LINKS Innovative Use of Technology

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Wake County Human Services LINKS provides an array of services that help youth in foster care successfully transition to adulthood. This year the program collaborated with 4-H Cooperative Extension and the agency’s HIV/STD Prevention Unit to provide a national pilot program “Making Proud Choices”. This is an evidence based curriculum to teach youth how to make positive choices about STI/STD Prevention and Postponement of Parenthood. Youth in foster care often return home to their parents, move to live with relatives or adoptive parents or change foster homes, making it difficult to complete a 10 hour curriculum such as “Making Proud Choices”. To address this problem, the LINKS program now utilizes Skype, Google Hangout, and Social Media to ensure that youth who are not able to be present remain able to participate. As a result of the innovative use of technology, LINKS has tripled their youth participation. While LINKS provides other evidence based programs, this nomination will focus on the implementation of “Making Proud Choices” as an example of how evidence based program can be provided to this population through the use of technology.