Project Background
The Douglas County RAPP Coalition consists of a core
group of community members, educators, health care
professionals, law enforcement officials and representatives
from various religious organizations. The mission of the RAPP
Coalition is to work together through community partnership
to provide services for teens that help reduce adolescent
pregnancy rates.
In recent RAPP meetings, the coalition has discussed where
services for teens were being met in the local community.
One area of concern in which the coalition has decided to
be more proactive is in targeting males for teen pregnancy
prevention.
Acccording to a recent study by the Urban Institute, for many years reproductive policy in the United States
concentrated almost singly on women. As the Urban Institute
study futher stated, "Why males were ever excluded from
the way we think about pregnancy prevention is puzzling.
Sexual behavior involves two partners, and decisions to
have sex and to use contraception undoubtedly reflect both
partners perspective, whether explicitly or implicitly.
Yet fertility and family are traditionally ascribed to the
world of females -- a perspective that has kept us from
acknowledging what should have been obvious -- that males
must be involved in any policy solution to unintended pregancies
among teenagers."
The Douglas County RAPP Coalition has recognized the need
for a male-involvement teen pregnancy prevention program
in our county as well. After evaluating many different programs
that currently exist around the United States, as well as
sending coalition members to workshops and conferences on
male involvement teen pregnancy prevention programs, the
Douglas County RAPP coalition has begun an effort to create
its own project in this area.
The Pilot Program
Using a developmental asset building model as its philosophy
, the project will use a two-pronged approach of integrating
recreational activities with educational workshops. From
our research on other similiar programs, those that were activity
based were the most effective in reaching teen males.
The pilot project will include not only the resource and support
of the Douglas County RAPP Coalition members, but a partnership
with the Central Douglas County YMCA and Phoenix School, an alternative
education school located in Roseburg. The program will provide teen
males with an opportunity to participate in a diverse number of
activities at the YMCA, as well as attend workshops that will build
the assets needed to make an individual less likely to participate
in high risk behavior. For example these assets include
such things as; self-esteem, a positive view of the future,
planning skills, decision making skills, assertiveness skills,
sexual responsibility, values helping people, edcuational aspirations,
achievement motivation, positive peer influence and adult communication.
Organizational Structure
The project will be overseen by the existing RAPP Coalition
chaired by a member of the Douglas County Health Department.
Phoenix School and the YMCA will work in a partnership
with this coalition. Subcomittees within the coalition will work
under the guidance of the entire coalition.
Outcomes and Objective
The outcomes and objectives of the Douglas County RAPP Coalition's Male
Involvement Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program are as follows:
