Recommendations to the DC Child and Family Services Agency on Administrative Issuances, Healthcare Quick Reference Guides, and Program Policies Related to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Programming for Youth in Foster Care (2014)

This document sets forth a series of recommendations to Washington, DC’s Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) regarding sexual health care for youth in foster care. It is the product of a comprehensive review of relevant Administrative Issuances, Healthcare Quick Reference Guides, and Program Policies, followed by community input. Specifically, these recommendations address the timing and content of health screenings and examinations for youth in foster care; sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV counseling, testing, and treatment; the content of sexual and reproductive health education programs and counseling; and the development of a staff training session on sexual and reproductive health care and on the rights and needs of LGBTQ youth in care.

Coordinated by The Center for HIV Law and Policy’s Teen SENSE initiative, these recommendations serve as the foundation of ongoing advocacy to ensure that CFSA’s policies and practices comply with prevailing standards of sexual health care for young people in state custody settings. Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc., AIDS United, Campaign to End AIDS, Community Education Group, DC Lawyers for Youth, Housing Works, Metro TeenAIDS, Whitman-Walker Health, The Women’s Collective, WORLD, Youth Court, and Betty Nyangoni, EdD reviewed, contributed to, and endorsed these recommendations.

For more information on these recommendations or to join the advocacy efforts of Teen SENSE and its partners in Washington, DC, contact Adrian Guzman at [email protected].