Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands Receives $18.75 Million in Federal Grant Funding
For Immediate Release: July 6, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 6, 2015
CONTACT: Katie Rogers, Public Relations Manager, (206) 328-7705
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands Receives $18.75 Million in Federal Grant Funding
Grants Will Support Capacity Building and Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington
(Seattle) – Today, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands (PPGNHI) received $18.75 million in federal grant funding from the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH). The funding will support capacity building assistance, deliver inclusive health care to reduce pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth and implement pregnancy prevention programs to those living in rural communities beginning July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2020.
“We are thrilled and grateful that our programming, expertise and experience was recognized by the OAH and that we are able to take our work into even more communities that need services,” said Carole Miller, Chief Learning Officer at PPGNHI. “By providing evidence-based programming and empowering students, parents, teachers, community members and professionals to increase their knowledge and understanding about sex and sexuality, we have the ability to further expand our work and help create the healthiest generation ever.”
As part of the Northwest Coalition for Adolescent Health (NWCAH), we will work with a dynamic group of Planned Parenthood affiliates covering seven states and a large portion of the western United States, including: Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette (PPCW), Planned Parenthood of Montana (PPM), Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon (PPSO), Planned Parenthood of Utah (PPU) and Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood (MBPP).
U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent letters of support to the OAH requesting that these critical programs be funded and implemented. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the OAH and coordinates efforts related to adolescent health promotion and disease prevention.
NWCAH will pursue the following grants over the next five years:
- Improving The Lives of Teens – Reaches 2,275 youth annually, for a total of 9,100 youth over the course of four years by delivering evidence-based programs and at least three implementation settings to impact teen birth rates and disparities, addressing the unique needs in each community.
- INclued – Aims to reduce pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections in the LGBTQ youth population. We will reach 1,800 youth and 150 health care professionals in 12 communities over five years, harnessing the power of youth-led interventions to increase health care inclusivity and access for LGBTQ youth. The project includes Planned Parenthood partners in Minnesota and Massachusetts as well as those in the NWCAH.
- Linking Families and Teens (LiFT) – Delivers teen pregnancy prevention education to 9th and 10th grade students as well as parents and caregivers living in rural communities. LiFT will reach over 2,000 youth and their parents or caregivers in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii over five years.
- Stronger Together – Brings capacity-building assistance to community based organizations. Over three years, the program will test a tiered capacity building assistance approach to help organizations implement evidence-based programming, integrate it within their organization and maintain and sustain that programming.
“For years, we at Planned Parenthood have been providing life-changing sexual education programs that deliver information and resources about relationships, sexuality and sexual health,” said Miller. “We are always looking to expand our services and grow the breadth and depth of our expertise. We are excited to evaluate promising programs that will make a contribution to the field of sex education.”
In 2010, NWCAH was awarded $20 million by the Office of Adolescent Health to replicate the Teen Outreach Program (TOP), an evidence-based youth development program aimed at reducing teen pregnancy. Over the past five years, the program primarily focused on the Northwest and addressed teen pregnancy and health disparities. The results are scheduled to be released in the fall and will show the outcomes of the last five years.
For more information about NWCAH or the grant curricula, please contact Carole Miller at: [email protected].
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Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands is the region's leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate. We believe everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, and that every child should be wanted and loved. The organization operates 28 health centers in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, and Western Washington and provides medical services and sexuality education for thousands of women, men, and teenagers each year. Planned Parenthood is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and relies heavily on charitable donations to ensure our patients' ability to determine their own destinies and receive the health care they need.