Colorado Sexual Health Initiative (CoSHI) is now a part of OCYF

The Colorado Sexual Health Initiative (CoSHI, pronounced Co-Shy) is now a program of the Office of Children, Youth and Families. CoSHI, a comprehensive sexual health education program, has been a CDHS initiative, administered through the Office of Economic Security, since 2011.

With this transition comes the announcement of mini-grant opportunities for county human service agencies. The funding will support the implementation of comprehensive sexual health education for young people, in addition to training for adults on how to discuss sensitive topics with young people. Funding will be awarded on an annual basis to counties that express interest and agree to implement at least one evidence-based intervention.

Priority will be placed on counties with higher teen birth rates and the willingness and capacity to implement the interventions with young people. Additionally, the curricula and training opportunities outlined align with the newly enacted House Bill 19-1032, which requires that sexual health education offered in Colorado be comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate, inclusive of LGBTQ+ populations and evidence-based. While the legislation applies primarily to school districts, CDHS will provide training and opportunities that are in alignment with the legislation in order to ensure continuity for young people across Colorado.

In addition to the funding opportunity, CoSHI will be hosting training for a new sexual health education curriculum called Power Through Choices (PTC). This training will be held in Denver from August 5 - August 7, 2019. If you are interested in the training, please complete the interest form.

PTC was designed by the Healthy Teen Network with, and for youth living in foster care and other out-of-home care settings to help reduce risks related to teen pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). If you are a child welfare staff, Chafee worker, or other human service staff that is interested in delivering this curriculum in your county and partnering with CoSHI to bring comprehensive sexuality, HIV, STI, and pregnancy prevention education to your county, you may qualify for this opportunity.

A webinar will be conducted on Monday, July 8th at 10:00 AM and will include information regarding CoSHI, as well as the opportunity to ask questions concerning the mini-grant process, the Power Through Choices training, and any other questions that may arise. For more information regarding this webinar contact Zoa Schescke (zoa.schescke@state.co.us) or Anna Wendt (anna.wendt@state.co.us ). Register for the webinar online.