Working With Sexually Active Teens
In January 2016, PATCH teamed up with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and Public Health Madison & Dane County to host a full day conference on issues of mandated reporting in working with sexually active teens.
The goals of the event were:
1. To help you follow laws that support sexually active adolescents
2. To keep teens safe
3. To ensure teens access health care services
4. To allow and encourage teens to exercise as much control over their personal lives as possible
This extremely popular event sold out in just a few days, but never fear! You can still access the tips, tools, and know-how that our participants gained by viewing the video-recorded event in segments below. Resources related to each segment of the event are included in a column to the right of the videos - please enjoy and share widely!
PATCH Teen Educators kicked off a day dedicated to empowering teens throughout the mandated reporting process by sharing real stories of their peers' experiences as they relate to mandated reporting. These stories set the foundation for why we gathered at the Working with Sexually Active Teens Summit and illustrate why it is so important to consider teen rights throughout the mandated reporting process. Keep these stories about confidentiality breeches, miscommunication, supportive mandated reporters, and mishandled reports in mind as you review the rest of the content for the day.
Welcome and Storytelling Panel
Reporting Requirements for Sexually Active Youth
Session Resources
Nic Dibble, MSW is the Education Consultant of School Social Work Services with Department of Public Instruction. He takes a very complex topic, mandated reporting for sexually active teens, and makes the need to report easier to understand and the process easier to follow. He uses three critical determinants to simplify decision making around mandated reporting and clearly explores the reporting exceptions for health care services. The information provided reflects the collective opinions of a variety of Wisconsin State Agencies. We suggest sharing this widely with all of your colleagues and partners to make sure everyone involved has a clear understanding of the mandated reporting laws in Wisconsin!
Working with Sexually Active Teens - Community Panel
Session Resources
This community panel brings together four key voices from the Dane County community to discuss how they would approach some of the stories shared by the PATCH Teen Educators during the storytelling panel. These individuals from the the health care field, police department, and Child Protective Services work daily to navigate the mandated reporting laws as interpreted in Dane County. We realize the tips shared might not directly reflect the process in your own community, and so we encourage you to consider what would a panel of community partners look like in your community. Who should be at that table and do you know them?
Following this panel, attendees worked in small groups at their table to create an action plan for mandated reporting in their home communities and identified additional partners who needed to be involved in this conversation. After watching the video, try using the Who Do You Need In Your Sandbox document to track who you should know in your community!
Honoring Teens Rights - Tips from PATCH Teen Educators
Session Resources
Following small group discussions, participants came back together for a final conversation and question & answer session about barriers when doing this work in home communities and strategies for empowering youth. Workshop participants developed a list of best practices for youth empowerment throughout the reporting process and then PATCH Teen Educators gave feedback on the suggestions. The Teen Educators summarized suggestions by common themes and commented on practices they thought were really good, practices they thought could be improved, and practices they wanted to see that weren't included in participants initial responses!