 101: A Basic Knowledge-Based Course - November 12, 2009
Location Information: All training(s) are currently scheduled to be held in Columbia. Site locations will be provided in the confirmation letter with directions
For More Information: All communications regarding training should be directed to James Harris, Jr. STD/HIV Division Training Coordinator, at 803-898-0480 or by e-mail at harrisj@dhec.sc.gov | |
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