Collective STEP for Youth is a group of professionals and community members who are passionate about building the capacity of organizations serving youth 10-19 to prevent teen pregnancy and enhance adolescent wellbeing. 
Would you like to learn more about us? Visit our Newsletter Archives here!  
 THANK YOU DR. BOB ENGLAND
 
 
Dr. Bob England will be retiring after 12 years from his position as Director for Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) and after a total of 30+ years total working towards health equity as a public health professional. We would like to thank him for his continued service to improve the health and wellbeing of Maricopa County residents and visitors. We will miss him and wish him the best in his next endeavors. Please read Dr. Bob's announcement here . If you are interested in bidding a fond farewell in person, a retirement celebration of his career is being planned soon. Please email [email protected] for details.
       THE HUB REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS IS OPEN
 
Are you a youth-serving organization interested in creating a resource to help benefit other youth-serving organizations? We've released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop an online clearinghouse of resources based on feedback from the Coalition and the Coalition Hub Work Group. If you're interested, here's your opportunity to develop an online resource center with the support of STEP.

Interested partners must submit their proposal electronically through  www.BidSync.com.
All proposals must be submitted by 2:00pm Arizona time on January 24, 2018.  Any questions regarding the RFP should go directly to Cheryl Rentscheler, Procurement Officer at (602) 506-6886 or  at   [email protected].
Please do not contact STEP staff regarding the RFP as we are unable to provide additional information.   Please pass the link along to your partners and add to your newsletters.

 COALITION NEWS
Please join us for the next STEP Coalition meeting to network with diverse partners and learn the results of the Resource Assessment.
 
Wednesday, February 7 th    
1:30pm-3:00pm  
Arizona Department of Education
 
For more information, please contact Tracy Pedrotti at 602-527-6284 or [email protected].   
Please RSVP to [email protected] by February 1 to have an accurate headcount for lunch. Thank you!

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
   Meet the Collective STEP for Youth Steering Committee Members!      
 
Angie Lorenzo   
Angie serves as a Collective STEP for Youth Steering Committee Member. She is a native Arizonan and serves on the committee because she has a teenage daughter and believes it is important that she is well educated not only on sexual health, but how to eat healthy, exercise, set life goals, and make healthy decisions to grow up to become a healthy adult. Her experience and knowledge working in adolescent health and teen pregnancy prevention at the state level has brought value to the coalition by recruiting new partners and contacts for memberships and having experience planning professional development activities. She is interested in learning more about coalition building, loves baking, and spending time with her daughter. 
 
   
                                       Dania Garcia  
Dania serves as a Collective STEP for Youth Coalition Steering Committee Member. She serves on the committee because she feels her communication and training skills help the committee make informed decisions. When growing up she remembered how important it was to have access to programs and services that were teen-friendly, non-judgmental, and included supportive positive adults and believes these types of programs help support youth in the community. She is an advocate for youth especially in the healthcare arena and is a life long learner and appreciates learning from different folks and ideas.  
EVENTS, OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES
EVENTS
Adolescent Health Initiative will be hosting a webinar, Improving Adolescent-Centered Care: Training Your Team When You Don't Have Time or Resources for Training, on January 23 and February 1. Learn more here.  
 
CARE Coalition Meeting will be held on February 16 from 11:30am-1:00pm at Tolleson Union High School District Office. Learn more here.  
 
The Dibble Institute will be hosting a webinar, Daddy Don't Go, Dismantling the "deadbeat dad" stereotype, on February 14. Register here.    
OPPORTUNITIES
City of Phoenix will be hosting a seminar on January 24 at Gateway Community College Central City Campus for those interested in pursuing a career in the construction industry. For more information call 602-495-0358.  
 
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) would like to conduct a comprehensive statewide assessment of health needs and behaviors among individuals who identify as LGBT. Full details and a copy of the request for quote (RFQ) can be found here or by contacting Cheryl Rentscheler, Procurement Officer @ (602) 506-6886 or at [email protected].    
 
National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) Valley of the Sun is offering FREE NAMI Basics Education Program classes for Parents and Caregivers on three consecutive Saturday classes and six week classes in Paradise Valley, West Mesa, and North Central Phoenix. Please check each location for location dates and times.    
 
CARE Coalition is continuing to work hard to serve the community and needs your help. Please take five minutes to complete this short community needs assessment. By doing so, it will allow them to pinpoint areas of concern to try and bring more services to the community. Participate here. 
 
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health Office of Epidemiology is excited to announce that as a result from feedback from our Bridging Climate Change and Public Health meetings, they are launching a Climate and Health Champion Award recognition program. Winners will be announced in May 2018. The Climate and Health Champion Awards recognize local youth, individuals, businesses, and organizations that are taking steps toward implementing sustainable solutions, eco-friendly practices, or policies aimed at improving health and/or health equity (by eliminating economic or social barriers to health) that are at risk of climate-sensitive hazards. Recognition of these positive efforts is meant to spread information about successful interventions and to build community awareness and knowledge. Learn more here.
 
SHIFT NC is searching for great conference presenters to join them on May 17-18 in North Carolina. The theme for this year's conference is Blazing the Trail: Sustaining Progress and Exploring New Territory. Apply here.  
 
RESOURCES
January is...
Power to Decide offers materials, fact sheets, and articles to help Parents, Champions, & Mentors navigate work with teens. Learn more here.

Adolescent Health Initiative (AHI) works to advance innovative adolescent-centered health care through practice improvement, education, research, and youth and community engagement. It also offers visual cues to strategies for practice change. Here are some tools to help you build and enhance youth-friendly environments. AHI also offers pre-packaged professional development training called SPARKS. Learn more here.
 
We can help you spread the word!
Please fill out the Events, Opportunities & Resources (EOR) form here.
New this year! The Collective STEP for Youth newsletter will be sent out every third Thursday of the month.
To assure your information is included in the newsletter, please submit EOR forms the first Monday of the month.
START THE YEAR OFF WITH A GOOD READ
New Year, New Content: Digital Stories
Tune into seven digital stories told by youth-serving professionals who work in HIV prevention. We hope you'll find them moving, engaging, and maybe even surprising! Explore Digital Stories here.
Making the Pledge: What Research Says about Abstinence-Only Education
Many of us have heard of abstinence-only education. It's a form of sex-ed where you're told not having sex is the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This form of sex-ed, which began in the early 1990s, often includes taking a pledge not to have sex until after marriage. Does abstinence-only education work? Read more here.  

Collective STEP for Youth shares resources for adolescent wellbeing as a service to its partner community.  
Any questions about a resource shared here should be directed to the organization it came from.
The project described is supported by Grant Number TP1AHOOO129 from the Office of Adolescent Health. 
Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.