Family and Youth Services Bureau
Abstinence Education Media Resources

Looking for materials to support your existing abstinence education program or to promote a new initiative in your community?  Here are some resources that can help.  They include brochures, posters, form letters, public service announcements, and tips for working with the media.

1. www.4parents.gov – This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site includes Parents, Speak Up!, a handbook for parents who want to talk to their teens about important topics related to healthy choices, abstinence, sex, and relationships.  The site also includes Teen Chat, a guide to healthy choices written specifically for teens.  The two publications stress abstinence as the only sure way to protect against the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
   
   
2. A Guide to Communications and Media Relations and Op-Ed Tips for Abstinence Education Grantees – These guides were developed specifically for the Family and Youth Service Bureau (FYSB) abstinence education grantees.  Additional materials, including public service announcements, will be made available to State and Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) grantees for use in their communities.  Look for information about the availability of these products in future issues of the Abstinence Education E-Update.
   
   
3. National Abstinence Education Grantee Conferences – Materials from conference sessions dealing with media issues are available online: Successful Communications 101: Strategies and Messaging for Abstinence Education Grantees; Media Mastery 201: Abstinence Education, No Fear, No Apology; and Media Mastery: Communication Tips that Work.
   
   
4. Abstinence Education Grantee Web sites – Often, State and CBAE programs make materials such as posters, brochures, and audio/visual resources available online.  To visit the Web sites of State abstinence education programs, please refer to the listing of State coordinators.  You may find contact information for CBAE grantees on the FYSB Web site.
   
   
5. Office of Population Affairs (OPA) Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – The OPA Clearinghouse makes available free abstinence-related brochures in English and Spanish.
   
   
6. National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY) – NCFY, a free information service of FYSB, offers many publications that are useful to abstinence education providers.  Some are available in both English and Spanish. The following free materials may be accessed from the NCFY Web site:
   
   
1. Celebrating America's Youth:  The Facts Are Positive – This publication presents statistics demonstrating that today's youth are on the path to health and success.  Topics include volunteerism, extracurricular activities, civic and religious activities, academic achievement, parents and family, healthy behaviors, and Positive Youth Development.
   
   
2. Express Yourself: A Teenager's Guide to Fitting In, Getting Involved, Finding Yourself  – The ideas in this booklet can help youth both deal with difficulties and enjoy success by connecting with people and places that are right for them.
   
   
3. Putting Positive Youth Development into Practice – This 56-page guide provides information on the theory behind the Positive Youth Development approach, as well as practical information for launching and running programs that support the positive development of young people.
   
   
4. Reconnecting Youth & Community – This pamphlet describes the youth development approach and how it can help young people achieve success in their personal lives and in their communities.
   
   
5. Supporting Your Adolescent: Tips for Parents – Available as a booklet or audiocassette, this resource presents practical suggestions for parents wishing to support their teenage children through the challenges of adolescence.  The booklet includes descriptions of additional resources along with contact information.
   
   
6. What Are You Doing After School? – This publication provides numerous constructive ways that young people can fill their afterschool hours.
7. Technical Assistance Web Casts – Archived Web casts for FYSB's abstinence education grantees are available for download.  Materials for each Web cast include the audio file, the presentation file, and participant handouts.  The Web cast titled "Communicating Clearly" specifically deals with media relations.