Federal Update: TPP Program and Title X in Funding Battle
by WREN Staff on Jul 14, 2017
A lot of decisions are being made in DC right now that could dramatically affect the health and well-being of South Carolina women, girls, and their families. Read below to find out more and how you can use your voice to make a difference.
The Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program and the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) are federal funding streams for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention education. Earlier in the month TPP grantees were notified by the Office of Adolescent Health that their five-year projects will end after year three. These shortened project periods are highly unusual, especially given how successful the programs have been. Since the TPP Program and PREP began in 2010, the teen birth rate has declined by 41%, more than double the decline in any preceding six-year period.
On Thursday, July 13, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS), the committee with jurisdiction over the TPP Program, passed their FY 2018 Appropriations bill which, among other things, eliminates funding for the evidence-based TPP Program and Title X Family Planning Program. This bill is a dangerous step in the wrong direction.
This is just the first step in the appropriations process. There is still time to take action and save this crucial programming. Call your Senators today and urge them to support the current funding level.
Stay tuned for more information on how you can help protect evidence-based health education programs on a state-level.