The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Office of Sexual Health and Youth Development will release a Request for Response (RFR) soliciting adolescent sexuality education services during state fiscal year 2017. Contracts will likely begin in July 2017.
DPH is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to explore potential providers and service models that can reach additional populations at high risk for experiencing unintended teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
Background
DPH has been funding state Teen Pregnancy Prevention contracts in Massachusetts for over 10 years. This program integrates positive youth development with workshops and/or curriculum in order to change behavior and reduce adolescent pregnancy, especially among youth populations that are at the highest risk. Programming is delivered in school and community-based settings. The current contracts end on June 30, 2017.
Request for Information
This RFI seeks written comments and recommendations that will be helpful in the program design. Please feel free to answer any or all of the questions listed below.
- What is the impact of teen pregnancy in your community?
- DPH funded Teen pregnancy prevention programs annually reach about 4,500 young people. Which young people in your community are we not currently reaching?
- What are the root causes of teen pregnancy in your community? What social conditions contribute to teen birth rates in your community?
- What type of work does your organization do to address the root causes of teen pregnancy prevention?
- What current tools are you using to measure the effectiveness of your prevention efforts?
- What are the advantages of evidence-based programs?
- What are the limitations of evidence-based programs, and when should other programming be used?
- Is your agency currently offering evidence-based programs, evidence-informed programs, or a mix? Why?
- MDPH thinks that evidence-informed sexual health interventions, coupled with youth development strategies, leads to reductions in risky sexual behavior (including not using condoms and/or birth control) and increases in healthy relationships. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Please forward your comments to Stephanie Campbell at [email protected] by November 14, 2016 at 5:00PM.