sought assistance in three major areas during these visits: medical services (57 percent of visits); mental health services (27 percent); and health education (7 percent). Other (unspecified) concerns prompted the remaining 9 percent of visits. Patients sought reproductive health care, including contraceptives and pregnancy tests, in 22 percent of these visits.

The Watts/Jordan School-Based Health Clinic serves a low-income population in South Central Los Angeles that is 70 percent Latino and 30 percent African American. The 11 pregnant and 18 parenting girls currently seen by the clinic represent the relevance of teen pregnancy, parenting, and sexuality to these adolescents. Therefore, the clinic conducts HIV/STD education as a part of its health education program. These prearranged sessions are run by either a health educator or peer educator, and require advance registration by interested students. Sessions consist of a group discussion on STDs (e.g., chlamydial infection, syphilis, gonorrhea, vaginitis, and HIV/AIDS), which is supplemented by educational activities.

A good portion of the clinic's publicity and success derives from the work of its teen advocates. Each year, four students undergo a six-week summer training program in reproductive health. They speak to classes, conduct outreach, run the above-mentioned educational groups, and are responsible for bringing into the clinic teens who are not "consented" (i.e., those whose parents have not yet consented to allow them to access care through the school-based clinic). The teen advocates provide an invaluable service because they are able to reach students who would not willingly speak with adults and who are not aware that the clinic exists.

The Watts/Jordan School-Based Health Clinic, like the other two clinics, does not bill students for services. Medical is billed to help cover the uninsured but does not fully cover medical services.

Bernstein A, Dial T, Smith M. Women's reproductive health services in health maintenance organizations. West J Med 1995;163[Suppl]:15-18.

Delbanco S, Smith M, eds. Reproductive health and managed care: a supplement to the Western Journal of Medicine. West J Med 1995;163[Suppl].

Kaiser/Group Health Association of America. Survey on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health care. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 1994.