Tooele County Youth Abstinence Project (TCYAP)
“Helping the Youth of Tooele County Paint a Better Future for Themselves”
Tooele County Youth Abstinence Project (TCYAP) is Tooele County Health Department’s federally funded program to promote abstinence in our community. TCYAP is an abstinence based prevention program. Choosing abstinence is making an informed decision to not participate in at-risk sexual behaviors that can lead to pregnancy and STDs. Its purpose is to teach the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity.
TCYAP is facilitated through the Choosing the Best LIFE and Choosing the Best PARENT PREP curriculums. These are proven effective materials for teaching abstinence to youth and teaching parents to empower their teens to make good decisions.
Choosing the Best LIFE promotes youth to embrace honesty, self-discipline, compassion, respect, courage, and provides the skills to say “NO”. This curriculum is designed to provide youth with the knowledge and skills to make good decisions. It also provides information about risks associated with sexual activity, such as unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and impaired judgment caused by alcohol or drugs.
Parents are the prime sexuality educators for their children. Nothing can take the place of regular, honest communication between a parent and a child. Sometimes talking with a child is difficult for a parent. Some parents aren’t comfortable with the topic themselves. Others worry they may not be able to answer questions about sex. The Choosing the Best PARENT PREP Curriculum provides parents with the 10 steps to talk to their teens about abstaining from sex until marriage through the book, “The Big Talk Book” by Bruce Cook.
Parents can also be involved with their students learning by joining the Abstinence Coalition. This coalition allows parents to be on a panel which provides feedback about the project. The coalition meets quarterly at the Tooele County Health Department.
Listed below are the lesson plans that are implemented in our junior high schools to teach abstinence education. Parents are able to view these lessons and see what their teen will be learning that day in the classroom. When parents are aware of the information being presented in class, they are able to continue the conversation at home. Parent interview assignments are provided to the students in each class and parents can prep interview answers by reviewing the lessons prior to students bringing them home. Teens can access these lessons to retrieve lost or forgotten assignments and prepare for upcoming lessons. All lessons are available in English and Spanish. For more information call 435-277-2310.
Lesson 1 Sex, Love & Choices / Sexo, Amor y Opciones
Lesson 2 Sex, Alcohol & Respect / Sexo, Alcohol y Respeto
Lesson 3 Sex, Pregnancy, Responsibility, Emotions and Self Respect / Sexo, Embarazo, Responsabilidad,Emociones y Respeto a si Mismo
Lesson 4 Sex, STD’s, HIV/AIDS, Honesty & Compassion / Sexo, Enfermedad de Transmision Sexual, VIH/SIDA, Honestidad, Compasion
Lesson 5 Sex, Limits, Self-Discipline, Saying “No” and Courage / Sexo, Limites, Auto-Disciplina, Decir que “No” y Valor
Additional online resources:
10 Tips for Parents Preventing Teen Pregnancy
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
Today’s Air Quality
