On March 4th, the American Humanist Association joined 85 other organizations calling on Congress to support adolescent sexual health promotion programs in fiscal year 2016 funding. These proven-effective programs provide young people, specifically those most vulnerable and marginalized, with the information they need to make healthy and safe decisions and prevent unintended pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections throughout their lives.

Read the letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees below.

 

The Honorable Thad Cochran
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Harold Rogers
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

March 4, 2015

Dear Chairmen Cochran and Rogers and Ranking Members Mikulski and Lowey:

On behalf of the 86 undersigned organizations, dedicated to the health and welfare of our nation’s youth, we respectfully request your support for the adolescent sexual health promotion programs below during the fiscal year (FY) 2016 funding deliberations. These proven-effective programs provide young people, specifically those most vulnerable and marginalized, with the information they need to make healthy and safe decisions and prevent unintended pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) throughout their lives.

We urge you to fund the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI) at $130 million, an additional $6.8 million for evaluation of innovative approaches; fund the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) at $50 million to include at least $3 million for evaluation of school- based HIV prevention; and eliminate funding for the Competitive Abstinence Education (CAE) grant program in the final FY 2016 appropriations. Providing robust funding for TPPI and DASH will help educate and equip young people to make responsible decisions that are vital to their health and well-being and ultimately, the health of our nation.

We are appreciative of the current federal investments in support of adolescent sexual health promotion programs, but much remains to be done to strengthen, enhance, and expand these efforts. The most recent data highlight the need for additional resources to serve young people most in need of sexual health education. Many young people continue to face systemic barriers to accessing health information and services, resulting in persistent dimensions of disparity.

Despite historically low unintended teen pregnancy and birth rates in the U.S., the country continues to have the highest rate of teen births among comparable countries. Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates continue to be highest among young people under the age of 25, 60% and 70% of all reported cases respectively. Additionally, young people under the age of 25 accounted for more than 20% of new HIV infections in 2012.  While rates of new HIV cases have fallen in all other age groups, they have risen for those ages 20-29, with young men who have sex with men accounting for the majority of new HIV cases. We also have a long way to go to help young people enjoy healthy relationships. In 2013, 10% of students in grades 9-12 reported being physically hurt by someone they were dating or going out with at least once in the previous year; of students dating or going out with someone in the previous year, 10% reported being kissed, touched, or physically forced to have sex when they did not want to.

Research has shown that access to medically accurate and complete sexuality education and contraception works to promote robust adolescent health. This helps young people delay having sex, use condoms and contraception when they do become sexually active, and reduces teen pregnancy, birth, and abortion.

Programs that are inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and LBGTQ- related resources ultimately promote academic achievement and overall health. Equipping young people with sexual decision-making and relationship skills results in safer sexual behaviors. Additionally, promoting gender equity to counter traditional gender stereotypes reduces physical aggression with intimate partners and improves safer sex practices for all genders.

Support the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI)

Since FY 2010, TPPI funding has been utilized to provide five-year cooperative agreements, administered by the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH), to more than 100 public and private entities in 37 states and the District of Columbia. These grantees are implementing evidence-based or innovative, medically accurate, and age- appropriate programs to an estimated 800,000 young people. In the first round of TPPI funding in FY 2010, OAH was only able to fund approximately 100 out of more than 1,000 entities who applied across the country. The application process for the second round of TPPI funding is currently open, with a similar reflection of the demand expected for efforts focused on replication and capacity building for evidence-based programs, enabling early innovation of programs, programs designed specifically for young males, and rigorous evaluation. We ask that the FY 2016 funding level reflect the demonstrated need for TPPI programs by providing $130 million for TPPI and designating $6.8 million for TPPI evaluation.

Support the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH)

Supplementing the federal teen pregnancy prevention efforts of TPPI, DASH is a unique source of support for HIV, and other STI prevention efforts in our nation’s schools, providing funding and expert guidance to state and local education agencies to assist schools in implementing HIV and other STD education programs that help students develop healthy behaviors. In addition, the Division leads adolescent and school health surveillance efforts, which serve as a resource for adolescent health information and play a critical role in documenting public health trends and challenges. As a result of reduced funding since FY 2012, the formerly nationwide program that had funded more than 80 states, territories, tribes, and local education agencies reduced the scope of its funding to only 17 local education agencies and 19 state education agencies. We request an investment of $50 million for DASH in FY 2016 including a dedicated $3 million for evaluation to improve school HIV prevention activities and increase outreach strategies and interventions for youth at disproportionate risk for HIV infection.

