The Plain Talk Planning Year: Mobilizing Communities to Change. A Report Prepared for The Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Annie E. Casey Foundations Plain Talk initiative seeks to address the problems of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among a communitys youth by organizing and mobilizing community residents to change the attitudes and practices of the community and service providers. The Plain Talk approach is built from the belief in community empowerment and the use of consensus-building to make decisions and negotiate with social service institutions. This report documents the experiences of the six sites -- Atlanta, Hartford, Indianapolis, New Orleans, San Diego and Seattle -- during their planning year of the initiative.