The health reform law includes a program that would provide $75 million in mandatory* funds for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention. The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) would provide approximately $50 million to states and territories annually from FY 2010 through FY 2014 to help young people avoid teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. These formula grants would be based on the proportion of youth in a given state and funds would be given directly to state agencies who submit an application. The programs will also be required to address several other issues to help prepare youth for adulthood including healthy relationships, financial literacy, parent-child communication, and educational and career success. Read the legislative language for more detail about the program requirements.
In addition to the formula grants to states, the PREP will provide $10 million annually to support innovative strategies and services for high risk and vulnerable youth, such as youth in foster care, teen parents, and homeless youth. This funding announcement was released by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families in conjunction with the Office of Adolescent Health along with the announcement of up to $25 million available through the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative for a similar purpose.
PREP also provides approximately $3 million will be available specifically for Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and approximately $6 million for research, training and technical assistance.
The health reform law also includes a provision that would restore the Section 510 Abstinence Education grants that expired on June 30, 2009 (read the legislative language for more detail about the program requirements). These grants would also go directly to state agencies, and grantees would be required to adhere to an eight-point definition of abstinence currently in statute. This provision would provide $50 million in formula grants annually for FY 2010 through FY 2014, and a state match of $3 for every $4 in federal funds would be required.
Guidance issued part way through the Bush Administration required grantees to give equal weight to each of the eight points in the definition. It is unknown at this time whether the Obama Administration will continue with this interpretation or return to an earlier interpretation of the law, which was less restrictive.
*Mandatory funding is funding that is authorized and directly appropriated from the federal budget for the specified amount of time, rather than being subject to the annual federal appropriations process.