Impacts of the Heritage Keepers® Life Skills Education Component

Final Report

August 2007

By:
Melissa Clark, Christopher Trenholm, Barbara Devaney, Justin Wheeler, and Lisa Quay
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Project Director:
Christopher Trenholm

Contract No.: HHS 100-98-0010
MPR Reference No.: 8549-110

Submitted to:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

This report is available on the Internet at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/abstinence07/HK/

This report is only available in PDF format. (136 pages)

How to Obtain a Printed Copy

Contents

HHS Fact Sheet (in PDF format - 2 pages)

Executive Summary (in PDF format - 13 pages)

Acknowledgments

Chapters

  1. Introduction
  2. Design and Methods for the Impact Evaluation
  3. Intermediate Outcomes Related to Teen Sexual Activity
  4. Knowledge and Perceptions of Risks Associated with Teen Sex
  5. Impacts on Sexual Abstinence and Teen Risk Behaviors
  6. Conclusions

References

Appendices


Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the many people who contributed to this report on the impacts of the Heritage Keepers® Life Skills Education Component in Edgefield, South Carolina.  We especially thank Anne Badgley, Sally Raymond, Jerry Raymond, Sheila Whittington, Susan Swanson, and all the Heritage Keepers® Program site staff in Edgefield and corporate staff in Charleston, South Carolina.  They generously allowed us to visit their program and observe their operations, and they provided thoughtful and insightful comments on their program design and operations.  We also thank the many Edgefield County School District staff who supported this evaluation.

Over the course of the Title V, Section 510 evaluation, we have received valuable comments and guidance from members of the project's technical work group.  Current members include Marilyn Benoit, Sarah Brown, Ron Haskins, Jim Jaccard, Joe McIlhaney, Robert Michael, Kristin Moore, Susan Philliber, Robert Rector, David Rowberry, Freya Sonenstrin, John Vessey, and Brian Wilcox.

Rebecca Maynard, former project director and co-principal investigator, led the development of the research design for this study and oversaw the early rounds of data collection.  We are deeply grateful for Rebecca's intellectual and project leadership.  We also thank Amy Johnson, who provided critical support throughout this study in numerous capacities, including her role as Deputy Project Director and Survey Director.  Linda Mendenko and Milena Rosenblum shared direction of the follow-up data collection for this study.  Walt Brower and Jane Retter provided editorial support for the report, which was produced by Bill Garrett and Jill Miller.  Ken Fortson provided important guidance during the analysis and preparation of the report, and Peter Schochet provided many thoughtful comments on internal drafts of the report.

Finally, we are grateful for the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees this project.  We are especially grateful to our former project officer, Meredith Kelsey, for her thoughtful guidance throughout the conduct of the study.  We also thank Martha Moorehouse, Lisa Trivits, Nicole Gardner-Neblett, Melissa Pardue, Barbara Broman, and Stan Koutstaal for additional guidance and their thoughtful comments on the draft report.

Although we gratefully acknowledge the input of these and many other individuals, we are responsible for any errors or omissions in the report.  Any opinions expressed in the report are our own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Melissa A. Clark (mclark@mathematica-mpr.com)
Christopher Trenholm, Project Director (ctrenholm@mathematica-mpr.com)
Barbara Devaney, Co-Principal Investigator (bdevaney@mathematica-mpr.com)


How to Obtain a Printed Copy

To obtain a printed copy of this report, send the title and your mailing information to:

Human Services Policy, Room 404E
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20201

Fax:  (202) 690-6562

You may also print the PDF version (136 pages).


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Last updated: 08/31/07