Approximately $4 million will fund teen pregnancy prevention programs in four Oregon counties
The Northwest Coalition for Adolescent Health (NWCAH) has been awarded $20 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health to replicate the Teen Outreach Program (TOP), a proven, evidence-based youth development program aimed at reducing teen pregnancy. The program will focus on areas throughout the Northwest where teen birth and pregnancy rates are high and health disparities exist.
The Northwest Coalition of Adolescent Health (NWCAH) is comprised of six Planned Parenthood affiliates: Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette (PPCW), Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon (PPSO), Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest (PPGNW), Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho (PPGWNI), Planned Parenthood of Montana (PPM), and Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood (MBPP).
This funding will enable NWCAH to replicate TOP across five Northwest states, in 73 targeted sites in 27 counties that have the highest risk of teen pregnancy. Within these communities, NWCAH plans to target a diverse population of the highest risk youth in grades 7-12 in a mix of rural and urban communities. The program will reach over 8,000 youth during the five year project period.
In Oregon, Planned Parenthood will implement TOP in Jackson, Marion, Multnomah, and Yamhill counties, reaching more than 2,500 youth over the five year project period. Teens in the counties selected all face higher rates of teen pregnancy than Oregon’s state average. Each of these communities has been chosen because data illustrates, and our knowledge of the community confirms, that the youth living in these areas face significant barriers to growing up healthy and are at a high risk for teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, course failure and suspension. The TOP program will be implemented in partnership with schools and community organizations.
TOP’s foremost goal is to significantly reduce teen pregnancy. Additionally, the program seeks to increase the numbers of youth who delay onset of sexual activity; increase the numbers of youth using protection when sexually active; significantly decrease academic course failure and school suspensions; and increase youth’s positive attitude towards service and community engagement. TOP is an evidence-based, rigorously evaluated program to prevent teen pregnancy identified by the Federal government.
“Planned Parenthood has been providing life-changing youth development programs to youth in Oregon and SW Washington for 47 years,” said Camelia Hison, PPCW’s Vice President of Education. “Oregon’s teens are the big winners in this announcement. We are so lucky to have this unprecedented opportunity to implement such a well-respected, successful teen pregnancy prevention program here in our state.”
TOP’s comprehensive youth development approach with at-risk youth has been tested across multiple settings over a 20 year period and has shown dramatic success in reducing teen pregnancy. TOP has been proven to develop the positive potential of teens, thus leading them to more success and less risk-taking behaviors like teen violence, school failure, and teen pregnancy. TOP will take place in schools and community agencies, engaging youth in weekly sessions over a nine-month period. The curriculum includes age-appropriate sessions on relationships, communication, goal setting, and sexual health -- along with a vital community service component. The curriculum meets Oregon’s health education content standards, and will help to advance Oregon’s Youth Sexual Health Plan.
“We are excited to partner with other youth serving organizations and schools to provide this program across the region,” said Mary Gossart, PPSO’s Vice President of Education and Training. “TOP is good for youth, families, and communities. Positive youth development programs like TOP not only reduce unintended teen pregnancies, but also promote positive social change.”
Nearly 750,000 teens in the United States will become pregnant each year. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of school and fall into poverty. Children born to teen mothers also face significant life challenges: they are more likely to drop out of school, experience unintended pregnancies early in life, and experience more financial and health disparities compared to children of older parents.
The grant will also create multiple new, full-time jobs within Planned Parenthood in Oregon.
For more information, please contact Liz Delapoer, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette at 503.775.4931 x3321 or liz.delapoer@ppcw.org.
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Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette (PPCW) is the largest non-profit family planning and reproductive rights organization in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Since 1963, PPCW has successfully carried out its mission of providing, promoting and protecting access to quality reproductive and sexual health care. PPCW provides evidence-based, age-appropriate, comprehensive sexuality education to more than 30,000 youth, families, and communities. Each year, more than 60,000 women, men and teens visit one of PPCW’s eleven health centers. PPCW provides a wide range of health care services, including low-cost contraceptives, emergency contraception, annual gynecological check-ups, breast exams, cervical cancer detection and treatment, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy testing and options counseling. Less than five percent of PPCW’s services are for early abortion care. For more information, visit www.ppcw.org.
Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon: The mission of PPSO is to ensure the right of individuals to manage their sexual and reproductive health by providing health services, education, and advocacy. Each year, PPSO provides over 41,000 clinic visits at eight health centers in Lane, Jackson, and Josephine, including two rural outreach sites. In addition, PPSO provides extensive education programs reaching nearly 26,000 youth and adult contacts annually. For more information, visit www.ppsworegon.org.
