What is The Statewide Network?
The goal of The Statewide Network is to find activities and programs that provide positive experiences for parents and caregivers of middle school and high school age youth in Georgia.
*Caregivers are persons (sports coaches, youth pastors, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) who care for teens and provide a positive influence.
How can you help?
By signing up and participating!
We are recruiting parents and caregivers of middle school and high school age youth to participate in virtual and in-person activities or programs and tell us what they think.
Activities and programs are related to:
Risk Reduction
Fatherhood
Communication
Youth challenges
Parenting
Difficult Topics
Youth Mental Health
The Health Promotion Resource Center at Morehouse School of Medicine selected the “caregiver” priority to impact persons who nurture and care for teens to achieve optimal adolescent health.
We also host hybrid events to:
-Foster statewide relationships
-Disseminate information about network innovations
-Share network news
-Support community engagement
-Provide professional development
Innovations structured as curricula, parenting strategies, and a toolkit will help reduce teen pregnancy, STIs and related risks in Georgia.
Dads At A Distance
Developer: Arthur Vaughn, EdD, MPA
Dads At A Distance is a teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) intervention designed to engage fathers & father figures in the lives of adolescents. Existing academic research supports our thesis that fathers want and need additional support in how best to communicate and seek opportunities to master their own knowledge and skills related to effective communication with their adolescent sons about sex.
The intervention consists of three (3) sessions guided by best practices to achieve positive outcomes in addressing attitudes and behaviors related to TPP.
The three (3) session, four (4) hour curriculum provides men with high-impact and purposeful messaging to help fathers, custodial father figures and mentors talk to teens about sex.
Contact: Dr. Arthur D. Vaughn, MPA, McAcc
Finding Me, Parenting You
A Relationship-Centered Culturally Competent Parenting Curriculum for Parents & Caregivers of Teenagers
Developers: Mary Langley, PhD, MPH, RN, CP IV and Alice Jackson, BS, ICPS
Parents play an important role in shaping their adolescent’s behavior and any success in achieving this will begin with parents having a humble attitude to learn and debunk myths associated with parenting, especially with the level of exposure teenagers have today because of the internet.
Teenagers should get first lessons of life at home and without capable parents, teenagers are at the mercy of the society molding their lives. The adapted Finding Me, Parenting You is a culturally competent curriculum that incorporates theory and practice to reach parents with teens 13 to 18 years old.
Finding Me, Parenting You is based on embracing social values to highlight family closeness, community bonding and unity in addition to individualistic values.
Contact: Alice Jackson, BS, ICPS
Email: atjack52@gmail.com
BSEI B:Intentional Parenting Rite of Passage
Developers: Chatee' Richardson, PhD and
Nzingha Samuel, MS
The four-phase experience is designed to support parents as they are entering, traversing, and graduating from the program, as well as to provide post-graduation continued development. Each phase is represented by Adinkra symbols from Ghana, West Africa and steeped in the culture of the people from this country.
Program Objectives:
~To guide parents through a personal rite of passage experience that will help them to be present and fully actualized caregivers.
~ To facilitate growth in parenting practice that in turn promotes optimal development for youth.
~To provide research based parenting guidance on a practical level.
~To work within a culturally sustaining approach, tapping in to the unique gifts parents already bring to the exchange.
~To nurture intentional parenting practices in caregivers helping to forge meaningful connections with their youth.
~To provide parents with an understanding of child development at different stages.
~To assist in the establishment of effective and unencumbered communication.
~To guide caregivers in nurturing their own emotional intelligence, as well as the emotional intelligence of their children.
Contact: C. Omísadé Richardson, Ph.D.
Email: crisha29@spelman.edu
“The Playbook”
Developer: Vincent Dortch, DDiv
The Fundamentals of Fatherhood Playbook, also known as the “Playbook”, is a program operating with the mission to provide strategies and resources to support father’s engagement with their teen sons. The Playbook uses fundamental skills, drills, and practices found in the sport of basketball as a method to bridge the father and son relationship. Basketball is more than just an exciting game to play, but it’s also a sport that provides guidance and discipline to those who play.
The Playbook is a resource for men and their adolescent male child(ren) aged 13 – 18. It allows fathers to communicate with sons about the following: what it means to be a man and a father, good decision making as it relates to health, relationships, and sexual health, and overall adolescent health. Additionally, the Playbook helps sons learn to seek their father’s guidance and consult them as a resource on the topics of sex and relationships, contraceptive use, and risk reduction. The Playbook helps to fathers become comfortable and answering questions regarding teen pregnancy and STD prevention, mental health, peer pressure, and other sensitive subject areas faced by adolescents today.
Contact: Dr. Vincent Dortch
Email: abcdortch@yahoo.com
Age Appropriate. Factual. Convenient.
Developer: The Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential (GCAPP)
Many parents tell us they feel uncomfortable or unprepared to discuss certain topics or events with their children. The GCAPP Parent ToolKit provides practical information to help parents navigate topics and situations that all families face, including ones that are hard to talk about. The ToolKit has a wealth of information, tips, options, and conversation starters for everyday use and is ideal for any adult who wants to improve parent-child communication.
