Every Adult Has A Role

Unintended teen pregnancy is a serious public health problem, with complicated causes, consequences and solutions. While adolescent pregnancy rates have been on the decline since 1991 the rates remain tragically high.

• 34% of adolescent girls become pregnant at least once before they reach age 20 (Estimated Pregnancy Rates for the United States, 1990-2000: An Update. National Vital Statistics Report, 2004).
• 8 out of 10 of these pregnancies are unintended. (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2003).

Every adult has a role to play in supporting our youth in their journey to become healthy and successful adults. One of the major findings from the research conducted by Bonnie Bernard and other leaders in the youth development field is the power of informal mentors – neighbors, friends, teachers, or anyone who takes the time to care – as protective factors in youth’s lives. Research tells us that just one trusted adult can make a positive impact in the life and choices of a teen.

In order to meet the demonstrated needs of teens, this training is based on two theoretical frameworks – resiliency and youth development.

Resiliency is the concept that youth are strong and are able to overcome barriers in life to become functional and contributing adults in our society.

Youth development recognizes and encourages a young person’s resiliency by drawing out their internal and external protective factors, such as family, friends, faith and sense of future.

Our interactive curriculum guides adults through a process of defining their role in reducing teen pregnancy. This one-day training improves adults’ ability to:

• honestly answer teens’ questions about sex,
• provide clear and accurate information in a developmentally appropriate manner, and
• incorporate a youth development framework when working with teens.

This training is a great opportunity for groups to gather and discuss their role in the lives of teens they live and work with. The training can be brought to:

• State or local coalition conferences
• In-service trainings for staff
• Volunteer trainings
• Collaborative or board meetings