Family Planning Training Institute
The ABCD Health Services Department is committed to keeping residents and communities healthy through public health and wellness programs, including Title X family planning. Through our community provider network, tens of thousands of people in Greater Boston and beyond access sexual reproductive health services each year.
The ABCD Family Planning Program collaborates with community health centers, school-based health centers, and hospital-based primary care programs to support comprehensive family planning and sexual health counseling, education and medical care for residents of Greater Boston and beyond. Our goals are to help individuals and couples prevent unintended pregnancies, decrease sexually transmitted infections and HIV, have healthy pregnancies, and stay healthy throughout their lives.
We train medical, nursing and community health worker staff to provide high quality, comprehensive, confidential family planning and sexual health care. If you are a healthcare professional interested in learning more about family planning, please see the trainings offered below:
Trainings:
FAMILY PLANNING BASICS TRAINING
Description:
This course is a comprehensive introduction to family planning counseling, consisting of self-paced eLearning modules and two live Zoom sessions. Topics to be explored include principles of quality family planning counseling, reproductive anatomy, sexual reproductive health justice, contraception, STIs and HIV, pregnancy options, working with adolescents, and more!
Target Audience:
Open to all who would like to explore the fundamentals of family planning. This course is a requirement for all family planning counselors working with the ABCD Family Planning Partnership.
Date: March 17, 2026 and March 24, 2026
Time: 9:00am – 2:00pm
Location: Virtual over Zoom, eLearning platform
You must attend both live sessions and complete all eLearning modules for certification.
Cost: $300 for non-ABCD sites, Free for ABCD sites
To register, please complete by March 6, 2025.
Registration Link:
https://forms.gle/Nn2VXZVXyjAZQiR59
For questions questions or concerns contact Ellisa Dockstader at ellisa.dockstader@bostonabcd.org.
FAMILY PLANNING TRAINING FOR ADVANCED PRACTICE
Description:
The Family Planning for Advanced Practice Training is designed for practitioners seeking to enhance their knowledge of family planning. This course combines self-paced eLearning modules with two live, interactive Zoom sessions.
Participants will explore key topics including:
- Birth control counseling and prescribing
- Infertility care
- LGBTQ+ health
- Adolescent care
- Pregnancy options counseling
- And more
This training is exclusively offered to RNs, NPs, PAs, and physicians. Participants will receive 15 contact hours upon successful completion.
Date and Time:
- March 17, 2026 | 8:30 AM – 1:10 PM
- March 24, 2026 | 8:30 AM – 1:25 PM
(Must attend both days for credit) (VIRTUAL)
Cost:
- Non-ABCD sites (seeking contact hours): $300
- Non-ABCD sites (not seeking contact hours): $200
- ABCD sites: Free
- ABCD sites (seeking contact hours): $100
Registration Link:
Sign up here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWy3uvcwimFhon7DYftBgerJqu-JtKicxfrECKlhlekjsBOQ/viewform)
Registration Deadline: March 6, 2026
Payment Deadline for Non-ABCD Sites: March 10, 2026
FAMILY PLANNING & MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING FOR SUPPORT STAFF MEMBERS
Overview:
The Family Planning & Mental Health Training for Support Staff Members is designed to strengthen skills in family planning, mental health awareness, and community engagement.
This training centers on the Community Health Worker (CHW) role and provides tools to better support patients, communities, and personal well-being.
Who Should Attend:
Open to workforce members who support and accompany patients in community and clinical settings, including:
- Community Health Workers (CHWs)
- Support Staff
- Health Outreach Workers
- Peer Support Specialists
- Navigators
- Care Managers
- Case Managers
- Care Coordinators
- Intake Coordinators
- Outreach Specialists
- Promotores/as de Salud
Participants Will:
- Build understanding of basic family planning methods, access, and benefits
- Increase awareness of mental health concerns and reduce stigma
- Learn when and how to seek support
- Gain tools to manage stress and maintain personal well-being
- Strengthen skills for informed, compassionate engagement that improves patient and community health outcomes
Training Details:
- Dates: March 24 & March 26, 2026
- Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Format: Virtual Sessions
Registration Link:
https://forms.gle/PMyyy1GCm1yLymdX9
Space is limited to 30 participants. Early registration is encouraged. Registered participants will receive the Zoom link after confirmation.
HIV EDUCATION FOR HEALTH WORKERS TRAINING
Description:
This two-day course is designed to provide health workers and educators with a deepened knowledge of STIs and HIV, testing and counseling, harm reduction and prevention strategies, the history of HIV, and HIV as an issue of racial health inequity.
Date: January 21 and 23, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Virtual over Zoom
You must attend both sessions for credit.
Cost: FREE
Registration Link:
Sign up here (https://www.neaetc.org/events/view/29847)
Previous session:
New England AIDS Education and Training Center: Events (neaetc.org)
The passcode is “ABCD”. Once registered, you will receive an email with Zoom and further information. There is a cap of 20 participants for this training, however a waitlist will be kept for future offerings. If you have any questions or challenges with registration, please reach out to Kristin at NEAETC at kmoccia@crihealth.org.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRAINING – BREAKING THE CHAINS: SURVIVOR-CENTERED STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION
Description:
A 2-day training program designed to enhance understanding of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, complex trauma, and survivor-centered care. This training will combine in-person and virtual sessions to maximize accessibility, engagement, and impact.
Target Audience:
Includes Health Care Providers, First Responders, Health Educators, Patient Navigators, CHWs, and Health Program Directors.
Objective:
Participants will have a deeper understanding of complex dynamics in trafficking and exploitation, strengthen their practical skills for survivor-centered intervention and prevention, apply trauma-informed approaches informed by research and lived experience, and be able to translate emerging insights into actionable strategies for organizations and communities.
Cost: FREE
Training Dates
- First Session: May 5, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM – In Person at ABCD Health Services, 105 Chauncy Street, 4th Floor, Boston MA 02111
- Second Session: May 12, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM – Virtual. You will receive a Zoom link prior to the training.
Participants must attend both days to receive a Certificate of Completion.
Registration Link:
https://forms.gle/YpZsNhQDz9moasBw7
HARM REDUCTION TRAINING
Description:
ABCD, in partnership with C4 Innovates, is excited to offer a Harm Reduction Training. This training explores harm reduction as both a philosophy and a practical approach to supporting people through high-risk behaviors, rooted in compassion, dignity, and respect. You’ll walk away with concrete strategies to meet people where they are, support incremental change, and integrate harm reduction principles directly into your work.
Target Audience:
ABCD staff, subrecipients, medical community partners, and interested community members.
Dates:
-
April 1, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
-
May 5, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
(You can attend either date.)
Location: Virtual
Registration Link:
https://forms.gle/pHNBj2wKe6jP2dFu5
Zoom link will be sent upon registration.
Registration Deadline:
- March 31st for the April training
- May 4th for the May training
PARAGARD IUD TRAINING
Description:
ABCD is partnering with CooperSurgical INC to a “Hands on” Paragard IUD Training.
Date: February 10th, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location:
ABCD Health Services, 4th floor
105 Chauncy St, Boston MA, 02111
Cost: FREE
Target Audience:
Licensed clinical providers who will be placing or removing IUDs. NP and PA students are also invited to register, space permitting.
Registration Link:
https://forms.gle/iuy3WdnJHSiE899y7
Before registering, please first check with your employer that you will be able to insert and remove following this training. There is a cap on the number of participants, so please register soon.
Light lunch will be provided by CooperSurgical.
Webinars:
NEW! ABCD Family Planning Training Institute is now offering its Continuing Training Program as a webinar series. If you are interested in any of the following webinars please contact Denice Garrett at denice.garrett@bostonabcd.org.
Available Webinars
HPV Prevention Training presented by Team Maureen
Description: This training was offered live in late January for HPV Prevention Awareness Week. Team Maureen is an organization dedicated to fighting cervical cancer through HPV prevention. The training is facilitated by Eileen Lind, the founder of Team Maureen, and covers HPV basics, recent HPV and cancer statistics, up to date vaccination recommendations, and recommendations for vaccine counseling.
Duration: 60 minutes
Sexual Education for Individuals with Developmental Delays presented by Mad Hatter Wellness
Description: This training will help guide Family Planning Counselors, Educators, and Providers on how to provide quality one on one sexual education to those with Developmental Delays. Training is applicable to individuals of all ages.
Duration: 1hr 45min
Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Training presented by RAINN
Description: ABCD is partnering with RAINN to provide a virtual training that equips professionals providing family planning services with an understanding of the complexities and warning signs of sexual misconduct and trauma-informed communication skills to support survivors.
Duration: 2hr 15min
Culturally Responsive Reproductive Health Education for Youth Training Presented by HRiA
Description: This training will address the challenges faced by clinicians and health educators in the clinical setting when presented with beliefs from patients that are not in alignment with current science and research. Using a positive youth development approach, participants will identify youths’ spheres of influence and find ways to connect with and understand their existing cultural knowledge. Participants will explore their own biases, discuss common scenarios, and gain skills for addressing firmly held beliefs that may contradict scientific evidence.
Duration: 2hr 15min
ABCD Family Planning Locations (https://bostonabcd.org/service/family-planning-locations/)