Blog post 6

All group members were present at our meeting on November 21st. 

We discussed our group paper, and who would be responsible for each particular section of the paper that needs to be addressed. The group also discussed ways we can narrow down our approach to this topic, and we decided on only focusing on HPV and Chlamydia among adolescents and teens because that national rates of pregnancy are currently declining. 

Roxane is going to be researching how abstinence-only programs compare to comprehensive sex education programs with regard to delaying sexual experimentation, STI rates, and pregnancy among teens. Debra is going to be researching nationwide stats on chlamydia and HPV. Janet is looking into public programs that address and support STI and HPV and Vaccines. Alexandra is currently researching how Utah ranks nationally on HPV and Chlamydia, and stigma as well as cultural problems associated with these two diseases. Sarah is looking into stakeholders and advocates in Utah who support sex education for adolescents and teens. And Amanda is looking into the current curriculum being used in Utah, which we found is called "Healthy Relationships" and why it is concerning to us. 

Blog post 5

All group members were present when we met on 11/14.

Sarah and Debra continue to look up resources and information regarding sex education courses outside of Utah, paying close attention to how effective alternative courses are at STI/pregnancy prevention in teens.

 Amanda will work on scheduling a meeting with Kerry Jensen from Prevent Child Abuse, as she is familiar with the current sex education curriculum being used locally.  Once we are able to meet with her, our group may have a better understanding of what this curriculum looks like in practice and how it’s being received by school staff and students alike.

Roxy and Alex continue to research local STI/teen pregnancy rates in the area to help narrow down which school districts our group should focus on.

 Janet contacted Terry Haven from Voices for Utah Children to gather information about the statistics used in the Kids Count report.  She stated that the stats regarding teen pregnancy and Chlamydia infection rates were gathered from the Department of Health.  Any other information is gathered using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.  She acknowledged that the information regarding teen sexual behavior is limited, but that the state legislature didn’t want to have the “sex questions” included on the survey.  All of the data in the Kids Count report is used by a variety of organizations, the media, the legislature and service providing agencies for grant writing purposes.

Blog Post 4

All group members were present when we met on Friday, Oct. 31st.

Amanda reported that she did speak wtih Cindy Taylor, the Education Coordinator of the Rape Recovery Center, who said that she is no longer teaching the 6th grade maturation classes.  She referred Amanda to Kerry Jensen from Prevent Child Abuse, who apparently is now teaching it.  She, Amanda and Deborah will meet with her next week to discss the curriculum.

Sarah is currently researching national websites, especially one in particular called, "Comprehensive Sex Ed: Research and Results", published by Advocates for Youth.  This publication outlines successful outcomes from various program saround the Country, as well as offering a plethora of teaching and information tools for parents.   http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/1487.

Roxane and Alexandra are continuing to research the districts with both the highest and lowest teen pregnancy rates in the valley.  The group plans on using this information to help us curtail our outreach efforts, as well as gain information from the more successful schools to include in our parent outreach.

Blog post 3

Everyone in the group was present in our group meeting, we discussed that we wanted to find out the demographics of STI and pregnancy rates among teens in the different school districts and counties. Alexandra and myself (Roxane) are going to contact the Health Department about these statistics, and use these findings to contact the high and low areas about the sex education curriculum, and compare the differences.

Amanda contacted Cindy Taylor, who is a 6th grade maturation class expert through the rape recovery center, and we are currently waiting to hear back from her about what her particular curriculum is. Amanda also this past week met with Kristin Hodson, the Executive Director of The Healing Group to discuss with her how we can best find out what sex education local parents want for themselves and their youth.

Sarah is the liaison between us and planned parenthood, and what they have done already on the matter. She is currently getting a copy of the curriculum.

Janet and Debra are trying to locate Anna, who has familiarity with alternative sex education with adolescents. They are trying to get information on what curriculum she is using, and her success rates with her modality.

BLOG POST 2

Since our last post:

We connected with the Education and Research Director of The Healing Group, Erin Gibson, LCSW, to discuss approaches to the project overall. Erin suggested that we contact Heather Stringfellow of Planned Parenthood regarding policy questions and Cindy Taylor of the Rape Recovery Center regarding any questions about the sixth grade maturation class. She has been working with that program for many years. 

In a second meeting, we chatted with the Executive Director of The Healing Group, Kristin Hodson, LCSW. Kristin got “fired up” about our project and offered us several resources that might be useful as we collect information on our topic. Here they are:

http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=514&parentID=477

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/15/youre_doing_sex_ed_wrong_how_teaching_kids_about_sex_is_like_teaching_toddlers_to_walk/

http://www.theculturalhallpodcast.com/2014/06/why-i-wont-be-giving-my-kids-the-talk/

http://www.sexedlibrary.org/

Kristin also suggested that if we would like to plan an education event for mothers and daughters that The Healing Group would be willing to sponsor our project by paying for a community space (such as Vitalize Studio in Sugarhouse), if the University will allow us to do so. 

One of our group members also spoke with Heather Stringfellow, who is the Policy Coordinator at Planned Parenthood. Our group member will report “live” in class on Friday, 10/3/14. The plan was to discuss what Planned Parenthood has on the agenda for the 2015 Legislative Session in relation to Sex Education, etc.

Next steps: 
- To hear from each other regarding new developments (in class on 10/3/14)
- To review resources
- To consider whether we want to make this about one event or several (or to hold the one event, but record it and use it for further training)
- Narrowing down our vision 

BLOG POST 1

Our group consists of seven people: Sarah Samore ( IMC Organ Transplant Clinic), Amanda Gonzalez (The Healing Group), Debra Decamp (NA), Alexandra King (VA Substance Abuse), Roxane Ghaffarian (VA Valor House Homeless Vets), Janet Vivian (VA Outpatient Mental Health) and Ashley Nettleton (Primary Children's Wasatch Campus Child RTC and Day Treatment). 

We formed this group based on a common interest in adolescents and sex. After discussing the route we wanted to take, we came up with some great ideas. 

What can Utah school currently teach in sex education? What grades is the curriculum taught?

What type of sex education has worked outside of Utah (based on teen pregnancy rates and STI/STD rates)?

How much are adolescents being taught about their own anatomy? How much do the parents know about their own anatomy?

What is positive touch?

Using condoms is not just to prevent pregnancy

Focusing on educating parents

Setting limits with your partner

Rape within the heterosexual and LGBTQ populations

We have so many routes we can take with this topic that we are undecided on how to narrow it down and where to start. We plan on working together next class to see if we need to split into two separate groups if the interests differ, but we also think we will have more influence and power with more numbers.