Eliminate Funding for the Competitive Abstinence Education (CAE) Grant Program

An overwhelming body of evidence has found “Abstinence Education” programs as defined by Title V Sec. 510 of the Social Security Act—abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) programs—to be ineffective. A federal evaluation found that those who participated in the programs were no more likely to abstain from sexual activity than those who did not. More recent analyses continue to support these findings. Moreover, AOUM programs withhold necessary and lifesaving information that would allow young people to make informed and responsible decisions about their health. In addition, AOUM programs have been found to include content that reinforces gender stereotypes, ostracizes and often denigrates LGBTQ youth, stigmatize sexually active young people, and fails to consider the perspectives of youth who have been sexually abused. Rather than protecting and supporting young people, AOUM programs often reinforce gender stereotypes and squander opportunities for youth to become empowered to make healthy and responsible decisions about their sexual health. We encourage the elimination of ineffective and harmful CAE funding in FY 2016.

Preventing unintended pregnancy and STIs, including HIV, not only advances our nation’s public health goals, it is also cost-effective. By preventing all of the nearly 20,000 annual new HIV infections among those under the age of 29, an astounding $6.8 billion would be saved in lifetime medical costs. Likewise, CDC estimates that for every dollar invested in school-based STI screening programs, such as those supported by DASH, $1.67 in medical costs is saved. In these difficult economic times, we must make strategic investments in evidence- informed, effective, and inclusive programs such as TPPI and DASH.

Thank you for considering these requests. We look forward to working with you to ensure that our nation’s young people receive the information and tools they need to make responsible and healthy decisions.

Sincerely,

A Sister’s Hand (New York)
Abounding Prosperity, Inc. (Texas)
AccessMatters (Pennsylvania)
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina (North Carolina)
Advocates for Youth
AIDS Action Baltimore (Maryland)
AIDS Action Coalition (Alabama)
AIDS Alabama
AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth & Families
AIDS Foundation of Chicago (Illinois)
The AIDS Institute
AIDS Project Los Angeles (California)
AIDS Project of the East Bay (California)
AIDS United
American Civil Liberties Union
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American Humanist Association
American School Health Association
APLA Health & Wellness (California)
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center (California)
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
CANN-Community Access National Network
Cardea (California, Texas, Washington)
Cascade AIDS Project (Oregon)
Catholics for Choice
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Colorado Youth Matter (Colorado)
Denver Human Services (Colorado)
EyesOpenIowa (Iowa)
Family Practice & Counseling Network (Pennsylvania)
Fresno Barrios Unidos (California)
Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (Georgia)
Hawaii Youth Services Network (Hawaii)
Health Endeavors: Consulting and Training, LLC (Kansas)
HealthHIV
Healthy Teen Network
HiTOPS Adolescent Center (New Jersey)
HIV Medicine Association
HIV Prevention Justice Alliance
Housing Assistance Payments Initiative (H.A.P.I) Program (Michigan)
Human Rights Campaign
Hyacinth AIDS Foundation (New Jersey)
Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (Illinois)
Institute for Science and Human Values, Inc
La Comunidad Hispana (Pennsylvania)
Latino Commission on AIDS (New York)
Lifelong (Washington) Marriage Equality USA
Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy (Massachusetts)
Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (Michigan)
MN Coalition Against Sexual Assault (Minnesota)
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Abortion Federation
National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Coalition for LGBT Health
National Coalition of STD Directors
National Council of Jewish Women
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Law Center
NMAC
OutFront Minnesota (Minnesota)
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Population Institute
Project SAFE (Pennsylvania)
Rainbow Health Initiative (Minnesota)
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Secular Coalition for America
Sex Workers Outreach Project
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS)
SisterReach (Tennessee)
Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
Southern Ohio Sexuality Education & Consultation Services SOSECS (Ohio)
Texas Freedom Network (Texas)
The Teen Pregnancy & Prevention Partnership (Missouri)
Unity Fellowship Church (New York)
Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Services
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity

Cc:
The Honorable Roy Blunt
The Honorable Patty Murray
The Honorable Tom Cole
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro