§ 40-19.1-1. Coordination of teen pregnancy prevention among state agencies.
(a) Whereas, the department of human services, department of health, department of elementary
and secondary education, and department of children, youth and families all have responsibility
for teen pregnancy education and prevention programs, and recognizing that teen pregnancy
is a multi-faceted issue requiring a comprehensive approach and long-term coordinated
activities among federal, state and local agencies; and
Whereas, the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996 [Pub. L. No. 104-193] encourages states to establish goals and take action to prevent and reduce the incidence
of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, with special emphasis on teen pregnancies, and including
programs for men; and
Whereas, the nation's social costs of teen pregnancy and too-early childbearing are
seven billion dollars ($7,000,000,000) annually;
The general assembly hereby authorizes and directs the director of department of human
services, the director of the department of health, the director of the department
of children, youth and families, and the commissioner of elementary and secondary
education to develop a comprehensive statewide plan to prevent and reduce the incidence
of unintended pregnancies among adolescents and to structure and coordinate primary
pregnancy-prevention healthcare services and educational programs for at-risk adolescents
as outlined in the plan. Such plan shall:
(1) Include numerical goals for calendar years 1998 through 2005 that demonstrate a reduction
in the incidence of unintended adolescent pregnancy, especially among at-risk teens;
(2) Identify current and future federal and state funding sources for adolescent pregnancy
prevention;
(3) Identify current programs providing pregnancy prevention education for teens;
(4) Incorporate successful primary prevention strategies and programs proven to be effective
in reducing unintended adolescent pregnancies. These shall include, but not be limited
to, life and educational goal programs, parental education and involvement, comprehensive
abstinence education and assertiveness training skills, peer education and abstinence
training for peer educators, after-school programs that offer tutoring, substance
abuse, sexual abuse, and self-esteem education and male mentors for at-risk male youth,
and identification and development of healthcare services accessible to adolescents
for the purpose of primary pregnancy prevention. A list shall be made available to
the public naming these primary prevention programs and services that are available
throughout the state;
(5) Establish numerical goals that designate male involvement in pregnancy prevention
and sexual responsibility education programs that shall incorporate educational involvement
from local and state law enforcement officials to address child support, and sexual
assault laws and penalties;
(6) Include specific programs to identify and educate at-risk teens before they become
sexually active;
(7) Identify and access financial resources for teachers training in the areas of family
life and sexuality education for teachers, K-12 in elementary and secondary schools;
(8) Establish community and local involvement in the statewide planning effort and development
of primary prevention services and educational programs for adolescents, especially
in the maternal and child health planning areas of the state with high rates of teenage
pregnancy. Organizations and individuals chosen for this shall represent the diversity
of their communities including, but not limited to age, youth, gender, race, culture,
and ethnicity.
(b) The director of the department of human services, director of the department of health,
the director of the department of children, youth and families, and commissioner of
elementary and secondary education shall select a teen pregnancy prevention plan coordinator
from existing staff who will convene designated representatives by September 1, 1997,
to develop the plan, and who will report its findings and recommendations thereof
and any requests for extension to the general assembly no later than January 15, 1998,
and in six-month (6) intervals thereafter.