On Friday, June 26 the Health Human Services quietly rescinded funding immediately for all but four of the evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) programs in the US. The stated reason for the cancellation of the grant funds was because these programs promoted sexual activity. This reason is a hard sell when over the past two decades these programs have been responsible for a 76% reduction of the US teen pregnancy rate and the percentage of high schoolers reporting having sexual activity is at a historic low of 32% (CDC YRBS data).
The Wisconsin program most impacted was PATCH, Providers and Teens Communicate for Health that focuses on giving teens and their medical providers better communication skills. Learn more about the Wisconsin Impact.
After PATCH lost their funds, Sara Finger, Executive Director of Embolden, the agency managing PATCH’s grant, returned to the TPP web page to learn how she could restore funding. What she learned was disturbing. The TPP was not cancelled but the funds were being moved to support ideologic based programs promoting abstinence and natural fertility, programming that has no evidence of being effective in pregnancy and STI prevention. Her article identifies why PATCH will not be applying for these new grants and the concerns all of us should have that government funds are supporting ineffective, non-evidence-based TPP programs.
If you feel strongly that teens should receive accurate and effective TPP, and not disinformation, contact your US congressman and senator to voice your concern.
You can help PATCH by following them @thepatchprogram on Instagram/Facebook or LinkedIn.