The Healthy Sexual Development Project

The Workgroup

The Healthy Sexual Development (HSD) Workgroup was formed by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) in February of 2016 to address concerns regarding youth and non-minor dependents in foster care and their reproductive health. The workgroup was formed with the goal of producing a statewide pregnancy prevention plan for foster youth and non-minor dependents and to create other informational resources regarding healthy sexual development.

The Participants

The workgroup includes stakeholders from CDSS, the California Department of Health Care Services, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Public Health, the Child Welfare Directors Association, Chief Probation Officers of California, Foster Care Public Health Nurses, Planned Parenthood, National Center for Youth Law, Children’s Law Center of California, John Burton Advocates for Youth, Child Welfare Council, Children Now, California Youth Connection, Youth Engagement Project, Independent Living Program coordinators, and various foster family agencies and group homes, resource parents, Court Appointed Special Advocates and our valuable former foster youth. If you would like to be a part of this workgroup, please email the project's mailbox - SexualDevWorkgroup@dss.ca.gov.

The Why

According to research presented by Power to Decide (formerly known as the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy), youth and young adults in foster care are at an increased risk, and twice as likely as their peers not in foster care, to have an unintended pregnancy, a higher birth rate, and/or to contract a sexually transmitted infection.