PATCH for Parents Toolkit

Available in both English and Spanish languages!

The PATCH for Parents Toolkit is intended to help community organizations, schools, health care systems, and others actively engage and educate parents, guardians, and caregivers on teen rights and responsibilities in health care settings, and help them to support young people in becoming responsible managers of their own health.

Why Use the Toolkit?

Teens are at an exciting, yet often challenging, time in life. They are experiencing new things and are trying to figure out what it means to become a young adult. Many are learning skills and forming habits that will carry with them into adulthood. Learning how to manage their own health and health care is one of the many life skills that will set them up for success as they get older. Parents, guardians, and caregivers have an important role in teaching and supporting their child through this transition. But, it can be difficult to know where to begin and may feel overwhelming!

The PATCH for Parents Toolkit is designed to help parents, guardians, and caregivers understand adolescent health care transition and empower them to support and guide their child(ren) through this exciting process.

Learning Objectives

  • Participants will understand the importance of teaching young people how to manage their own health and health care.
  • Participants will learn about the rights and responsibilities of young people in health care settings.
  • Participants will explore steps they can take to make sure young people are well-prepared to manage their health and health care as adults.

Main Messages

  • Teens need and deserve a good relationship with their health care providers.
  • Teens have legal health care rights.
  • Teens have a personal responsibility to learn to manage their own health care.

Toolkit Contents

  • 1 Facilitator Guide: Provides detailed information about how to use the PATCH for Parents Toolkit.
  • PATCH for Parents Workshop Script: Gives facilitators step-by-step instructions and sample language to utilize when facilitating a PATCH for Parents session.
  • Participant Activity Sheet: A worksheet providing participants a space to write or draw notes and participate in workshop activities.
  • PowerPoint Template: A supplemental facilitation tool that can be downloaded and customized to your specific needs.
  • Additional Activity Materials: Additional facilitation resources are provided as needed to implement the workshop with success.
  • Workshop Evaluations: Two different methods are provided to help facilitators measure the workshop's impact and gather participant feedback. You choose which one is best for your setting.
  • 50 Teens Brochures - "Getting the Health Care You Need & Deserve": A resource helping teens understand the importance of health care and the steps they can take to start becoming responsible managers of their own care.
  • 50 Supportive Adult Brochures - "Your Teen's Right to Privacy in Health Care Settings": A guide helping parents, guardians, and other caregivers understand the health care rights and responsibilities of teens in health care settings.
  • Transition Checklist: A take-home resource helping families understand the important skills a teen should have so they can successfully manage their own health care as an adult.
  • Dear Provider Letter: A take-home resource to help facilitate healthy conversations between teens, their health care providers, and their parents/guardians/caregivers.
  • Access to PATCH Online & PATCH Chat: Facilitators receive a unique User ID and password to access downloadable materials, videos, and resources, as well as access to PATCH Chat, an online forum to communicate with others using this Toolkit.

Parent/Community Impact

While PATCH has had long-standing, innovative programming for health care providers and teens, the  PATCH for Parents Toolkit fulfills a significant need to include parents, guardians, and caregivers in the conversation. One of our newest initiatives, the PATCH for Parents Toolkit is available available in both English and Spanish and is intended to be implemented with little to no technology needed. The PATCH for Parents Toolkit is listed as a "cutting edge" practice in the Innovation Station evidence-based database.

Gain access to PATCH for Parents content!

Purchasing the Toolkit authorizes a single facilitator to implement the PATCH for Parents Session.