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Youth News!
Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health monthly e-newsletter
July 2010
Young, Smart and Pregnant
 Reproductive freedom for adolescents includes the choice to prevent pregnancy and disease with sexual health information and services, terminate a pregnancy, and bring a pregnancy to term and parent.
Our Young Parent Alliance (YPA) has been hard at work this summer advocating for the unique needs of pregnant and parenting students. Recognizing that young parents deserve the same educational opportunities as other students, regardless of their parenting status, YPA met with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials to discuss programs that improve educational performance and the retention and graduation rates of pregnant and parenting youth.
YPA created a Pregnant and Parenting Youth Bill of Rights outlining several key rights young parents have to be successful students, including:
- To attend a safe and supportive school environment that promotes school retention, prevention of unintended subsequent pregnancies, and completion of secondary education.
- To know school policies regarding re-enrollment, maternity leave, child care, and parental consent for their children.
- To re-enroll at their respective schools if their attendance is disrupted by pregnancy or parenting.
YPA is encouraging CPS to adopt the Bill and designate a grievance employee to protect the rights of young parents. They anticipate another meeting with CPS later this summer to continue pushing the initiative forward. We invite you to endorse the campaign as an organization or individual.
Next month, you can learn more about young parent advocacy at Young, Smart and Pregnant: Overcoming Barriers to Academic Success, a policy forum and roundtable discussion co-sponsored by the National Institute for Reproductive Health. The event seeks to gain a shared perspective on the best ways to support Chicagoland parenting students in attaining educational success. RSVP online.
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NEWS
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Author Dan Savage and Youth Leaders Honored at Annual Event
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Author Dan Savage and youth leaders received awards at our 5th annual event "Let's Talk about Sex" on June 15 at the Chicago Cultural Center. ICAH presented Mr. Savage, the writer of the internationally syndicated sex advice column Savage Love, with a Sexuality Activist Award for his commitment to promoting healthy sexuality and sound public policy.
Five outstanding youth advocates were also honored for their leadership: Taquita Brown, Longevity Award; Terrance Hooker, Young Parent Award; Elizabeth Lopez, Creative Activist Award; Veronica Lozano, College Activist Award; and Anali Vargas, Youth Activist Award. View a photo gallery and watch a portion of Mr. Savage's question and answer session with the audience.
ICAH Presents Self-Care Workshop at U.S. Social Forum
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Thousands of social justice activists, including four ICAH youth leaders, gathered at the U.S. Social Forum in Detroit last month to expand their knowledge on current social problems, build relationships, and enhance leadership skills.
A member of the National Planning Committee, ICAH presented Healing the Divide: Youth Self-Care through Art, Love, and Community in partnership with Females United for Action. The workshop covered the importance of individual health and well-being in social movement-building, emphasizing that youth activists need to prioritize self-care. Participants shared stories on how they stay healthy and created personal wellness plans to implement once they returned home.
Report Released on the State of Sex Education in Illinois
 The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) released their annual report detailing the state of sexuality education programs in public schools across the country. While the report notes an overall shift in the federal government’s treatment of sex education—moving away from unsuccessful abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in favor of more comprehensive, evidence-based programs—the state of Illinois still has a long way to go.
Illinois received nearly $8 million in federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in 2009. “The SIECUS report reaffirms the fact that Illinois youth are systematically denied access to appropriate, effective sexuality education,” said Soo Ji Min, executive director of ICAH. Read our press release and view the Illinois profile.
Cook County Jail Resumes STD Testing
 Starting this month, new inmates entering Cook County Jail will be offered testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Funding for the health program was restored by the Cook County Board of Commissioners after being cut in 2007 to help balance the budget. More than $1.2 million has been shifted from other agencies to restore the screening, expected to reach 60,000 people each year. For the first time, all inmates will be routinely tested for HIV unless they decline, creating a new opt-out approach that replaces the jail's former policy of only screening upon request. Read more.
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New Resource Published on Organizing for Sexuality Education
A new sexuality education resource is now available from Expanding the Movement for Empowerment and Reproductive Justice, a national movement-building initiative. The New Sex Ed: Empowered Youth Strengthening Communities is a multimedia tool on a new way of organizing for sexuality education justice that is relevant to all people and grounded in grassroots communities.
The New Sex Ed is a collaboration of five organizations working on sexuality education in diverse communities across the country: ICAH, Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, and SPARK Reproductive Justice Now.
ICAH contributed a step-by-step guide for changing local school board policy, including tactics, strategies, and different models that have been successful in passing comprehensive sexuality education policies with youth at the center of the organizing. Download the ICAH toolkit.
Updated Adolescent Sexual Health Toolkit Available
ICAH recently completed a fifth update of our Adolescent Sexual Health Toolkit, a collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Department of Public Health, and Illinois Department of Human Services.
The toolkit is a centralized resource of the latest information on sexual health issues for educators and service providers. More than a dozen new articles have been added to the toolkit, covering topics like HIV prevention, innovative curricula, and tools to serve youth clients. Register online to receive the toolkit and annual updates as they become available.
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| EVENTS |
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Health Care Reform Briefings
Monday, July 19 // 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Peoria Public Library, Lakeview Branch
1137 W Lake Ave, Peoria
Monday, July 19 // 2:30–4:30 pm
Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies
3435 Liberty Drive, Springfield
Tuesday, July 20 // 1–3 pm
Rockford Memorial Hospital, Funderburg Auditorium
2400 N Rockton Ave, Rockford
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Want to know how health reform will affect your work and the lives of your clients?
Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition is hosting briefings around the state to provide an overview of the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law, with specific details on provisions that will affect women and children in Illinois. Cristal Thomas, regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will also be on hand to provide the federal government’s perspective on implementation.
Events are wheelchair accessible. Space is limited. RSVP online. For more information, contact Sara Howard.
Young, Smart and Pregnant: Overcoming Barriers to Academic Success
Wednesday, August 11 // 9:30 am – 12 pm
Location TBA, Chicago
Adolescents who choose to parent have a range of unique needs and face considerable barriers in attempting to realize their educational goals. Join ICAH for a policy forum and roundtable discussion on the needs of pregnant and parenting youth in the Chicagoland area.
The event will bring together CPS officials, youth, advocates, school employees, community members, and policymakers to gain a shared perspective on the best ways to support parenting students. Members of ICAH's Young Parent Alliance will share their experiences as parents and youth activists, calling for policy change to better support pregnant and parenting youth.
Co-sponsored by the National Institute for Reproductive Health. Event is wheelchair accessible and open to all ages. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP online. For more information, contact Pleasant Radford, Jr.
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The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, in partnership with youth, advocates sound policies and practices that promote a positive approach to adolescent sexual health and parenting.
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Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health
226 S Wabash Ave, Suite 900
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: 312.427.4460
Fax: 312.427.0757
www.icah.org
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