Train parents, caregivers, and other concerned adults
to empower their peers to communicate with the
children in their lives about sexuality issues.
To empower parents, caregivers, and other concerned individuals to make a difference in their community, some educational programs
help them teach peers to talk with their children about sexuality
issues. Using creative approaches, these programs reach
parents/caregivers through existing groups and social networks,
including places of employment, faith communities, child-care
organizations, schools, or places where they receive services or
attend support groups.
Parent-Peer Education Program (NEW)
Organization: Family Health Council, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Original Target Audience: Parents and caregivers in Allegheny County and other target neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA
Language: Materials and workshops available in English
In 1995, Family Health Council, Inc. (FHC), with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), launched a program known in Pittsburgh as Reaching Communities for a Cause (RCC). The purpose of this program was to support community coalitions in strengthening and evaluating their efforts to prevent teen pregnancy.
The first task that RCC undertook was to assess what the community felt should be done to address teen pregnancy prevention. After many interviews and focus groups with adults, as well as focus groups with youth, six community needs were identified. Two of the main areas identified by both adults and youth were to expand education about teen pregnancy prevention to youth at an early age (before as well as during adolescence) and to increase the ability of parents to talk with their children about sexuality, including pregnancy.
To begin to meet these needs, parents and caregivers are recruited from community organizations and trained as "parent-peer educators." The training program consists of a one-day training that uses FHC's Family Connections Guidebooks as a teaching tool. These booklets provide information for parents on child development, age-appropriate messages, sharing values, and address sexuality topics including puberty, contraception, sexual abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases. At the end of the session, "educators" are able to go into the community and conduct workshops, providing other parents and caregivers with resources and skills to help them communicate more comfortably about teen pregnancy, sexual decision-making, and other sexuality-related issues.
First implemented in the neighborhood of McKees Rocks, the program has since been conducted in other neighborhoods including Northview and East Liberty. To date, over 24 community members have been trained as "advisors" and over 360 parents and caregivers have attended the workshops. While the cooperative agreement with the CDC has ended, the Parent-Peer Education Program continues to train "educators" and conduct workshops.
For more information:
Parent-Peer Education Program
Family Health Council, Inc.
Amy Nevin, M.D.
960 Penn Avenue, Suite 600
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: 412/288.2130
Fax: 412/288.9036
E-mail: a_nevi@fhcinc.org
Web site: http://www.fhcinc.org
Ordering information for free single copies of Family Connections:
A Guidebook for Parents of Children Birth to 7 Years
A Guidebook for Parents of Children from Ages 8-13
A Guidebook for Parents of Children from Ages 14-18
Family Health Council, Inc.
960 Penn Avenue, Suite 600
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: 412/288.2130
Fax: 412/288.9036
Web site: http://www.fhcinc.org
Parents Educating Parents
Organization: Mothers' Voices, New York, NY
Original Target Audience: Parents and caregivers nationwide
Language: Materials and sessions available in English and Spanish
At a recent Mothers' Voices workshop titled Parents Educating
Parents, the mother of a young woman who died of AIDS at age
26 said, "It's difficult to talk about sexual behavior. . .difficult to talk
in the graphic way that you need to. I'd rather have that difficult
moment because the moment you learn your daughter is
HIV-positive, your life as you knew it stops."1
The Parents Educating Parents training in which this mother participated
began in 1998 and helps parents and other interested adults
become HIV-prevention peer educators in their communities. In this
two-day training, parent peer educators learn the basic facts about
HIV and AIDS, communication skills, values clarification, and public
speaking. In addition, those who complete the two-day training
receive a stipend and travel reimbursement for each
subsequent workshop they facilitate.
Using the Parents Educating Parents curriculum as a guide,
Mothers' Voices peer educators and staff offer six one-hour
workshops that provide clear, concise information to parents and
caregivers. Topics include The Basics: HIV & AIDS; Communicating
with Younger Children; Communicating with Adolescents; Raising
Healthy Children; Talking with Children about Drugs; and Advocacy
Skills for Parents.
Because HIV-prevention education is an investment in the future,
employers have demonstrated interest in hosting these workshops in
the workplace. In Spring 2001, Mothers' Voices pilot-tested workplace
training at the offices of Calvin Klein, Inc., in New York City.
Although it was a warm, sunny Friday, 70 employees opted to
attend during their lunch hour. Many were surprised to learn the
myths and facts of HIV/AIDS: "I thought blood-to-blood is the
only way you get HIV". . ."So oral sex is risky?". . .and "I never
knew HIV is carried in breast milk."2
Parents Educating Parents
"Recruiting volunteers at the end of the workshops is a good way to
enlarge peer education groups, as well as request volunteers in
other areas, such as advocacy work and pamphlet distribution."
-Mothers' Voices
Mothers’ Voices no longer exists however, this curriculum is available at The Mary S. Calderone Library at SIECUS.
Talking with Kids about HIV/AIDS:
A Program for Parents and Other Adults Who Care
Organization: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Original Target Audience: African American and Latino parents and
caregivers statewide
Language: Materials and sessions available in English and Spanish
Implemented by Cornell University's Cooperative Extension in
1989 as a prevention education resource for parents and
guardians, Talking with Kids about HIV/AIDS: A Program for Parents
and Other Adults Who Care recruits volunteer parent educators.
Consisting of three intensive, two-to-three hour community-based
sessions or one full-day workshop, the sessions/workshops
include basic information on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its
impact, skills development in HIV risk assessment and risk reduction,
and extensive parent-child communication activities.
Available in both English and Spanish, the program is used in
communities throughout New York State, with active volunteer
training programs in New York City, Long Island, Central New
York, and Albany's Capital District. Over 3,000 volunteer parent
educators have reached nearly 100,000 people, primarily through
Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations and community-based
organizations. Volunteers and community groups in many other
states and countries have also adopted the program.
There are many evaluations of the project, ranging from case
studies of volunteers' experiences to surveys comparing how
effectively workshop participants and non-participants communicate
with children about HIV/AIDS. Two long-term National Institute
of Mental Health studies of family-based HIV-prevention programs
have adopted the curriculum as the basis for the interventions
they are evaluating.
Cornell worked to adapt the project with the National
Development and Research Institutes, Inc. in NY and Instituto
Mexicano de Investigación de Familia y Población (IMIFAP) in
Mexico beginning in early 2000.
Offering workshops in Mexico City to a wide range of audiences,
including parents, school teachers, public servants, and people in
the criminal justice system, IMIFAP staff have also expanded the
workshops to schools and locations in other sections of Mexico.
Talking with Kids about HIV/AIDS:
A Program for Parents and
Other Adults Who Care
"Take the program to the community. We have collaborated
with diverse organizations to present workshops to employees,
prisoners, human service program participants, hospital staff,
groups of friends, and members of religious institutions. Most
groups include adults who are parents, guardians, or who nurture
and guide children and teens. When groups complete the
workshop together, they continue to talk and learn informally,
supporting each other long after the workshop has ended."
-Jennifer Tiffany, Project Director
For more information:
Talking with Kids about HIV/AIDS:
A Program for Parents and
Other Adults Who Care
Cornell University
Jennifer Tiffany, Director
FLDC, MVR Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607/255-1942
Fax: 607/255-8562
E-mail: jst5@cornell.edu
Web site: http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/extensn/hivaids
Adult Role Models Program (UPDATED)
Organization: Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.,
New York, NY
Original Target Audience: Parents in the local urban community
Language: Workshops available in English and Spanish
Founded in 1998, the Adult Role Models (ARM) Program is a parent
peer education model developed by Planned Parenthood of New
York City to help parents talk with their children about sexuality. The
program is part of a comprehensive community-based pregnancy
prevention program serving the Mott Haven section of the South
Bronx and the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Community members who comprise the ARM Program are local
parents who reflect the composition of their neighborhood.The
parents are recruited from local Parent-Teacher Association
groups, tenant associations, and community-based organizations, and word of mouth.
Once recruited, the ARMs participate in a 75-hour training over
the course of two months (three hours a day, three days per week),
to prepare themselves to facilitate workshops for parents and to promote other PPNYC services and programs. The training covers a variety of sexuality topics as well as group facilitation and presentation skills. PPNYC is currently developing the ARM program manual which outlines the steps to replicate this program. The manual will be available online in 2005.
Earning a stipend for their work as well as reimbursement for
transportation, the ARMs facilitate workshops for parents in their
neighborhood in English and Spanish. Currently, the ARMs offer
three workshops that provide parents with information and skills
to share sexuality information and their own values with their
children. The workshops are held at a variety of venues where
parents congregate including: community centers, schools, faith-based organizations, job-preparation programs, drug rehabilitation sites, homeless shelters, and
various other community-based organizations. Since 1999, The ARM Program has trained over 50 parents as educators, (24 of which are current educators) who have reached over 4,000 parents through workshops. At the end of each workshop, participants fill out an evaluation form that measures participant satisfaction with the workshop and their intent to communicate with their children. A more formal, independent evaluation is under way which will measure the programs' impact on parents in the community.
Adult Role Models Program
"We've done an excellent job of recruiting and retaining mothers
for the ARMs Program, but still struggle to maintain a group of men
to serve as ARMs. Further, though our workshops are community-based,
workshop participants tend to be women. The program has tailored its workshops and recruitement efforts to attract more men to address this challenge.
Another significant challenge with our model is that the problems
endemic to a poor community become program challenges—poor
health, lack of childcare, and other crises. These issues impact our
ability to retain parents in the program and to provide workshops.
In order to provide ARMs with support and to effectively serve
the community, the program compensates for attrition by over-recruiting
and makes efforts to link the ARMs to community resources in their
neighborhood.
We are very proud of our work in this area. At present, we are
developing technical assistance materials for communities interested in
replicating this model."
-Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.
|
"Every month, we hear several anecdotes from workshop participants who say that the skills and techniques that they have learned at the trainings help them talk with their kids about sexuality more effectively. Additionally, all ARMs have expressed that they feel they are better parents as a result of their participation in this program."
-Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.
"In addition to reaching thousands of community parents, the ARM program has made a profound impact on the ARMs themselves. Many of the ARMs have used this program to further their professional development and have been able to secure better employment opportunities. We are very proud of this."
-Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.
|
For more information:
Adult Role Models Program
Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.
Lower East Side ARM Program
Yael Lipton
26 Bleecker Street
Third Floor
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212/274-7362
Fax: 212/274-7300
E-mail: yael.lipton@ppnyc.org
Web site: http://www.ppnyc.org
Bronx ARM Program:
Amanda Perez
349 East 149th St.
Bronx, NY 10451
Phone:212/965-4878
Fax:718/665-6420
E-mail: amanda.perez@ppnyc.org
Web site: http://www.ppnyc.org
Entre Nosotros (Just Between Us) (UPDATED)
Organization: Planned Parenthood of Hidalgo County, Inc.,
McAllen, TX
Original Target Audience: Latino, Spanish-speaking parents and caregivers
in the local rural community
Language: Materials and sessions in Spanish
Entre Nosotros (Just Between Us) is a program provided by
Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County, Inc., in
McAllen,TX.The program trains Spanish-speaking individuals to
provide outreach to their Latino peers with information on sexual
health and parent-child communication as well as referrals and
answers to sexuality-related questions. Promotoras (peer health
educators) meet as a group once a month for two and one-half
hours to learn about sexuality-related issues. Making ongoing
door-to-door visits to underserved women in the community
and their families for the past 15 years, the Promotoras currently
serve over 20,000 people a year. Promotoras also conduct
presentations on various health-related topics in community
centers and schools. Additionally, most of the promotoras have received state certification as community health workers.
Entre Nosotros (Just Between Us)
"We have found that visual aids help provide information to
people with low reading levels. For those who do not know how
to read, Promotoras will take extra time to provide information.
When Promotoras work in a certain area for several months,
they build trust with the residents and try to meet their needs,
including connecting them to social or medical services.
Promotoras also follow up on their referrals and get feedback
from those individuals."
-Planned Parenthood of Hidalgo County, Inc.
For more information:
Entre Nosotros (Just Between Us)
Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County
Martha Leos
1017 Pecan Boulevard
McAllen,TX 78501
Phone: 956/686-0585
Fax: 956/618-3718
E-mail: martha.leos@ppahc.org
References
- Sexuality Information and Education Council of the
United States (SIECUS), "Where Parents and Caregivers Can Find
Help," SIECUS Report, 2001, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 12-13.
- Listen to Mothers' Voices (New York: Mothers' Voices, Fall 2001).