RANGE OF TOPICS:
• What Children Should Know About Human Anatomy & Sexuality & By When (pre K – 18 )
• Challenges of Puberty
• Healthy Relationships
• Teen Dating Violence
• Keeping an Eye on Social Media
• Bullying and Warning Signs
• Peer Pressure
• Teens & Sexting
• Young People & Emotional Wellness
• Door Openers vs Door Slammers
• Adolescents - Healthy Mind, Body & Spirit
• And Much, Much More!
Contact: Dion Walker-Smith, MPH
Email: Dion@gcapp.org
Education and Creative Communication
Developer: André H. Marria, MS, LPC, CPCS
Youth Empowering Parents has a parenting session that consists of four (4) hours of training to increase knowledge in:
-Teen Pregnancy
-Difficult conversations with teens
-Improving and strengthening parent and caregiver relationships with youth
YEP utilizes Mental Stretching Through the Arts (MenSTA) as a method and medium to teach parents teen pregnancy and HIV intervention education. Using the arts, allows adolescents to express their thoughts in a creative way.
Youth are encouraged to use the arts in a teach back process to educate parents about how poor choices and lack of knowledge can lead to teen pregnancy.
YEP also provides instruction that will help strengthen the trust factor of parents in their children and increase the listening skills of parents with their children while having difficult conversations.
Contact: André H. Marria, MS, LPC, CPCS
Email: amarria8@gmail.com
The 2022 Department of Health and Human Services OASH|Office of Population Affairs Conference brought OPA-funded grantees and other partners working in the field of adolescent sexual health together to reconnect in our purpose, reflect in our past accomplishments, and reinvigorate our passion for the work that we do and the youth, caregivers, and communities we serve.
Objectives
Identify strategies to promote equity and inclusion in youth-serving programs.
Obtain resources to make programs and services more accessible to youth, caregivers, and communities.
Share strategies and best practices for designing and implementing high-quality teen pregnancy prevention programs.
Connect with other OPA-funded grantees and partners to network and share resources, lessons learned, and best practices.
Statewide Network Breakout Session: Using Innovation to Understand Parent & Caregiver Influences in Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Statewide Network staff discussed lessons learned regarding recruiting, developing a statewide network, and supporting developers through pivots and innovative strategies during COVID challenges. Evaluation staff described how they used evaluation phases to test and refine innovations.
2022 Symposium
Strategies for Optimal Adolescent Health
Event Overview
In a hybrid format, experts shared information about youth mental health, juvenile justice, wellness, equity, parenting, risk reduction, and issues youth face today. We also highlighted our developers, their innovations, and current findings.
This event was an opportunity for professional development and networking for Statewide Network partners, professionals, providers, and key stakeholders in evidence-based prevention and health promotion programs to increase knowledge and expertise in the field. Participants also attended sessions, an expert panel, and a workshop.
Participants were partners and affiliates from across the state in leadership, management, and executive roles within their organization, agency, community, university, or health system.
Panel Discussion: Parenting & Issues Affecting Youth Today
Experts and persons with lived experience shared information about youth mental health, gang violence, juvenile justice, wellness, equity, parenting, education, and risk reduction.
Panelist:
-Troy Kemp
Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, Ron Clark Academy
-Monaleto C. Irby
Deputy Director, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
-Phillip Scott Lee
Chaplain, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
-Tamu Lewis, MBA
Founder & Board President, Lee Thompson Young Foundation
-Tyrone Dennis
Founder, Clippers & Cops
-Lindsey Oliver, DSW, LMSW
School Social Work Specialist, Georgia Department of Education
-Keri Hill, PhD, MPH, CHES (Moderator)
Senior Director, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential
Innovator Interviews
The Statewide Network’s innovator organizations and developers participated in facilitated conversations to give a closer view of their experiences, what they’ve learned and messages to share with community and general public.
Partners and affiliates will receive additional in-depth information in an internal report.
Select the links below to learn more…
The Statewide Network: A Conversation with Dr. Vincent Dortch, Good Deeds Ministries
The Statewide Network: A Conversation with Dr. Chatee' Richardson, Black Star Educational Institute
The Statewide Network: A Conversation with Alice Jackson, Catalyst for Change Training & Development
By participating in The Statewide Network, parents and caregivers will:
Have access to community resources and organizations that will support positive parenting.
Learn parenting strategies.
Agreement to Participate
By completing the form below and clicking subscribe, you agree to to receive information and an invitation to participate in the Statewide Network’s virtual or in-person activities and programs, in partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine.
*Activities are virtual and in-person.
We adhere to the most current COVID-19 recommendations and guidelines.
As a participant, I understand that I will be asked to give my opinion during and upon completion.
Sign Up
Complete the information below and click subscribe.
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© 2021 Statewide Network Among Partners for Parents & Caregivers
The project described was supported by Grant Number TP2AH000072 from the HHS Office of Population Affairs.
Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Population Affairs.
