Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Title V Alignment Workshop

Appendix A. APP Workshop Agenda

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Title for workshop: Aligning Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) Programming with the Title V Legislation

Description for the Conference Program: The Title V SRAE legislation defines numerous topics and elements that must be included in any SRAE program. These requirements differ somewhat from those in the predecessor Abstinence Education program. This interactive workshop will provide an opportunity for grantees and providers to consider how their program aligns with the required Title V topics and elements. Participants will learn about the SRAE program model that was developed to guide the design and implementation of SRAE programming, as well as a tool to support alignment with the Title V requirements. Through discussion and small group activities, workshop participants will be invited to learn from each other by discussing challenges faced and strategies used in interpreting Title V and aligning their programs with it. Participants will be invited to engage with a draft alignment tool intended to assess the extent to which their program’s address the Title V topics and elements. Participants will be encouraged to share feedback, innovate together, and contribute towards a future practice guide to support SRAE programming. 

Objectives: By the conclusion of the workshop, participants will have:

1. Shared current challenges faced and strategies used in adjusting programs to align with current Title V requirements

2. Understood how the SRAE program model can support alignment to Title V requirements

3. Considered their own program’s alignment to Title V

4. Received assistance in how to use the SRAE program model and related tools as a framework for considering alignment to Title V

Context for the workshop agenda: The agenda below includes the types of questions we will ask attendees during small group discussion and activities. We will emphasize interaction and participation. The questions are designed to generate discussion and encourage participants to share their experiences with each other.

Workshop Agenda

1. Introduction (15 minutes)

Introduction of SRAE program model

Description: During the introduction, facilitators will introduce the SRAE program model and provide context for the development of the program model. Before beginning the activity, we will ask participants, by a show of hands, to tell us about their roles (curriculum developer, grantee by type, direct service provider, other). We will also explain the purpose of the workshop and how the information we gather will be used, the length of time it will take to complete the activities (including answering questions and providing feedback on the handout), and that sharing information is voluntary and the information gathered will be kept private, We will also share this statement: An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB number and expiration date for this collection are OMB #: 0970-0401, Exp: 06/30/2024.

2. Small Group Activity (20 minutes)

We will use a “Roses, Thorns, and Buds” activity to generate questions and discussion. Participants will be able to write their responses, look at each other’s responses, and briefly discuss the responses to the prompts. They will work in small groups (for example, with approximately 6 participants per group), so that they can talk as they write and expand on each other’s responses. We will provide verbal guidance to facilitate discussion and interaction. We will use guiding questions to encourage or redirect discussion.

1. Roses (a small win or success): Participants will write down at least one strategy they have used that they think has been effective in aligning programs and curricula to Title V legislative requirements.

   1. Guiding questions: What steps have you taken to determine how well your program or curriculum aligns with the Title V requirements and to bring them in closer alignment with Title V? Are there strategies or “success stories” of alignment with Title V that you think other groups might find helpful?

2. Thorns (a challenge or area that needs support): Participants will be asked to write down a challenge they face as they interpret Title V legislative requirements and adapt programs

   1. Guiding questions: What are some challenges you have faced in aligning your program with Title V? Are there particular topics that have been difficult for you to adequately cover? What support would you need to better align your programming with Title V?

3. Buds (a new idea or something to look forward to knowing more about): Participants will be asked to write down resources they have used, developed, or adapted that seem to work and resources they think could help them with alignment

   1. Guiding questions: Have you found or developed resources that help you make changes to your program or curriculum? If you could access a resource, what would that resource do? What would it look like? Can you share any ideas that have come up as you think about alignment?

4. Transition and Activity Wrap Up (10 minutes)

The facilitator will wrap up the activity by highlighting 2 to 3 responses that emerged during small group discussions. As time allows, the facilitator will invite a spokesperson from each group to share other themes that emerged (for example, related to common challenges discussed by group members or helpful strategies/resources).

3. Think-Pair-Share Activity (20 minutes)

The facilitator will introduce the next activity by sharing a series of handouts that will be used for the activity.

Participants will be paired. Participants will be given two handouts: a worksheet and a topics/subtopics table. There will be two types of topics table handouts, one with topics A-B-C from the Title V legislation and one with subtopics D-E-F from the Title V legislation. One participant will be asked to take notes on a worksheet that facilitators will provide. Appendix B includes the tables that will be used as handouts.

Participants will be asked to look at the table that includes the topics and subtopics as they discuss and complete worksheet.¹ Some questions will ask participants to reflect about their programs and some questions will ask them to reflect on the design and content of the table. The questions are designed so that participants with a wide range of experience with Topics A-F, including those not familiar with the topics, may participate in the discussion.

Participants will be prompted to think about the topics listed in the table and reminded that there are no right or wrong answers. The questions will provide opportunities to learn more about how participants think of alignment, how they think about the information included in the table, and how they think about the current description of the subtopics.

The worksheet will include the following types of questions:

1. Curriculum and program questions:

   1. Can you identify places where your curriculum or program does not lineup with the new Title V requirements?

   2. Can you identify any topics that were not covered in your curriculum or program prior to the Title V rule changes that are now included?

   3. Are there any topics that you dropped to make room for new topics, or because they no longer aligned with the regulations?

   4. Looking at the table, can you easily interpret how your overall program is aligned to the topics and subtopics? (By “program,” we mean your curriculum plus any supplemental activities or strategies you may use).

2. Tool design questions:

   1. Is there a column that would help you assess how a program and curriculum are aligned more quickly?

   2. What else would you need to know for this table to be useful in interpreting how your program and curriculum are aligned? What questions surface?

   3. How could the table be more useful? Please discuss design elements, organization, and content.

3. Subtopics questions:

   1. Focusing on the subtopics, do you think the subtopics are clearly described?

   2. Are there subtopics that you think should be added or that your program emphasizes more?

4. Please write any additional ideas or thoughts we did not ask about.

4. Activity Wrap Up (10 minutes)

Facilitators will thank participants and explain the next steps for refining the program model and the other handouts they have used during the session.

References

• PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: The purpose of this information collection is to learn more about the challenges faced by Title V grantees in aligning their SRAE curriculum with current legislative requirements, and about what kinds of resources could be helpful to achieve alignment. Through small and large group discussions during the workshop, grantees and providers will have a chance to learn about each other’s experiences and learn from one another. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 75 minutes per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information.  This is a voluntary collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.  The OMB # is 0970-0401 and the expiration date is 06/30/2024. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Lourdes Fernandez at [email protected].

Blesson, E., A. Meckstroth, and H. Zaveri (2022). “Promoting Healthy Futures for Youth: A Program Model for Sexual Risk Avoidance Education,” OPRE Report Number 2022-170. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

1 The topics and subtopics will be drawn from the SRAE program model (Blesson et al. 2022).