From January 2002 NASW NEWS
Copyright ©2002, National Association of Social Workers, Inc.

Teen Health Promoted

Phyllis Wolfe

Phyllis Wolfe

"We want kids to be strong, but we also want them to be safe."

NASW Program, Policy and Practice Manager Tracy Whitaker on Oct. 19 opened a Washington, D.C., forum on adolescent health entitled "Promoting Positive Youth Environments."

Whitaker, who directs the NASW Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health (PIPPAH) project, a five-year cooperative agreement between NASW and the HHS Maternal and Child Health Bureau's Office of Adolescent Health, said that while the project celebrates the resiliency of youth, it also aims to remove obstacles to their development and well-being.

"We want kids to be strong, but we also want them to be safe," she said.

NASW staff member Shelia Clark, the PIPPAH project manager, said that parents, peers, schools and the larger community all influence the sexual decision-making of adolescents, as do social attitudes about gender and the socialization of girls and boys.

Clark also pinpointed community safety as a contributing factor to teenagers' sexual decision-making.

Forum presentations also included these:

  • Leslie Walker, head of the adolescent health section at Georgetown University Children's Medical Center, said that adolescents are one of the least-insured groups in the country.
  • Office of Adolescent Health project officer Audrey Yowell praised the collaborative nature of the PIPPAH forum.
  • Phyllis Wolfe, a social worker at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Mental Health Services, examined the efficacy of public health social work and the connection between public health and prevention work as it pertains to adolescent health.

Other topics addressed at the forum included: HIV/AIDS prevention among minority youth; gender-based aspects of relationship violence; the health concerns of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth; youth in foster care, independent living and delinquency; and culturally competent systems of care.

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