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The debate over sexuality education reveals important issues regarding government regulation of personal behavior and the role of values in social welfare policy. While often regulated to the realm of public health, the promotion of effective approaches to sexuality education is closely aligned with social work's mission to empower clients and increase their access to resources and information. This article will cover historical trends in sexuality education, the current federal policy and alternatives, and discuss the limitations and subsequent consequences for future policy. Additionally, this article will highlight the important implications of the sexuality education debate for the social work profession.

After sociology undergraduates have learned about inequalities in their substantive courses, a research experience course in which they critically apply these concepts can be invaluable for fostering deep learning. Coteaching a sociological research experience for undergraduates course three times, the authors witnessed the emergence of an emotional connection to critical perspectives on race and ethnicity that enabled students to analyze and creatively apply these concepts to their research projects. The inquiry-based course was built around the authors' current research project on how families with tween and/or teen children manage food provisioning. Although the course was not explicitly about race or whiteness, many students could relate to the marginalization felt by study participants because of their own ethnicity or race, leading the whole class to become a cohesive team that was attuned to the power of white supremacy in food discourse. Here the authors describe two key assignments they believe were essential components of the course: (1) writing and sharing your food autobiography and (2) analyzing "what's interesting here?" to find themes in the interview data. The authors found that the intercultural sensitivity cultivated in the first weeks of the course through personal storytelling carried forward into the interviewing process, into the grounded theory discussions that took place in the classroom, and into the students' final research projects. The result was that each semester, students interrogated the whiteness of American food discourse by studying the forms of difference embedded in the food stories of themselves and of the study participants.

Previous research has determined that American women living in poverty depend upon resources such as kinship networks, employment, and agency assistance in order to get by. However, researchers have not given much attention to the actual skills that enable poor women to access these resources. This paper is a life story-centered ethnography of a woman named "Millie," a middle-aged, Puerto Rican, dark complexioned, former heroin user who has become an experienced poverty survivor living in a southern U.S. city. By accompanying Millie and talking with her regularly over a ten-year period, the first author, Jennifer Friedman, observed her using four categories of skills (conservation, observation, network-building, and performance), sometimes in illegal ways, to obtain resources. Millie's stories about her life enhance our understanding of these skills while also casting doubt on popular cultural stereotypes about "non-working" poor women.

The purpose of this study was to examine the contributions of peer and sibling relationships to adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior. Data were collected from a sample of 492 participants, ages 14 to 18 years, from a large suburban high school in the Midwest. The results revealed that more than half of the female participants were initiated into nonvirginity by experienced males, which provides some support for the social contagion theory. Perceived peer approval was the strongest predictor, with siblings also contributing. Some mediation analyses were significant as well. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

BackgroundDespite strong global interest in family‐centred HIV care models, no reviews exist that detail the current approaches to family‐centred care and their impact on the health of children with HIV. A systematic review of family‐centred HIV care programmes was conducted in order to describe both programme components and paediatric cohort characteristics.MethodsWe searched online databases, including PubMed and the International AIDS Society abstract database, using systematic criteria. Data were extracted regarding programme setting, staffing, services available and enrolment methods, as well as cohort demographics and paediatric outcomes.ResultsThe search yielded 25 publications and abstracts describing 22 separate cohorts. These contained between 43 and 657 children, and varied widely in terms of staffing, services provided, enrolment methods and cohort demographics. Data on clinical outcomes was limited, but generally positive. Excellent adherence, retention in care, and low mortality and/or loss to follow up were documented.ConclusionsThe family‐centred model of care addresses many needs of infected patients and other household members. Major reported obstacles involved recruiting one or more types of family members into care, early diagnosis and treatment of infected children, preventing mortality during children's first six months of highly active antiretroviral therapy, and staffing and infrastructural limitations. Recommendations include: developing interventions to enrol hard‐to‐reach populations; identifying high‐risk patients at treatment initiation and providing specialized care; and designing and implementing evidence‐based care packages. Increased research on family‐centred care, and better documentation of interventions and outcomes is also critical.