LegiStorm

Summary:

In 2015, U.S. teen births accounted for 5.8% of all births and 12.9% of all nonmarital births. The birth rate for U.S. teenagers (ages 15 through 19) increased in 2006 and 2007 after a steady decline since 1991. However, in each of 2008 through 2015, the teen birth rate dropped below the 2006 teen birth rate, reversing the two-year upward trend. Although the birth rate for U.S. teens has dropped in 22 of the past 24 years, it remains higher than the teen birth rate of most industrialized nations. Preventing teen pregnancy is generally considered a priority among policymakers and the public because of its high economic, social, and health costs for teen parents and their families. The Adolescent Family Life (AFL) program, created in 1981 (Title XX of the Public Health Service Act), was the first federal program to focus on pregnancy among adolescents. It was created to support demonstration projects that provide comprehensive and innovative health, education, and social services to pregnant and parenting adolescents, their infants, male partners, and their families. From 1998 to 2009, federal teen pregnancy prevention efforts in the AFL program and in general relied heavily on using abstinence-only education as their primary tool. The appropriation for the AFL program was $16.7 million in FY2010 and $12.4 million for FY2011. The AFL program has not received any funding since FY2011. P.L. 111-117 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010) included a new discretionary Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program, funded at $110 million for FY2010, which provides grants and contracts, on a competitive basis, to public and private entities to fund "medically accurate and age appropriate" programs that reduce teen pregnancy. Since FY2010, funding for the TPP program has fluctuated from a high of $109 million in FY2011 to a low of $98.4 million in FY2013 (post-sequester). P.L. 113-76 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014) provided $101 million for the TPP program (and $8.5 million for program evaluation) for FY2014. P.L. 113-235 (the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015) funded the TPP program at $101 million for FY2015 (plus $6.8 million for program evaluation). Pursuant to P.L. 114-53 (the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2016; enacted September 30, 2015), the TPP was funded for FY2016 at the FY2015 rate of $101 million (plus $6.8 million for program evaluation) minus an across-the-board rescission of 0.2108%, through December 11, 2015, or enactment of applicable appropriations legislation. Pursuant to P.L. 114-113 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016; enacted December 18, 2015), the TPP was funded for FY2016 at $101 million (plus $6.8 million for program evaluation). Pursuant to P.L. 114-223 (the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act; enacted September 29, 2016), the TPP is funded for FY2017 at the FY2016 rate of $101 million annually (prorated) plus $6.8 million for program evaluation, minus an across-the-board reduction of 0.496%, through December 9, 2016, or enactment of applicable appropriations legislation. P.L. 111-148 (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act-ACA) established a new state formula grant program and appropriated $375 million, at $75 million per year for five years (FY2010-FY2014), to enable states to operate a new Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which is a broad approach to teen pregnancy prevention that educates adolescents on both abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. PREP also provides youth with information on several adulthood preparation subjects (e.g., healthy relationships, adolescent development, financial literacy, parent-child communication, educational and career success, and healthy life skills). P.L. 113-93 (the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014), which was enacted on April 1, 2014, extended PREP ($75 million per year) through FY2015 (i.e., September 30, 2015). P.L. 114-10 (the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015) extended PREP ($75 million per year) through FY2017 (i.e., September 30, 2017). The Title V Abstinence Education Block Grant to states was authorized under P.L. 104-193 (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996). The Title V Abstinence Education program is a formula grant program, specifically for abstinence-only education, funded by mandatory spending. The program's funding expired on June 30, 2009, but P.L. 111-148 reauthorized the program and restored funding at the previous annual level of $50 million for each of FY2010-FY2014. P.L. 113-93 extended the Title V Abstinence Education block grant ($50 million per year) through FY2015. P.L. 114-10 increased the Title V Abstinence Education block grant to $75 million per year for FY2016 and FY2017. Several appropriation laws included an additional $5 million for competitive grants for abstinence-only education for each of FY2012, FY2013, FY2014, and FY2015 (P.L. 112-74, P.L. 113-6, P.L. 113-76, and P.L. 113-164/P.L. 113-235). P.L. 114-113 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016; enacted December 18, 2015) included funding of $10 million for competitive grants which exclusively implement education in sexual risk avoidance (defined as refraining from nonmarital sexual activity) for FY2016. Pursuant to P.L. 114-223 (the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act; enacted September 29, 2016), the competitive sexual risk avoidance grant program (also referred to as abstinence education) is funded for FY2017 at the FY2016 rate of $10 million (annually, prorated) minus an across-the-board reduction of 0.496%, through December 9, 2016, or enactment of applicable appropriations legislation. This report briefly examines some of the data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics on teenage childbearing, offers potential reasons for high teen pregnancy and birth rates, and provides basic information on federal programs whose purpose is primarily to delay sexual activity among teenagers and to reduce teen pregnancy. Appendix A provides a funding history of the teen pregnancy prevention programs discussed in this report.