P.O.S.T.P.O.N.E. - Positive Outcomes for Successful Teens through Planning, Outreach, Needs assessment and Education.

Description: P.O.S.T.P.O.N.E. is a county-wide effort to prevent teen and unwed pregnancy, promote responsible parenting and increase the involvement of fathers in their children’s lives. It is part of a broader state-wide initiative called the Partnership for Responsible Parenting which includes a media campaign and other strategies for achieving these goals.

Program activities are guided by members of local coalitions in each of the five communities targeted by the project based on the incidence of births to teens: Seaside, Salinas, Soledad, Greenfield and King City. These activities include:

• Grass-roots organizing and needs assessment to create awareness, mobilize resources and develop strategies;



• Direct services targeting pre-sexually active youth, sexually-active youth, pregnant and parenting teens, absentee fathers and the parents of teens;



• Social marketing to change social and cultural norms about teenage sexual activity, unwed pregnancy and male accountability;



• Evaluation of the project’s outcomes to guide decision making about future teen pregnancy prevention efforts.

Media Coverage:

• Teens Help Teens Avoid Pregnancy, by Ria Megnin, The Salinas Californian, February 8, 2006