Soros Advocacy Fellowship for Physicians Guidelines | Grantee List | Case Studies
San Francisco, CA
2001
Fellowship Partnering Organization: Adolescent Health Working Group
This project was designed to increase young people's access to youth-oriented and culturally competent health services. Dr. Shalwitz worked with medical providers and students/trainees throughout California to increase awareness of and adherence to adolescent consent and confidentiality laws, and to significantly improve their communication and clinical practice skills with youth.
She also worked with San Francisco decision makers and stakeholders to ensure universal health insurance for kids and youth up to 25 years of age and behavioral health care that responds to the need of young people. On the state level, Dr. Shalwitz collaborated with Medi-Cal Managed Care and its associated health plans. The project at the local level was furthered by working with a consortium of public and private health and youth providers, child/youth advocates and young people. Dr. Shalwitz also coached and advised all second-year UCSF pediatric residents with their community health/child advocacy projects.
Major Fellowship Successes
- Minor consent and confidentiality, and adolescent health: developed comprehensive training materials that have been widely distributed throughout California (over 7,000 printed and numerous downloaded copies); conducted over 50 trainings, grand rounds, and classes for more than 4,000 health providers, trainees, and health plan staff throughout the state.
- Universal health coverage: successfully advocated to extend the upper age limit from 19 to 25 years in the county-operated Healthy Kids Program, a low-cost comprehensive health insurance program for San Francisco children and youth.
- Behavioral health: successfully advocated for 24-hour crisis intervention services for all suicidal youth in San Francisco and a local public health policy that allows adolescents access to mental health services with parental consent.
