Young Parents Program

The Young Parents Program (YPP) will provide Title X/Family Planning services, including abstinence education, to adolescents and young adults. Basic home visitation services and guideance (child-rearing and counseling) will occur through YPP and include routine health care, gynecological care and pediatric services to their infants. All Program outcomes shall be reported to the Department for Public Health. The Adolescent Risk Reduction Program will provide a program of early intervention through comprehensive risk assessment, education, and management. YPPwill: a.) Provide comprehensive Family Planning clinical services to approximately 686 unduplicated adolescent and young adult patients annually. These clinics shall be staffed with professional and medical staff from the University of Kentucky, Department of Pediatrics b.) Will agree to work with existing local and state agencies referring program patients to additional clinic and support services, such as WIC, Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) and others as appropriate c.) Provide all first-time parents (mothers and fathers) or parents experiencing their "first parenting experience" will be screened using the HANDS Referral Screen to begin the eligibility process for the intensive weekly home visitation program known as HANDS. Families with positive screens will be referred to a HANDS Program (Lexington/Fayette County Health Department or Lexington Family Care Center). Negative screens will also be submitted to the HANDS program for review d.) Provide instructors for a minimum of 2 regional 1-day trainingfworkshops on adolescent health issues for health care professionals who deal with adolescents. Topics will include education on pertinent adolescent health risks, adolescent health risk appraisals, and/or reproductive health care issues e.) Staff shall perform,as part of the Adolescent Risk Reduction Program, the Perkins Adolescent Risk Screen (PAR) on a cohort of 6th grade students from Tates Creek Middle School. A comparison cohort from another middle school in the area will also be addressed using PAR. YPP will also provide comprehensive risk reduction management at Tates Creek Middle School to those students identified as high risk while providing health educaiton on risk taking behaviors such as substance abuse, sexual activity, violence and safety to the entire cohort. Sexuality education will be based on the principles and benefits of sexual abstinence and will not involve instruction on contraceptives. Cohorts will be followed through the end of 9th grade to compare outcomes relating to risk taking behaviors f.) Provide counseling to all clients and families on the importance of avoiding tobacco use and refer youth and adults to appropriate smoking cessation programs. YPP will stress the importance of avoiding exposure to second hand smoke. YPP will assist in removing the discrepancy in tobacco-related diseases in minority, economically disadvantaged, and rural populations g.) Provide family planning services in accordance with Federal Title X guidelines, including use of a patient sliding fee schedule h.) Coordinate YPP staff and HANDS staff to improve pregnancy outcomes and early childhood development.