Sec. 508. Reducing unintended teenage pregnancies
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Title III of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 241 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following new part: It is the purpose of this part to develop and carry out research and demonstration projects on new and existing program interventions to provide youth in communities at disproportionate risk for unintended teen pregnancy (particularly youth in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities, youth in the foster care system, youth in the juvenile justice system, rural youth, and LGBT youth) the information and skills needed to prevent unintended teenage pregnancies, build healthy relationships, and improve overall health and well-being.
No Federal funds provided under this Act may be used for health education programs or media awareness campaigns that— deliberately withhold life-saving information about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); undermine young people’s confidence in the effectiveness of contraception; are medically inaccurate or have been scientifically shown to be ineffective; promote gender, racial, or ethnic stereotypes; are insensitive and unresponsive to the needs of sexually active youth or LGBT youth; are inconsistent with the ethical imperatives of medicine and public health; or stigmatize and shame youth who are parenting or choose to parent.
The Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible entities for establishing or expanding programs to provide youth in communities at disproportionate risk for unintended teen pregnancy (particularly youth in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities, youth in the foster care system, youth in the juvenile justice system, rural youth, and LGBT youth) the information and skills needed to prevent unintended teenage pregnancy and develop healthy relationships. In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants— proposing to carry out projects in communities at disproportionate risk for unintended teen pregnancy (particularly youth in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities, youth in the foster care system, youth in the juvenile justice system, rural youth, and LGBT youth); that have a demonstrated history of effectively working with such targeted communities; that have a demonstrated history of engaging in a meaningful and significant partnership with such targeted communities; or that have an integrated approach that also promotes the skills necessary to build healthy relationships and recognize abusive or unhealthy behaviors.
Programs funded through a grant under subsection
(a)shall be provided— through classroom-based settings, such as school health education, humanities, language arts, or family and consumer science education; after-school programs; community-based programs; workforce development programs; and health care settings, including community health centers; or in collaboration with systems that serve large numbers of at-risk youth such as juvenile justice or foster care systems. As a condition of receipt of a grant under this section, an entity shall agree that, with respect to information and skills provided through the grant— such information and skills will be— age-appropriate; evidence-based or evidence-informed; provided in accordance with section 399OO–6(b); and culturally sensitive and relevant to the target populations; and any information provided about contraceptives shall include the health benefits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier methods. Of the total amount made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies as appropriate, shall allot up to 10 percent of such amount to carry out a rigorous, independent evaluation to determine the extent and the effectiveness of activities funded through this section during such fiscal year in changing attitudes and behavior of teenagers with respect to healthy relationships and childbearing. Of the total amount made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve 5 percent of such amount to award grants under this section to Indian tribes and tribal organizations in such manner, and subject to such requirements, as the Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribes and tribal organizations, determines appropriate. In this section, the term eligible entity means a State, local, or tribal agency; a school or postsecondary institution; an after-school program; a nonprofit organization; or a community or faith-based organization. In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the amounts and requirements of grants provided under this section do not preclude receipt of such grants by community-based organizations with a demonstrated history of effectively working with adolescents in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities or engaged in meaningful and significant partnership with such communities. The Secretary shall award competitive grants to public and private entities to carry out multimedia campaigns to provide public education and increase public awareness regarding unintended teenage pregnancy and related social and emotional issues, such as violence prevention. In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants proposing to carry out campaigns developed for communities at disproportionate risk for unintended teen pregnancy (particularly youth in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities, youth in the foster care system, youth in the juvenile justice system, rural youth, and LGBT youth). As a condition of receipt of a grant under this section, an entity shall agree to use the grant to carry out multimedia campaigns described in subsection
(a)that— at a minimum, shall provide information on— the prevention of unintended teenage pregnancy; and healthy relationship development; and may provide information on the prevention of dating violence and sexual assault. The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall make grants to public and private entities to conduct, support, or coordinate research on unintended teenage pregnancy, dating violence, and healthy relationships among racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities that— improves data collection on— sexual and reproductive health, including unintended teenage pregnancies and births, among all minority communities and subpopulations in which such data are not collected, including American Indian and Alaska Native youth; sexual behavior, reproductive and sexual coercion, and teenage contraceptive use patterns at the State level, as appropriate; unintended teenage pregnancies among youth in and aging out of foster care or juvenile justice systems and the underlying factors that lead to unintended