Georgia State PREP Case Study

Organization: Georgia DHS/DFCS- Prevention and Community Support Section

Contractor Name: Center Point Georgia Inc.

Funding: State of Georgia PREP funding

What Problem is Being Solved?

The primary aim of Georgia PREP is to diminish occurrences of pregnancy, HIV, and STIs among high-risk youth aged 10 to 19 (up to 21 for those who are pregnant and/or parenting) in Georgia. This is achieved by providing freely accessible, medically accurate, age-appropriate, and evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs, along with supplementary adult preparation topics that are inclusive and culturally sensitive.

Hall County, where Center Point Georgia is located, exhibits higher figures compared to the state average in terms of children living in poverty, children with parents lacking secure employment, and infants born to mothers with less than a high school education. Furthermore, Hall County’s rates for teen births and cases of child abuse and neglect are over 10 percent worse than those of the state of Georgia.

According to the Hall County Snapshot of Adolescent Health by Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP), the county could potentially save an estimated $16.2 million by preventing unplanned teen pregnancies. This report also underscores the correlation between pregnancy risk and the likelihood of contracting STDs/STIs, potential abuse, and an increased probability of experiencing dating violence.

By integrating Love Notes into health classes for all students, there is an expectation that they will acquire the skills to build and maintain healthy relationships along with a clear comprehension of medically accurate and age-appropriate information presented in a format that resonates with them and fosters a sense of support. Through this program, at-risk and vulnerable youth will also gain insight into the linkage between reducing risky behaviors, taking responsibility for making healthy personal and relationship choices, and establishing clear personal boundaries, ultimately paving the way for future personal success.

Curricula Used: Love Notes 4.0

Curricula Benefits:

Meets the requirements for the Federal and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) federal PREP funding.

• Evidence- based program
• Focus on romantic relationships creates more interest in the young people, increasing enrollment, retention, and completion.
• Content is up-to-date covering technology and social media.
• 5 of 6 Adult Preparation topics covered:
  • Healthy Relationships
  • Adolescent Development
  • Parent-Child Communication
  • Healthy Life Skills
  • Educational and Career Success
• Provides education on abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
• Support students in acquiring skills to cultivate healthy relationships and empower them to make informed decisions and behavioral adjustments.

Target Audience: High school students (9-12 grade) enrolled in health classes at Gainesville High School.

Audience Demographics: All participants were high school aged students, 80% freshmen, 86% age 14-15. Approximately an even split between males and females; and 74% identified as Hispanic and 24% identified as other racial minority groups.

Class Size: Approximately 21-30 students per class

Program Setting: Public high school classrooms setting

Location of Instruction: Gainesville, Georgia (Hall County)

Length of Instruction (# of Sessions and hours per session): 15 sessions at 50 minutes over the course of 3 weeks

Instructors: Center Point Georgia staff who have been awarded Georgia PREP funding implemented Love Notes 4.0. All staff members/facilitators have been trained by The Dibble Institute in the curriculum model.

How Was Cultural Adaptation Incorporated: No adaptions were made to the Love Notes content.

Student Workbooks: Students used the Love Notes journals.

Incentives to Students: Students received food and snacks as an incentive.

Observable Outcomes:

By using Love Notes with its focus on healthy relationships, Center Point effectively solicited backing from both the local community, which included parents and caregivers, and the school system, thereby facilitating their capacity to recruit three times more students than to other EBPs.

Our site consistently grapples with attendance issues across the entire campus, particularly among 9th graders. This poses a significant obstacle to both overall participation and the effective sequencing of information although by using Love Notes both recruitment and retention of students improved.

Center Point achieved an 87% retention rate and successfully graduated 108% of the contracted number of youth in the 2024 fall semester. A graduate is operationally defined as a participant who attended a minimum of 75% of the program sessions, equating to 10 out of 13 lessons.

Center Point utilizes the entry and exit surveys required by the federal funder, FYSB. The data below captures the responses of students who completed the Love Notes 4.0 pilot with Center Point Georgia at Gainesville High School:

• 74% of students reported that the discussions/activities helped them learn the lessons all or most of the time.
• 71% of students reported that they were more likely to talk to a trusted person/adult.
• 65% of students reported that they are much more likely to understand what makes a healthy relationship.
• 67% of students reported that they are much more likely to graduate from high school or get their GED.
• 53% of students reported that are much more likely to makes plans to reach their goals.
• 50% of students were very satisfied with the information received about abstaining from sex. 

The statistical representation might not accurately demonstrate the success of the content, primarily because students face challenges in comprehending the entry/exit survey questions. This difficulty stems partially from the wording and the clarity of the questions.

Challenges with Mitigations: 

• The volume of reading and writing required in the journal poses a significant challenge due to the diverse range of ability levels, academic obstacles, and language barriers prevalent at the site.
  • To enhance student understanding and comprehension, we prioritize key points.
• The quantity of material per lesson to be covered presented a noteworthy challenge overall, particularly given the diminishing attention spans of students.
  • We suggest striking a balance in the presentation of information—providing enough content to facilitate comprehension while avoiding overwhelming them to sustain their interest.
• This curriculum exhibits considerable repetition.
  • We minimize the repetition of information within each lesson.
• Love Notes operates under the premise that students possess fundamental knowledge about anatomy, birth control, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which contrasts with our findings indicating otherwise at the sites we serve.
  • Recognizing the importance of addressing these health standards, we incorporate additional sessions to cover these topics beyond what is already included in Love Notes as requested by out partner sites.

Tips: 

• To enhance student understanding and comprehension, we prioritize key points and minimizing the repetition of information within each lesson yields the best results.
• We suggest striking a balance in the presentation of information—providing enough content to facilitate comprehension while avoiding overwhelming them to sustain their interest.
• We employ daily participant compensation, such as snacks and candy, as incentives to foster engagement and prompt completion of assignments.
• We utilize a cell phone box to minimize distractions during class.