Elevate Youth Programming

Human Trafficking And Sexual Exploitation

In this episode we speak with Dr. Stacey Cutbush and Leanne Desselle from RTI International to learn tips and strategies to recognize signs of youth who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual exploitation (SE) or human trafficking (HT) and ways to support youth. Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) providers are in a unique position to build relationships that foster trust and create a safe space for youth to share their life experiences, which may include self-disclosures or signs of SE and HT. PREP programming presents an opportunity to prevent risky situations proactively by providing information and resources to build youths’ life skills (i.e., decision-making, help-seeking behaviors), discussing tactics used by traffickers, emphasizing the importance of seeking help when needed, and reporting suspected instances of SE and HT. Stacey Cutbush, PhD, is social scientist and the director of the Violence Prevention and Harm Reduction Research Program in RTI International’s Justice Practice Area. She has 20 years of experience conducting research and evaluation and providing training and technical assistance. Her expertise spans the fields of violence and victimization, including human trafficking, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, teen dating violence, school-based violence, and mental health. She served as the Principal Investigator for the following National Institute of Justice (NIJ)-funded Trafficking in Persons grants, Measuring Outcomes in Services to Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking: Instrument Development and Testing and Identify, Respond, Prevent: Addressing Human Trafficking among Juvenile Justice– and Child Welfare–Involved Youth. Dr. Cutbush currently serves as the project director for the NIJ-funded Trafficking in Persons grant, Evaluation of the California Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Grant Program and the Office for Victims of Crime–funded Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance project. Dr. Cutbush provides HT training and technical assistance to federal, state, and local agencies. She has also worked in direct service provision as a victim advocate in crisis response, emergency departments, and criminal courts. Leanne McCallum Desselle, MA, is a Research Analyst & Training and Technical Assistance Provider in RTI International’s Justice Practice Area whose work is informed by her experience as a former practitioner, where she managed and implemented multi-disciplinary victim service programs. Her previous roles include acting as a Strategic Projects Manager for the Louisiana Alliance of Children’s Advocacy Centers. She has been a featured expert speaker, trainer, and technical assistance consultant for national organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, the U.S. Office for Victims of Crime, Freedom Network USA, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center, and the HEAL Network.  The Elevate Youth Programming podcast was developed by RTI International and funded by FYSB. The Elevate Youth Programming content does not reflect the opinions of FYSB nor its training and technical assistance contractors but offers topics to provoke thought and provide grantees with tips and strategies to enhance programming.

Interpersonal Violence – Teen Dating Violence And Risky Sexual Behavior

In this episode, Teen Dating Violence and Risky Sexual Behavior, we speak with Dr. Marni Kan from RTI International to learn tips and strategies to increase knowledge of TDV, best practices in addressing TDV in programming, and ways to support youth. Teaching adolescents how to form safe and healthy relationships is a key part of helping them refrain from engaging in risk-taking behaviors and improving their reproductive health outcomes and emotional and social well-being. Teen dating violence, a form of intimate partner violence, affects millions of youth and can set the stage for future unhealthy relationships and impacts that last a lifetime. Personal Responsibility Education Programs (PREP) programming is primed to address teen dating violence through Adulthood Preparation Subjects addressing healthy relationships by helping adolescents recognize characteristics of unhealthy and healthy relationships, establish beliefs that healthy relationships are important and attainable, and develop the skills and knowledge necessary to form healthy relationships, including skills needed to avoid being a perpetrator of violence. PREP programming also builds youth communication, negotiation, and refusal skills and coping skills related to well-being and self-regulation. Dr. Kan is a research psychologist with over 20 years of experience conducting research on promoting healthy relationships and behaviors among adolescents, young adults, and families. Her work focuses on preventing risks within relationships, including violence and risky sexual behavior. Dr. Kan adapts and evaluates teen dating violence prevention programs, sexual violence prevention programs, and programs that promote strong family relationships. Her recent work has involved special populations, including teens who are pregnant or parenting and military service members. Dr. Kan has led and worked on several projects for the Office of Population Affairs, Administration for Children and Families, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Defense. Dr. Kan is the author of numerous articles, presentations, and technical reports on topics including teen dating violence, intimate partner violence, adolescent reproductive health, program evaluation, parent–child relationships, and co-parenting. The Elevate Youth Programming podcast was developed by RTI International and funded by FYSB. The Elevate Youth Programming content does not reflect the opinions of FYSB nor its training and technical assistance contractors but offers topics to provoke thought and provide grantees with tips and strategies to enhance programming.

Approaching Youth Mental Health Holistically

In this episode, Approaching Youth Mental Health Holistically, we speak with Cherry Yamane and Hannah Rackers from Child Trends to discuss mental health challenges youth face, the landscape of mental health care services, and strengths-based approaches to support youth resilience by creating spaces where youth can thrive. Mental health challenges are increasing in youth, with 1 in 6 youth under the age of 18 experiencing a mental health condition (Whitney & Peterons, 2019). According to Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance data, one in three high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and one in six reported making a suicide plan in the past year (CDC, 2023). The recent U.S. Surgeon General’s report on Protecting Youth Mental Health emphasizes that youth should understand that mental health and well-being are essential components of overall health and that they should learn to recognize, manage, and learn from emotions (Murthy, 2021). Covering factors that may affect mental health outcomes is essential for youth-serving programs because mental health challenges often lead to increased risk-taking behaviors, including sexual risk behaviors. Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) programming provides an opportunity to arm youth with tools that may reduce the potential impact of a mental health condition, including tools to identify changes in well-being and resources to restore well-being such as self-care practices and support across a spectrum of services. Cherry Y.E.W. Yamane, MPH, is a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) scholar-practitioner with over 9 years of experience working with Indigenous communities. Their experience is grounded in land-based, cultural practices, and drawing on ancestral wisdom as a source of healing and thriving. Their scope of public health practice includes mental and behavioral health, substance use, harm-reduction, trauma-informed care, and positive youth development. They are dedicated to the creation of a community-based, culturally driven intervention aimed at addressing mental and behavioral health concerns among Hawaiian youth, adolescents, and families. Hannah Rackers, M.P.H., is a Research Scientist whose work focuses on maternal and youth mental health and well-being. She has experience in psychiatric research, working directly with youth and adults with severe mental illness in case management and care coordination, and supporting program implementation for behavioral health promotion and treatment programs. She uses her skills and experience to support projects and provide training and technical assistance around program implementation, monitoring and evaluation data capacity building, data collection, and quantitative analysis. Her research interests include youth development, reproductive health, mental health, health equity, community health improvement, and systems transformation.   The Elevate Youth Programming podcast was developed by RTI International and funded by FYSB. The Elevate Youth Programming content does not reflect the opinions of FYSB nor its training and technical assistance contractors but offers topics to provoke thought and provide grantees with tips and strategies to enhance programming.

Youth Substance Use In The Digital Age

In this episode, Youth Substance Use in the Digital Age, we speak with Drs. Andra Wilkinson and Asari Offiong from Child Trends to discuss current trends around availability and access to substances and opportunities to address these concerns within programming. During adolescence, risk-taking is a normative part of development. However, when youth engage in unhealthy risks, it presents challenges for their overall health and well-being. Substance use is a topic of great concern and is connected to sexual health, mental health, and even academic success for youth. It is important for trusted adults to be aware of current trends, perceptions, and realities of how substance use is woven into youth culture today. Dr. Andra Wilkinson has over 15 years of experience in behavioral health research and has advised members of Congress, federal agencies, and two national expert panels on the relationship between substance use and mental health during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. For the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Dr. Wilkinson studied the relationship between childhood maltreatment and later delinquent behaviors, including substance use, and potential protective factors at the personal, family, school, and neighborhood levels. In partnership with various states and districts, Dr. Wilkinson has done a great deal of work on school-based behavioral health care as a potential equitably accessible source of care for adolescents. Dr. Asari Offiong is a Sexual and Reproductive Health Senior Research Scientist with expertise in community-engaged research focused on adolescent health, particularly preventing risky behaviors and promoting well-being among youth from marginalized communities. Dr. Offiong has both research and practice experience that informs her work focused on youth. She served as the project research coordinator for 5 years on a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study focused on reducing risky behaviors (sexual health and substance use) among Black youth affected by parental substance use in Baltimore. Dr. Offiong is also well-versed in several evidence-based programs, was an inaugural member of the Safe in Harlem coalition funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Drug-Free Community grant, and served as the Youth Advisor for the Safe in Harlem Teen Committee. The Elevate Youth Programming podcast was developed by RTI International and funded by FYSB. The Elevate Youth Programming content does not reflect the opinions of FYSB nor its training and technical assistance contractors but offers topics to provoke thought and provide grantees with tips and strategies to enhance programming.

Sustainability

In this episode, “Sustainability,”, Elevate Youth Programming sat down with Drs. Asari Offiong and Mindy Scott from Child Trends to discuss steps program staff can take to plan for sustainability. Although there is no uniform definition of sustainability, discussions of sustainability often focus on the ability to maintain an intervention or its outcomes after some initial period. Defining sustainability for your program at an early stage is important, so appropriate structures and procedures can be developed to achieve your sustainability goals. These goals should extend beyond continued funding and could focus on other components such as implementation partners, staff training, and community support. In this episode, we discussed components of sustainability and provided examples of frameworks and tools to support sustainability planning. Dr. Offiong is an adolescent health researcher with nearly a decade of experience leading youth development programs and conducting mixed-methods, community-based research in various metropolitan areas across the United States with non-profits, school districts and government agencies. Dr. Scott is an expert on fatherhood and healthy relationships, who leads research and evaluation projects aimed at building the knowledge base around healthy-relationship programming for young people The Elevate Youth Programming podcast was developed by RTI International and funded by FYSB. The Elevate Youth Programming content does not reflect the opinions of FYSB nor its training and technical assistance contractors but offers topics to provoke thought and provide grantees with tips and strategies to enhance programming.