Contraceptive Consensus
One of the Plain Talk program's three main goals is to get parents and adults to agree that early and consistent contraceptive use can help protect sexually active youth.
Between 1993 and 1998, the Casey Foundation rolled out a pregnancy prevention initiative called Plain Talk in five low-income urban neighborhoods. This report utilizes survey results to discuss what worked well and what didn’t during the program’s implementation. Readers will also learn if the initiative accomplished its original intent, which was to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy in participating sites (Spoiler alert: It did).
The Plain Talk initiative aimed to change how communities communicate. It asked adults to give teens the information and encouragement necessary to protect themselves sexually. It also sought to empower sexually active teens to act more responsibly by giving them easy access to contraceptives. This approach was undeniably bold — and innovative. And it worked.