Evidence-based sexual health programs for youth involved with juvenile justice and child welfare systems: Outcomes across settings

Abstract Introduction System-involved youth experience disproportionately high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Although many evidence-based sexual health programs exist, few have been evaluated among system-involved youth. We aimed to assess the impact of two evidence-based programs ( Making Proud Choices! and Be Proud! Be Responsible! ) among this population, and to explore whether impacts differed by juvenile justice (JJ) and foster care (FC) settings. Methods System-involved youth ( N  = 803) received an evidence-based sexual health program across five facilities. Providers were trained in trauma-informed care and made related minor “green-light” changes to the curricula. Youth completed pre- and post-test measures examining their sexual health knowledge and attitudes towards condoms and birth control. Results Unadjusted t- tests found that participants in both JJ and FC significantly ( p Discussion Results suggest that Making Proud Choices! and Be Proud! Be Responsible! can improve system-involved youths' sexual health knowledge, and attitudes towards condoms and birth control across JJ and FC settings. Outcomes may depend upon facilitators' training in trauma-informed care and “green light” tailoring modifications to adjust language and approach to be more trauma-informed.