teenage pregnancy among youth in foster care or juvenile justice systems; and sexual and reproductive health, including teenage pregnancies and births, sexual behavior, reproductive and sexual coercion, and teenage contraceptive use among— LGBT youth; and rural youth; investigates— the variance in the rates of unintended teenage pregnancy by— racial and ethnic group (such as Hispanic, Asian-American, African-American, Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Alaska Native); and socioeconomic status, based on the income of the family and education attainment; factors affecting the risk for youth of unintended teenage pregnancy or dating violence, including the physical and social environment, level of acculturation, access to health care, aspirations for the future, and history of physical or sexual violence or abuse; the role that violence and abuse play in teenage sex, pregnancy, and childbearing; strategies to address the disproportionate rates of unintended teenage pregnancies and dating violence in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities; how effective interventions can be replicated or adapted in other settings to serve racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities in a culturally appropriate manner; and the effectiveness of media campaigns in addressing healthy relationship development, dating violence prevention, and unintended teenage pregnancy; and tests research-based strategies for addressing high rates of unintended teenage pregnancy through programs that emphasize healthy relationships and violence prevention. In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall give priority to research that incorporates— interdisciplinary approaches; a strong emphasis on community-based participatory research; or translational research. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this part, the Secretary shall direct the interagency adolescent health workgroup within the Office of Adolescent Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to— include in the work of the group strategies for teenage dating violence prevention and healthy teenage relationships with a particular focus among racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities; and with respect to including such strategies, consult, to the greatest extent possible, with the Federal Interagency Workgroup on Teen Dating Violence formed under the leadership of the National Institute of Justice of the Department of Justice. The Secretary, through the Office of Adolescent Health, shall periodically submit to Congress a report that— includes a review of the evidence-based programs on preventing unintended teenage pregnancy, which are carried out and identified by the Office; and identifies the programs of the Department of Health and Human Services that include teenage dating violence prevention and the promotion of healthy teenage relationships as part of a strategy to prevent unintended teenage pregnancy. To seek a grant under this part, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary in such form, in such manner, and containing such agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary may require. A grant may be made under this part only if the applicant involved agrees that information, activities, and services provided under the grant— will be evidence-based or evidence-informed; will be factually and medically accurate and complete; and if directed to a particular population group, will be provided in an appropriate language and cultural context. Of the total amount made available to carry out this part for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall use 10 percent to provide, directly or through a competitive grant process, training and technical assistance to the grant recipients under this part, including by disseminating research and information regarding effective and promising practices, providing consultation and resources on a broad array of teenage and unintended pregnancy and violence prevention strategies, and developing resources and materials. In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall collaborate with entities that have expertise in the prevention of teenage pregnancy, healthy relationship development, minority health and health disparities, and violence prevention. In this part: The term medically accurate and complete means, with respect to information, activities, or services, verified or supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and— published in peer-reviewed journals, where applicable; or comprising information that leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field recognize as accurate, objective, and complete. The term LGBT youth means lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. The term racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities means communities with a substantial number of residents who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups or who are immigrants. The term reproductive and sexual coercion — means, with respect to a person, coercive behavior that interferes with the ability of such person to control the reproductive decisionmaking of such person, such as intentionally exposing such person to sexually transmitted infections; in the case such person is a female, attempting to impregnate such person against her will; intentionally interfering with the person’s birth control; or threatening or acting violent if the person does not comply with the perpetrator’s wishes regarding contraception or the decision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy; and includes a range of behaviors that a partner may use related to sexual decision-making to pressure or coerce a person to have sex without using physical force, such as repeatedly pressuring a partner to have sex when he or she does not want to; threatening to end a relationship if a person does not have sex; and threatening retaliation if notified of a positive sexually transmitted disease test result. The term youth means individuals who are 11 to 19 years of age. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this part, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the use of funds provided pursuant to this part. Not later than March 1, 2019, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the impact of the programs under this part on reducing unintended teenage pregnancies. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2019. Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a)— are authorized to remain available until expended; and are in addition to amounts otherwise made available for such purposes. .
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Sec. 508
Reducing unintended teenage pregnancies
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