Adolescent Health

Our vision is to promote optimal physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual well-being for adolescents throughout West Virginia.

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Formal work with the Adolescent Health Initiative (AHI) began in 1988. Introduction of the developmental asset principles of SEARCH Institute brought about a change in the mission in 1993. The Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health funds a dedicated network of eight regional Adolescent Health Coordinators across the State of West Virginia. The Initiative is designed to introduce, develop, train, and provide needed technical assistance to youth, parents, teachers, health care professionals, other regional networks, and civic groups with focused attention on improving adolescent health indicators while building asset-rich communities.

The Adolescent Health Coordinator facilitates collaborative efforts that increase the assets that young West Virginians need to grow into healthy and responsible adults, and functions to improve the collective health of West Virginia’s adolescents, thus enabling them to reach their fullest potential. 

Our program objectives are to...

  • Reduce the percentage of students who had ever been bullied on school property during the last 12 months. 
  • Reduce the percentage of adolescents, ages 12 through 17, who are bullied or who bully others. 
  • Reduce the percentage of students who had ever been electronically bullied during the past 12 months. 
  • Reduce the percentage of students who seriously consider, attempt, or complete suicide. 
  • Increase the proportion of adolescents who are connected to a parent or other adult caregiver. 
  • Increase awareness of controlled substance use among children ages 5-11. 
  • Reduce the percentage of youth who currently smoke cigarettes (on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey). 
  • Reduce the percentage of youth who currently use electronic vapor products (including e-cigarettes, vapes, vape pens, e-cigars, e-hookahs, hookah pens, and mods). 

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Our mission is to support community collaborative efforts designed to develop the assets youth need to thrive and become successful across the State of West Virginia.

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Proudly serving Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan and Pendleton Counties.