Chapin Hall

Chapin Hall sub-recipient of multi-million-dollar grant to assess sexual health intervention in foster care systems

Chapin Hall Senior Research Fellow Dr. Amy Dworsky will lead an independent evaluation of THRIVE, a sexual health intervention that will be implemented in congregate settings in three states (Illinois, Kansas and Colorado) funded by a multi-million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.   

THRIVE is a trauma-informed sexual education curriculum developed by the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, the primary grant recipient. The curriculum is specifically designed for youth in foster care as well as the caregivers and child welfare professionals responsible for the wellbeing. THRIVE offers practice strategies for healthy communication and consent, information about sexual health and pregnancy prevention, and resources for accessing sexual and reproductive health services. 

“Unfortunately, youth in care face barriers to sexual education as well as access to reproductive care that their counterparts outside of care do not,” said Dworsky who is a nationally recognized expert on pregnant and parenting youth in foster care. “Through this grant, our evaluation will determine whether the intervention produces the desired outcomes among both youth in congregate care and the professionals who are responsible for their wellbeing.” 

Prevention programs like THRIVE are important because research by Dworsky and others shows that youth in foster care are more likely to experience a pregnancy before age 19 than their peers who are not in care. Compared to their peers, they also experience higher rates of sexually transmitted infections and intimate partner violence.  

“Developing THRIVE has been a remarkable process that was supported by young adults with lived experience, foster caregivers, and child welfare organizations to make sure the intervention feels relevant and user friendly,” said Dr. Barbara Ball, principal investigator on the grant. “Our work is unique in that we provide training for child welfare professionals on how to engage youth in trauma-informed conversations about sexual health and relationships before we educate youth on these issues.” 

The $5 million grant will run for five years. Three organizations with expertise in child welfare and sexual health (Planned Parenthood of Illinois, KVC Behavioral Health Services Kansas, and the  Colorado Sexual Health Initiative) will implement THRIVE in congregate care settings in their respective states. Dworsky and her Chapin Hall team, including Lee Ann Huang, Elissa Gitlow, Dr. Amanda Griffin and Colleen Schlecht, will work with teams at the University of Kansas and the University of Colorado Boulder to evaluate the program.  

Chapin Hall is a leader in evaluating programs for youth in foster care as well as those experiencing homelessness. The organization uses rigorous research to generate evidence and supports policy and program implementation in the field. Our experts work alongside community and agency partners to build more effective services and systems, accelerate the use of evidence in practice, and better serve children, youth, and families. 

For more information on this project, please contact Dr. Amy Dworsky.