Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15th to October 15th, is a time to honor the rich, cultural legacy and the remarkable contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities across the United States. With over 65 million people identifying as Hispanic/Latino, according to the U.S. Census, this group represents 19.7 percent[1] of the nation's population—a vibrant and growing community.
Even more striking, Hispanic/Latino youth under 18 now make up 1 in 4 of the nation’s young people. [2] As the largest minority within this young generation, Hispanic/Latino youth will make a profound impact on the nation’s future.
Many ACF programs engage youth, including Hispanic/Latino youth. One of these programs is the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) program, funded by ACF’s Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB). SRAE is funded as part of the Social Security Act of 2018 and provides funding to organizations for the delivery of sexual risk avoidance education —promoting overall health and well-being for all youth, including Hispanic/Latino communities. The program focuses on the benefits of abstaining from non-marital sexual activity, while highlighting important life skills like personal responsibility, healthy decision-making, and planning for the future. Programs must be culturally-, linguistically-, and age-appropriate — making them adaptable to the specific needs and values of diverse Hispanic/Latino populations, where cultural norms around family and community play a vital role.
OPRE, in partnership with FYSB, helps programs collect performance measures data from SRAE programs through the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Performance Analysis Study (SRAE PAS). The data allows SRAE grantee programs and FYSB to monitor program implementation and learn more about the youth they are serving.
In 2022-2023, over 160,000 youth participated in SRAE programming, including over 90,000 middle schoolers and almost 70,000 high schoolers. Here is a snapshot of Hispanic/Latino youth served by SRAE programming:
- Just over 25 percent of all SRAE participants identified as Hispanic/Latino, including 24 percent of middle schoolers and 29 percent of high schoolers.
- The gender breakdown for Hispanic/Latino middle schoolers and high schoolers participating in the program was near evenly split.
- 58 percent of middle schoolers and 56 percent of high schoolers said that they spoke Spanish at home.
At the end of the SRAE programming, participants are asked to complete an exit survey that assesses their perception of the program. The results of these surveys suggest that many Hispanic/Latino youth feel that SRAE programming is interesting, clear, and offered them a safe space to ask questions related to sex, relationships, adulthood, and goal setting. Below are a few notable results among Hispanic/Latino middle schoolers and high schoolers:
- Sixty-three percent of participants said they were somewhat or much more likely to manage their emotions in healthy ways.
- Nearly half of participants reported they were somewhat or much more likely to speak with a parent, guardian, or caregiver about sex.
- Seventy-five percent of participants said they were somewhat or much more likely to make plans to reach goals.
- Seventy-two percent of participants said that the material from SRAE programming was presented clearly most or all of the time.
- Seventy percent of participants said that the discussions and activities they did during SRAE programming helped them learn the lessons most or all of the time.
- Seventy-five percent of participants said they felt respected as a person during SRAE programming most or all of the time.
SRAE PAS is one of many OPRE projects that help us learn more about ACF programs and the Hispanic and Latino communities and families they serve. To learn more about SRAE programs and OPRE’s research on Hispanic and Latino youth, check out these additional resources:
Note on Language:
We use the term “Hispanic/Latino” throughout this blog post. The terms reflect the U.S. Census definitions and include individuals having origins in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, as well as other “Hispanic, Latino or Spanish” origins.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr. Selma Caal and the OPRE Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Team for their contributions and feedback for this blog.
Anayma De Frias and Nick Derda are both Pathways to Work interns at OPRE.