Recently, (Thursday September 10, 2010 to be exact) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that $155 million in teen pregnancy prevention grants are being awarded to states, non-profit organizations, school districts, universities, and others. These grants will support the replication of teen pregnancy prevention programs that have been shown to be effective through rigorous research as well as the testing of new, innovative approaches to combating teen pregnancy.
“This investment will help bring evidence-based initiatives to more communities across the country while also testing new approaches so we can expand our toolkit of effective interventions." says HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. I think this will be help our country deal with the teen pregnancy epidemic in an educational and positive way. There is no way this program can hurt and I hope teens truly benefit from these new opportunities and start making wiser decisions on their own. $100 million comes from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program.
$55 million comes from the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP)
-Kelsey P.
Sounds like a great program! This will definetly benefit a lot of different people. I wish more programs were out there like this, since these are just grants there won't be enough of this education for everyone. Education on pregnancy as well as STD education is really benefitial for teenagers, as seen in The Education of Shelby Knox. I definetly think the more comprehensive Sex Education we have, the better off young men and women will be in the long run.
ReplyDeleteSarah D
While I think this is good news I disagree with the statement that teen pregnancy is an "epidemic." There are many negatives to becoming pregnant early. However, most teen mothers continue on to live lives similar to those in their own socioeconomic class and geographic region.
ReplyDeleteI am also glad that evidence based programs are receiving the money instead of abstinence only programs.
Taylor Z.
The amount of money being given is a suprise, but a happy one. I only hope the money is used wisely and actually makes a difference. I would have to learn more about how the program plans to acheive the goal of affecting teen pregnancy and how they go about it. Is it purely education?
ReplyDeleteKristen, M
Speaking in direct correlation to "The Education of Shelby Knox", I think this type of evidence based program is exactly what Shelby Knox was speaking about. By allowing our students to be educated in a comprehensive manner, we are giving them the knowledge set that they need in order to make their own decisions and be come autonomous with their bodies.
ReplyDelete-Andrea
I think this is a good idea on paper and in theory...but as I learn more and more about the government it's hard for me to trust that the money will be allocated in its appropriate place. I agree with Taylor when she said that teen pregnancy isn't a epidemic and I don't think throwing money at it is going to help either..but to be honest not a lot of teens that pregnant or are going to be pregnant will graduate...I dont know if this will even help...
ReplyDelete-Alice M.