Guest Blog Post By Judith W. Herrman, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

Healthy Teen Network is pleased to announce another resource for our members: position statements on relevant issues for young people. Have you ever been writing a grant, program proposal, or organizational policy and wondered, “What are the important considerations for this issue?” or “Where do other like-minded organizations stand on this important issue?”?

The Public Policy Board committee, with Healthy Teen Network Staff, has been working hard to create position statements to support your advocacy efforts. While the positions we take on these issues are not new or different for Healthy Teen Network, it is new that we are formalizing these positions and sharing them with you as advocacy resources.

The Healthy Teen Network Board of Directors has approved the following five position statements:

• Human Trafficking
• Sexual & Reproductive Health Services for Adolescent & Young Adult Men
• Sexuality Education
• Violence Prevention & Response Services for Youth Who Are Pregnant Or Parenting
• Youth Sexual & Reproductive Health Services Access

Position Statements to be developed in the near future address the following issues:

• Gender Equity in Health Care
• Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Expression
• Health Care Availability, Affordability, & Accessibility
• Importance of Youth-Friendly, Developmentally Appropriate Work with Adolescents & Young Adults
• Intersection of Substance Use & Sexual Decision Making
• Intersection of Homelessness & Sexual Decision Making
• Sexual & Reproductive Health Needs of System-Involved Youth
• Social-Ecological Health Promotion Model
• Supporting Young Parents
• Trauma-Informed Care

In addition to announcing these valuable resources, we would like to ask for two things:

• Do you have suggestions for additional position statements? Please let us know!
• Would you like to join us in this initiative—writing, researching, or editing? We would love for you to join us!

Please contact Judith W. Herrman with suggestions or to join the Policy Committee in developing position statements.

Healthy Teen Network thanks you, the hard-working individuals who work tirelessly to support and empower young people to thrive, and we hope you find these resources helpful and useful.

Judy is a nurse, educator, and researcher who serves on the Healthy Teen Network Board of Directors. She is a national and international speaker and, as a Professor at the University of Delaware, is actively involved in research related to adolescent decision-making and sexuality, interpersonal violence prevention, and teaching strategies focusing on age-related learning. She has publications in many and varied journals disseminating results to varied audiences.