The Division of Child and Adolescent Health provides the following programs for Adolescents: or click here for non VDH services
Bright Futures - Bright Futures is a vision and philosophy of health care based on the principle that every child deserves to be healthy and that optimal health involves a trusting relationship between the health professional, the child, the family, and the community. The mission of Bright Futures is to promote and improve the health, education, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, families, and communities. Bright Futures materials incorporate national guidelines for child health and are consistent with American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines.
Children with Special Health Care Needs - The six Care Connection for Children Centers provide care coordination, limited clinic services, and limited financial support for children and youth with special health care needs who have severe physical medical problems. One of the goals of the Centers is help adolescents transition from a pediatric to an adult health care system and to help adolescents reach their full physical, developmental, educational, and career potential.
Child Development Clinics - The eleven Child Development Clinics throughout Virginia offer diagnostic services to adolescents to identify behavioral, learning, or developmental problems. These services usually are coordinated with local school systems, the courts, or social services offices.
School Nurses - VDH works closely with the Virginia Department of Education to provide technical support to school nurses throughout Virginia. School nurses work with children and adolescents to promote health, manage health care needs, and control disease within schools. School nurses also collaborate with VDH to promote health-related programs for children, adolescents, and their families.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention - The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program provides grant funds for seven legislatively designated sites throughout Virginia to offer community -based programs to reduce unplanned pregnancies for teens. The Program also offers additional funds to 19 sites to support similar efforts through local coalitions. Youth targeted for this program range in age from 10 to 19. This program has been in existence since 1993. Click here for HP 2010 Goals.
- Several other Divisions within VDH provide health-related programs for adolescents:
Baby Care - The Baby Care Program, within the Division of Women's and Infants' Health, provides intensive case management services to pregnant women and infants who are at risk for poor outcomes and are Medicaid recipients. The program includes risk assessment, coordination of services, follow-up, and monitoring. The program is offered through local health departments.
Dental Health - The Division of Dental Health provides dental health education and treatment programs to help prevent oral disease. The program consists of 49 full-time dentists, 52 dental assistants, and four dental hygienists providing services to 76 localities. Almost 28,000 children were seen in 2000, consisting of over 55,600 visits. Approximately 36,700 school children received dental sealants to prevent cavities.
Eighty-one percent of Virginia's population has access to fluoridated water. Approximately 50,000 children in 48 counties without access to fluoridated community water participate in a topical fluoride mouthrinse program.
GEMS - GEMS (Girls Empowered to Make Success) is a youth development program for girls ages 9-15 who are the younger siblings or close relatives of older teens who are pregnant. Goals of this program are to encourage these girls to delay sexual activity, stay in school, and avoid drugs, smoking, and alcohol.
HIV/STD - The Division of HIV/STD works with Health Districts to provide chlamydia screening through the Chlamydia Prevention Program to all adolescents receiving pelvic examinations in STD clinics or in family planning clinics, visiting prenatal clinics, or male partners of infected females.
The Division of HIV/STD provides Health Educators within VDH Districts to counsel selected high-risk teens and locate contacts for treatment. This Division also collects and disseminates aggregate data on all reportable STDs in Virginia.
The Division also funds HIV prevention programs targeting youth. Programs include prevention education for at-risk communities and populations and 19 projects to reach racial and ethnic minority youth and other high-risk youth. Click here for HP 2010 Goals.
Local Health Departments - Local Health Departments throughout Virginia offer health promotion and treatment programs for adolescents. Services vary by LHD and include comprehensive family planning services including gynecological examinations to low-income adolescents and women of child-bearing age. Local Health Departments also offer well-child physicals for school entry.
Partners in Prevention - Partners in Prevention, within the Division of Women's and Infants' Health, attempts to reduce nonmarital childbearing by increasing public awareness of the problem and developing community-based strategies and solutions. Click here for HP 2010 Goals.
Pregnant Adolescents - The Division of Women's and Infants' Health provides programs for pregnant teens including the Resource Mothers Program, Healthy Start, and Baby Care.
Resource Mothers - The Resource Mothers Program, operated within 27 Virginia communities, provides mentoring support using community workers to work with pregnant teenagers through their pregnancy and for one year after the birth to help assure that the woman attends prenatal visits and receives available social support services. The goals of the program are to improve the health outcomes for both the mother and baby by:
Sexual Violence Prevention - The Sexual Violence Prevention Program within the Center for Injury and Violence Prevention, supports community efforts to decrease adolescent sexual violence within Virginia. Programs are targeted toward middle and high school students and teach youth about healthy relationships and skills to prevent sexual violence (dating violence, sexual assault, and sexual harassment). Click here for HP 2010 Goals.
Suicide Prevention - The Suicide Prevention Program, within the Center for Injury and Violence Prevention, offers school-based youth suicide prevention programs, gatekeeper training programs, and collaboration with the Department of Education and the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services to provide information and community-based crisis intervention support services for children, adolescents, and their families. Click here for HP 2010 Goals.
Tobacco Use Control - Historically, the Tobacco Use Control Program has promoted tobacco avoidance for middle school students through community-based training programs for outreach workers including Life Skills Training and Project Toward No Tobacco Use. Tobacco Use Control also collaborates with the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society to promote Teens Against Tobacco Use for high school students. The Tobacco Use Control Program is planning to change the focus of the program to target older adolescents (18-24) because the Tobacco Settlement Foundation has assumed responsibility for targeting younger adolescents. Click here for HP 2010 Goals.
Youth Violence Prevention - The Youth Violence Prevention Program within VDH addresses issues related to violence including homicide, firearms, and bullying. The Program also supports community efforts to reduce violence. Click here for HP 2010 Goals.
Adolescent Health Programs
109 Governor Street,
8th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact Us
Phone: (804) 864-7685
Fax: (804) 864-7722
