WELCOME

mission and purpose

To bring whole-person health to the youth of Colorado so that they may lead healthy and productive lives.

EFL encourages students to make a choice to avoid all high-risk behaviors such as ALCOHOL , DRUGS, CASUAL SEX, TOBACCO, DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR and VIOLENCE, so those students can stay in school, attain a quality education and begin to focus on their goals and dreams.

Education for a Lifetime programs address the high-risk behavior issues of teens:

EFL programs are based on Hawkins & Catalano’s theory of Risk and Protective Factors and use the positive youth development framework for addressing adolescent risk behaviors. This theory states that health risk behaviors are interrelated and have similar root causes. Through collaboration with schools, parents and other community organizations, risk avoidance and risk reduction strategies are implemented thereby encouraging teens to engage in healthier behaviors and cause a downturn in the amount of high-risk behaviors that teenagers exhibit.

The outcomes taught by EFL lead to poverty prevention, crime prevention, drugs and alcohol prevention, teen pregnancy rate reduction and an increased number of teens who graduate from high school and are able to reach their future goals. EFL programs also help teens who are currently sexually active to evaluate the health of their current relationships and encourage them to choose abstinence until marriage for their future.

It is a risk avoidance message, not a risk reduction message.