This post is part of a special one-week blog series, Show Me a Baltimore Hero, where Healthy Teen Network highlights Baltimore Heroes. Join us to learn more about the people who bring the Charm to Charm City.

Dr. Richard P. Barth will receive the 2015 Healthy Teen Network Douglas B. Kirby Adolescent Research Award, in recognition of his dedication to research and the development of evidence-based programs to support and empower young people to thrive.

Dr. Barth is the author of the evidence-based program, Reducing the Risk, as well as co-author of POWER through Choices, the only proven effective sex education curriculum for youth in foster care. Youth in foster care experience higher rates of teen pregnancy, and the POWER through Choices curriculum empowers youth to make healthy, positive choices about their sexual behaviors. Power through Choices is tailored to the unique needs of youth in out-of-home care.

The POWER through Choices curriculum is being implemented in Baltimore City, through the Baltimore City Health Department, as part of two federal grants: the Office of Adolescent Health Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, and the Family and Youth Services Bureau Personal Responsibility Program.

Dr. Barth is the Dean of School of Social Work at University of Maryland. He has previously served as a chaired professor at the University of North Carolina and the University of California at Berkeley. His AB, MSW, and PHD are from Brown University and UC Berkeley, respectively.

Dr. Barth has authored/co-authored 12 books and more than 200 book chapters and articles which are frequently cited. He has directed more than 50 studies and perhaps, most significantly, served as Principal Investigator of Berkeley’s Child Welfare Research Center from 1990 to 1996 and as Co-Principal Investigator of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, the first national study of child welfare services in the U.S. He has served as a lecturer and consultant to universities and governments in many states and countries. He has been honored to testify before Congressional and state government sub-committees.

Healthy Teen Network applauds Dr. Barth’s commitment to adolescent health and the use of evidence-based programs to reduce teen pregnancy, STI, and HIV rates. His research and curricula have empowered countless young people to make positive choices about their sexual behaviors. He is a Baltimore Hero for bringing attention to the unique needs of youth in out-of-home care. The Baltimore City youth in foster care who participated in the recent implementation and evaluation of POWER through Choices are just one of the many youth populations across the U.S. to benefit.

Healthy Teen Network will present the 2015 Healthy Teen Network Douglas B. Kirby Researcher award on Dr. Barth’s behalf on Thursday, October 15^th, at 10:30AM, at Healthy Teen Network’s Annual National Conference, Youth 360°: How & Where Youth Live, Learn, & Play Matters. This year’s event takes place at the Lord Baltimore Hotel.

Stay tuned for more Baltimore Heroes, as we continue the Show Me a Baltimore Hero series next week!