Tribal PREP

 
Tribal Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in March of 2010, established the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) which funds programs designed to educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, and at least three adulthood preparation subjects.

The target population for the project is American Indian/Alaska Native youth - males and females ages 10 to 19 years of age within the following geographic areas: Tulare, Fresno, Siskiyou, Los Angeles, and San Diego, Inyo, Mono and Sonoma counties. Five of the seven communities targeted for this proposed project have teen pregnancy rates greater than the state average, with Tulare County having the second highest in the state and Fresno with the third highest.

Phase II: Program Implementation – Goals and Objectives

The CRIHB project is currently in the first year of the implementation phase (year 2 of the 4 year project).

Goal A: Build community infrastructure that implements and sustains the delivery of a culturally appropriate teen pregnancy prevention program to reduce the rates of unintended teen pregnancy among American Indian Youth (based on findings of Phase 1 Needs Assessment).

Objective #1: By November 2012, 1 evidence based teen pregnancy prevention curriculum will be adapted to be AIAN appropriate.

Objective #2: By November 2012, 14 youth leaders/subcontracting site staff from 7 AI/AN communities will be recruited and participate in a training on implementation of a teen pregnancy prevention curriculum, adulthood preparation topics, and additional topics as identified during the needs assessment phase.

 Goal B: To reduce the number of teen and unplanned pregnancies among American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) youth in California.

Objective #1: By September 2013, a minimum of 150 American Indian youth will complete an evidence based curriculum from 7 California communities.

 Goal C: Increase capacity of local sites to effectively implement a medically accurate and comprehensive teen pregnancy prevention program from a public health perspective.

Objective # 1: By July 2013, 2 formal partnerships will be secured to increase AIAN data available at a national level.

Objective # 2: By September 2013, 70% of subcontracting sites will indicate improved capacity/infrastructure for the provision of teen pregnancy prevention efforts.

 The foundation of our teen pregnancy prevention project is a 12 session curriculum; (AIAN Becoming a Responsible Teen) a program that has been adapted to meet the needs of AIAN youth by health professionals and an AIAN Consultant to ensure cultural appropriateness and sensitivity.

 Components of the AIAN Curriculum Utilized in our Program:

 Each of the 12 sessions includes a key American Indian value to serve as the focal point for the session. Also, the session is closed with a traditional AIAN talking circle to provide clarification and reflection.

 The program begins with a minimum of 3 sessions on Adult Preparation Subjects (APS):

o Healthy relationships

o Adolescent development

o Financial literacy

o Parent-child communication

o Educational and career success

o Healthy life skills, such as goal-setting and decision making

The APS sessions are followed by, 8 sessions of educational instruction which include youth driven and participation focused activities to increase learning while promoting positive connections between youth participants.

Tribal PREP Program Collaborators:

Fresno American Indian Health Project

Karuk Tribe

San Diego American Indian Health Center

Sonoma County Indian Health Project

Tule River – Future Generations Program

Toiyabe Indian Health Project

United American Indian Involvement

For further information regarding the Tribal PREP Grant, please contact: