About & Timeline
What is RHEP?
The Reproductive Health Equity Project for Foster Youth brings together youth in foster care and the agencies that serve them to promote systems that normalize, support, and promote the bodily autonomy and healthy sexual development of youth in foster care. Health, education, and child welfare systems have failed to reach, engage, and guide youth in foster care across a sexual and reproductive health service journey that meets their needs, circumstances, and goals. This gap fuels disparities in sexual and reproductive health.
RHEP works to change this by uplifting youth voices, supporting policy change, creating connections between systems, and piloting innovative programs designed in collaboration with stakeholders and youth to better meet their needs–because health development is on all of us!
RHEP began in Los Angeles County, home to the largest child welfare system in the United States with over 34,000 children and families receiving services and support. RHEP is now expanding its successful programs statewide in California.
The National Center for Youth Law is the convener and backbone agency of the Reproductive Health Equity Project for Foster Youth. RHEP is made up of a network of diverse, multi-sector partner agencies and a youth advisory board. We are grateful to our current funder, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, for providing support that makes our work in Los Angeles County possible and to our past funder, the HHS Office of Population Affairs, Grant # 1 TP2AH000066-01-00 for support that has allowed us to expand RHEP statewide. The work of RHEP is solely the responsibility of the organizations involved and does not necessarily represent the official views of our funders.
Working group presented a report and policy recommendations to the California Child Welfare Council entitled, “Supporting the Healthy Sexual Development of Youth in Foster Care.”
May 2016 - Planned Parenthood versus Promesa Behavioral Health
October 2016 - The California Department of Social Services entered an agreement with NYCL in response to issues raised in a lawsuit NYCL filed against a California group home provider on behalf of CPPEF, PPMM, and 5 foster youth.
We launched an LA County RHEP pilot with the help of seven initial partners: Alliance for Children’s Rights, DCFS, Children’s Law Center of California, Public Counsel, John Burton Advocates for Youth, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and NYCL.
The Reproductive Health Equity Project for Foster Youth (RHEP) convenes a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) made up of eighteen young people with lived experience in foster care that support RHEP in advancing reproductive and sexual health rights and increasing access to services for youth in the California foster care system.
The Youth Advisory Board provides input to the RHEP Leadership Teams, governmental agencies, community-based organizations, and others regarding how to improve access to sexual health care services and education for youth in foster care. The board is also a space to share lived experiences to generate ideas for policy changes and narrative shifting campaigns state-wide.
The RHEP collective sought to expand our work throughout California. RHEP built on NYCL’s foundation of impact litigation and advocacy for youth-centered policy change. Policy change transformed the legal landscape for youth in foster care’s health. RHEP united diverse partners and aimed to change systems to align with evolving policy mandates.
This conference was an opportunity for youth and their network of supportive adults to receive education and tools to empower youth in foster care in making informed decisions about their bodies, relationships, reproductive lives and futures.
Teen Talk Foster Youth is a free, virtual, community-based sex ed series specifically for youth in California foster care, coordinated by the Reproductive Health Equity Project. The curriculum is based on the Teen Talk collection created by curriculum developers, Health Connected.
A new benefit of $2,700 will be available for all pregnant foster youth in California starting in January 2022. In this webinar, attendees will learn about the new benefit, eligibility, and requirement for county implementation. This webinar is intended for child welfare agency administrators, caseworkers, caregivers advocates, other supportive adults, and young people in care.
Fostering Parenthood - Fostering Parenthood is a podcast by caregivers for caregivers promoting the healthy sexual development of foster youth, brought to you by the National Center for Youth Law and the Reproductive Health Equity Project. The laws and policies discussed in our show are specific to LA County and California. However, any out-of-state or international listeners should check the regulations specific to their state or country.
Self-Taught - Welcome to Self-Taught, a podcast from foster youth, for foster youth, with unfiltered conversations about sex, health and life. These are the conversations about puberty, relationships, sexual health, identity and much more that we wish were part of our upbringing.
A practitioner’s guide to delivering quality sexual and reproductive health care to youth in foster care.
Landmark report tracks, highlights key health outcomes for youth in foster care
At #RHEPcon23, we explored “thinking outside of the systems” we exist within. Conference sessions discussed the current landscape of sexual & reproductive health, and reimagined what our systems would look like if they were truly made to serve all youth in foster care. Dr. Khiara M. Bridges headlined as keynote speaker. Sessions covered a wide range of topics including, the state of abortion, alternative birthing experiences, culturally specific programming & models of care, young parenthood, and more!
Working group presented a report and policy recommendations to the California Child Welfare Council entitled, “Supporting the Healthy Sexual Development of Youth in Foster Care.”
May 2016 - Planned Parenthood versus Promesa Behavioral Health
October 2016 - The California Department of Social Services entered an agreement with NYCL in response to issues raised in a lawsuit NYCL filed against a California group home provider on behalf of CPPEF, PPMM, and 5 foster youth.
We launched an LA County RHEP pilot with the help of seven initial partners: Alliance for Children’s Rights, DCFS, Children’s Law Center of California, Public Counsel, John Burton Advocates for Youth, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and NYCL.
The Reproductive Health Equity Project for Foster Youth (RHEP) convenes a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) made up of eighteen young people with lived experience in foster care that support RHEP in advancing reproductive and sexual health rights and increasing access to services for youth in the California foster care system.
The Youth Advisory Board provides input to the RHEP Leadership Teams, governmental agencies, community-based organizations, and others regarding how to improve access to sexual health care services and education for youth in foster care. The board is also a space to share lived experiences to generate ideas for policy changes and narrative shifting campaigns state-wide.
The RHEP collective sought to expand our work throughout California. RHEP built on NYCL’s foundation of impact litigation and advocacy for youth-centered policy change. Policy change transformed the legal landscape for youth in foster care’s health. RHEP united diverse partners and aimed to change systems to align with evolving policy mandates.
RHEP Advocates for SB89 Training and Compliance
This conference was an opportunity for youth and their network of supportive adults to receive education and tools to empower youth in foster care in making informed decisions about their bodies, relationships, reproductive lives and futures.
Teen Talk Foster Youth is a free, virtual, community-based sex ed series specifically for youth in California foster care, coordinated by the Reproductive Health Equity Project. The curriculum is based on the Teen Talk collection created by curriculum developers, Health Connected.
A new benefit of $2,700 will be available for all pregnant foster youth in California starting in January 2022. In this webinar, attendees will learn about the new benefit, eligibility, and requirement for county implementation. This webinar is intended for child welfare agency administrators, caseworkers, caregivers advocates, other supportive adults, and young people in care.
Fostering Parenthood - Fostering Parenthood is a podcast by caregivers for caregivers promoting the healthy sexual development of foster youth, brought to you by the National Center for Youth Law and the Reproductive Health Equity Project. The laws and policies discussed in our show are specific to LA County and California. However, any out-of-state or international listeners should check the regulations specific to their state or country.
Self-Taught - Welcome to Self-Taught, a podcast from foster youth, for foster youth, with unfiltered conversations about sex, health and life. These are the conversations about puberty, relationships, sexual health, identity and much more that we wish were part of our upbringing.
A practitioner’s guide to delivering quality sexual and reproductive health care to youth in foster care.
Landmark report tracks, highlights key health outcomes for youth in foster care
At #RHEPcon23, we explored “thinking outside of the systems” we exist within. Conference sessions discussed the current landscape of sexual & reproductive health, and reimagined what our systems would look like if they were truly made to serve all youth in foster care. Dr. Khiara M. Bridges headlined as keynote speaker. Sessions covered a wide range of topics including, the state of abortion, alternative birthing experiences, culturally specific programming & models of care, young parenthood, and more!
