Healthy Sexuality and Pregnancy Prevention for Youth in Foster Care
Evidence | Publications

Healthy Sexuality and Pregnancy Prevention for Youth in Foster Care

Adapting a Curriculum for Parents and Caregivers of Youth in Foster Care into an Online Course
Published: Jan 31, 2023
Publisher: Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Human Services Family Support Youth Development Federal Advisory Services Technical Assistance
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Associated Project

PREP: Supporting Evaluation and Innovation in Promising Youth Pregnancy Prevention Programs

Time frame: 2016-2023

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Family & Youth Services Bureau

Clients
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Authors

Betsy Keating

Jacqueline Crowley

Veronica Murphy Sotelo

Jean Knab

Key Findings
  • Through a review of literature and curricula, and discussions with experts and parents and caregivers of youth in foster care, the PREP-PYP team identified gaps in the existing materials available for these parents and caregivers. This information guided the adaptations to Promoting Healthy Sexual Development and Pregnancy Prevention with Children and Youth in Care, including adding content about adolescent brain development, monitoring and supervising youth’s online activities, and sex trafficking.
  • Pilot participants felt the course’s modules presented information that was informative, relevant, and useful for their roles as parents and caregivers of youth in foster care.
  • Pilot participants also reported the modules presented content in an engaging way and provided a strong foundation to help parents and caregivers feel more comfortable and prepared to have conversations about sexual health with youth.
  • Following the pilot implementation, the PREP-PYP team edited the course to improve clarity and created supplemental tip sheets to enable users to have handy references after completing the course.
  • The report includes recommendations for further enhancements to the course that could be completed in the future, such as adding more examples about how to communicate with youth who have experienced trauma or integrating videos directly into the training platform.

This report summarizes the process for adapting an in-person curriculum, Promoting Healthy Sexual Development and Pregnancy Prevention with Children and Youth in Care, into an online course titled Healthy Sexuality and Pregnancy Prevention for Youth in Foster Care: An Online Course for Parents and Caregivers of Youth in Foster Care. The in-person curriculum was created by the Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The online course includes 10 modules and takes about three hours to complete.

The report describes how the PREP-PYP team identified parents and caregivers of youth in foster care as a focal population and the curriculum to adapt. In addition, the report describes the steps for adapting the curriculum and what was learned from usability testing and small-scale pilot implementation of the course. Finally, it shares potential next steps for the course and for future research.

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