Taking responsibility: new federal money to prevent teen pregnancies gives states some options.

• Author: Foreman, Megan

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Teen pregnancy is a stubborn problem. And an expensive one.

Despite a 33 percent decline in the teen pregnancy rate since the peak in 1991, rates in the United States remain higher than in any other industrialized nation. Every year, 400,000 babies are born to girls younger than age 19.

"The numbers emphatically show that out-of-wedlock pregnancies are a drain on state resources," says Colorado House Majority Leader Amy Stephens. "States spend a fortune on welfare programs, judicial systems and health care. We will save money if we can prevent these problems on the front-end."

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Two new streams of federal money are offering states fresh opportunities to tackle the problem by shoring up existing programs or creating new ones. The variety of grants means money is available to support just about every philosophy on helping young people avoid unwanted pregnancies.

The role for state lawmakers will vary from state to state. In most instances it will involve helping decide which programs to apply for, coordinating how the money is used, providing oversight to ensure the money is spent appropriately, and supporting local communities or organizations that apply for unclaimed state allocations.

Senator Amanda McGill says legislators in Nebraska will take an oversight role. "We may not legislate around these funding streams," she says, "but we will ask tough questions and see that the money is being spent in a comprehensive way."

RENEWED EFFORT

The federal government has been in the teen pregnancy prevention business for three decades with almost all the money going for programs that taught only sexual abstinence.

Now there is a new emphasis on paying for a broader range of programs that have a proven record of success--referred to as evidence-based programs--at helping young people avoid pregnancy. The programs typically include information about both abstinence and contraception as prevention methods.

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Last year's federal health reform included money for two programs: the Personal Responsibility Education Program or PREP and the Abstinence Education Program. More than $100 million a year for each of the next five years is available to states to pay for the efforts.

The big change comes with the new Personal Responsibility Education Program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $45 million in September to 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and...