Budget Plan Includes $164-Millon to Prevent Pregnancy Among Teenagers

The Obama administration’s proposed 2010 budget includes $164-million to create a new program to prevent pregnancy among teenagers that would be administered largely by nonprofit groups.

Much of the money would be awarded to groups that can run programs based on evidence of what works best to prevent teenage pregnancy. In addition, money would be awarded for research and evaluation to further determine what works.

The program would be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Pregnancy-prevention advocates are campaigning Congress to approve the measure.

“During an economic downturn and at a time when the teen birth rate is on the rise after 14 straight years on the decline, it is particularly important that public dollars be devoted to those interventions that have evidence of success,” said Sarah Brown, chief executive of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington.