P002: Public Health Division

P002: Number of teens who successfully complete a Teen Outreach Program (TOP) class

Current Value

365

FY 2018

Definition

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Story Behind the Curve

Service-learning, positive youth development, and comprehensive sex education programming are all protective factors for teens to reduce risky sexual behaviors.
Since 2011, the teen birth rate among 15-19-year olds in New Mexico (NM) has declined by 39.1% to 29.4 per 1,000 in 2016 (NM-Indicator-Based Information System) and has improved from third to seventh highest in the nation (National Center for Health Statistics). Teens who drop out of school are more likely to become pregnant and have a child than peers who graduate. Sixty-three percent of teen mothers receive public assistance within the first year of their child’s birth (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2018). Seventy-one percent of teen mothers report that their pregnancy was unintended or mistimed, compared to 44% of all mothers (NM Indicator-Based Information System, 2018). Some reasons for higher teen parenthood in mixed urban/rural areas include lack of health insurance, increased poverty, transportation barriers, and less access to services. In NM teen birth rates are highest for American Indians and Hispanics.
InFY18 Q4, all programming was completed; however, the final count of teens completing evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs will not be available until mid-August.
Progress was achieved through continued partnerships with schools and community organizations providing positive youth development programming.
In FY19, the NM Family Planning Program will contract with schools and community organizations to provide both TOP and Project AIM.

What Works

Service-learning, positive youth development, and comprehensive sex education programs.
Adult-teen communication programs to give adults information and skills to communicate effectively with young people about reducing risky sexual behavior.
Social media with information on birth control and clinics.
BrdsNBz, a text-messaging system that offers teens free, confidential answers to sexual health questions in English or Spanish.
Access to confidential, low- or no-cost family planning services through county public health offices, community clinics, and school-based health centers.

Strategy

Through shared-decision making counseling, increase teens’ access to birth control including the most effective contraceptive methods (implants & IUDs).
Incorporate service-learning programs consisting of community-based volunteer services and guided curriculum education.
Promote BrdsNBz, a text-messaging system that offers teens free, confidential answers to sexual health questions in English or Spanish.

Action Plan

Q1: Begin outreach to enroll teens for all programs. The Teen Outreach Program (TOP) curriculum is nine-months in duration, so teens enrolled in Quarter 1 participate in programming throughout the school year. Completed.
Q2: Have 24 teens complete the AIM program, 10-12 teens complete the ¡Cuídate! program, and monitor the teens enrolled in the TOP program. Incomplete - 64 teens completed project AIM and 6 completed ¡Cuídate! The Teen Outreach Program curriculum is nine-months in duration, so teens enrolled in Quarter 1 participate in programming throughout the school year.
Q3: Have 24 additional teens complete the AIM program, 10-12 additional teens complete the ¡Cuídate! program, and monitor the teens enrolled in the TOP program. Incomplete - Project AIM and ¡Cuídate! completed five cycles of programming during Q3. The Teen Outreach Program curriculum is nine-months in duration, so teens enrolled in Quarter 1 participate in programming through the school year.
Q4: Have 24 additional teens complete the AIM program, 10-12 additional teens complete the ¡Cuídate! program, and have at least 200 teens successfully complete the TOP program. Get the total number of teens completing the program for the year to at least 260. Pending - TOP, Project AIM, and ¡Cuídate! were provided to teens across the state; however, the final count of teens completing the evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs will not be available until mid-August.

FY18 Annual Progress Summary

NM FPP funds, monitors, and evaluates the implementation of evidence-based programs to prevent unintended teen pregnancy throughout the state.
TOP® is the focal curriculum that has been provided by various contractors in NM for many years with an emphasis on positive youth development and community service learning. TOP® programming includes structured classroom activity utilizing the TOP® curriculum focusing on issues around values, relationships with family and peers, life skills, and optimal health and life outcomes. In addition to this, contractors are required to coordinate and monitor community service learning (CSL) projects, which are defined as meaningful service in which a teen feels an emotional connection with his or her efforts and develops a connection with their community. Contractors offering TOP® are expected to provide at least one lesson from the TOP® curriculum and at least one hour of CSL each week for a minimum of 120 minutes of programming for participants.
Project AIM and ¡Cuídate! are designed to reduce sexual risk behaviors by providing youth with the motivation to make safe choices and to address deeper barriers to sexual risk prevention (e.g., hopelessness, poverty, risk opportunities in low-income environments).
All contractors implementing Wyman’s TOP® or Project AIM are required to also conduct a two-hour “From Playground to Prom: Talking with Your Child about Sexuality” parent workshop designed to enhance communication between adults and teens. During the workshop, parents and trusted adults have the opportunity to practice their skills and identify teachable moments

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