Teen Wellness Center Q&A
1. Why relocate the Adolescent Health Center to T.C. Williams High School?
Health and wellness are vital to student achievement. Alexandria City Public Schools has invited the Adolescent Health Center (known to many as the "Teen Clinic") to relocate to T.C. Williams in order to provide health services to more young people between the ages of 12 and 19. The new location will allow increased collaboration among schools, the health department and mental health providers; increased enrollment of high school students; and continued coordination of health care with primary care providers. Since 1990, the City of Alexandria, the Alexandria Health Department, and the Alexandria Community Services Board have collaborated with Alexandria City Public Schools to operate a school-linked health clinic to provide primary healthcare, including both medical and mental/behavioral health components, and population-based preventative healthcare at the Adolescent Health Center, serving children 12 to 19 years of age whose families reside in the City of Alexandria.
The Adolescent Health Center is currently housed in a 21-year-old temporary structure located on City property. Although it is within walking distance to several schools, access to the clinic is complicated by vehicular traffic, limited hours of service, and a closed T.C. Williams campus (students may no longer go off-campus for lunch). T.C. Williams students have reported limited awareness of and ability to access the clinic.
Relocating the Adolescent Health Center to T.C. Williams High School will make it more accessible to students and will result in more efficient use of existing resources.
2. What services will the Teen Wellness Center provide?
This will be a comprehensive wellness center. Services will include wellness promotion (good nutrition/healthy lifestyle), mental health/substance abuse services, physical exams (including routine exams and sports physicals), immunizations, treatment for episodic illnesses and sexually transmitted infections, family planning (access to birth control, information provided on abstinence, pregnancy and prenatal care, and ending pregnancy).
3. Will the Teen Wellness Center provide abortion referrals?
The Center will provide information to clients on where they can receive: prenatal medical care, adoption assistance, infant/child services, counseling and services related to continuing pregnancy, and services to end pregnancy. Pregnant teens will be given information on all of these resources. Teen Wellness Center personnel will not perform abortions and will not make appointments on behalf of clients.
4. Which services require parental consent and which do not?
Treatment of minor illnesses, immunizations and physical examinations required for schools and participation in sports, employment, and the Special Olympics require written parental consent before the services can be provided. State law permits the following services to be offered without parental consent: pregnancy testing; diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases; reproductive health services, to include the provision of birth control methods; and mental health and substance abuse counseling.
5. Will convenient access to the Teen Wellness Center increase the number of teens who are sexually active?
School-based health centers do not increase the proportion of teens who are sexually active (Kirby D. Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy. Washington, D.C.: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2001). The Teen Wellness Center will counsel that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmissible diseases. Counseling will also cover talking to parents about sex.
6. How many teens visited the Adolescent Health Center between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009?
There were more than 2,300 visits.
7. Will the Teen Wellness Center be available to teens who are not ACPS students?
Yes. A separate exterior entrance will allow public access to the center.
8. Will students who are suspended or expelled be able to access the center?
No. Those students will be provided with information on other places to receive services.
9. Is there a cost for services?
The Adolescent Health Center currently provides services free of charge. If there are costs for services in the future, they will be minimal.
10. How much will the center cost?
ACPS will provide the space (a separate exterior entrance will allow public access to the center), and the City will fund the staff and operating costs at the same level that the Adolescent Health Center is currently funded. The costs for the initial move are estimated to be $50,000 for renovation and $25,000-30,000 for supplies and furnishing. ACPS and the City are partnering to seek grant funding for these costs.
11. Who will run the Teen Wellness Center?
The Alexandria Health Department will continue to run the center. Employees will be paid by the City of Alexandria. An advisory board will be established to include teens, teachers, parents and representatives from local organizations that provide youth services.
12. What are the vision and mission statements?
Vision: Empowering teens to lead healthful lives.
Mission: To ensure that each and every Alexandrian teen succeeds — physically, emotionally, socially and academically — by collaboratively providing an easily accessible wellness center at T.C. Williams High School.
13. What are the next steps?
- Community information sessions
- Secure funding for the move
- Establish advisory board
- Move during the summer
- Open at T.C. September 2010
- Measure/evaluate success each year based on specific objectives
14. Where can I find additional information online?
Teen Wellness Center
http://www.acps.k12.va.us/student-services/health/teen-wellness-center/
Youth Risk Behavior Survey
http://www.acps.k12.va.us/mes/reports
School Health Advisory Board Scope of Work
http://www.acps.k12.va.us/board/advisory/health-scope-of-work.pdf
Strategic Plan
http://www.acps.k12.va.us/board/strategic-plan/
The Adolescent Health Center
http://alexandriava.gov/AdolescentHealthCenter
The Coalition for Community Schools
http://www.communityschools.org/
The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
http://www.nasbhc.org/site/c.jsJPKWPFJrH/b.2554077/k.BEE7/Home.htm