1.This Act may be cited as the
Communities of Color Teenage Pregnancy
Prevention Act of 2010
.
2.It is the purpose of this Act to develop and
carry out research and demonstration projects on new and existing program
interventions to provide youth in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant
communities the information and skills needed to reduce teenage pregnancies,
build healthy relationships, and improve overall health and well-being.
3.The Congress finds the following:
(1)Teenage pregnancy
is one of the most critical issues facing the Nation today. The United States
has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of any developed nation, with nearly
750,000 teenage girls (ages 15 to 19) becoming pregnant each year, and 80
percent of those pregnancies unplanned.
(2)Nationally,
teenage pregnancy has significant fiscal implications, costing taxpayers at
least $9,100,000,000 annually.
(3)Communities of
color disproportionately suffer from teenage pregnancy. Fifty-two percent of
Latinas and 50 percent of African-American girls will become pregnant at least
once before they turn 20. In comparison, only 19 percent of non-Hispanic white
teenage girls under the age of 20 become pregnant.
(4)Between 2005 and
2006, the teen pregnancy rate increased for every racial/ethnic subgroup.
Hispanic teens continue to have the highest rates of both teen pregnancy and
birth.
(5)Research shows
that starting a family too soon may have significant social, educational, and
financial impacts on the lives of young people. Less than half of teenage
mothers finish high school and less than 2 percent go on to finish college,
making it difficult to find and maintain a job.
(6)New research shows
that teenage dating violence and abuse are serious public health problems and
are associated with higher levels of teenage pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy.
Studies show that 1 in 5 teenage girls in the United States report having
experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence.
(7)Promoting and
building healthy relationships are fundamental to prevent teenage pregnancies
and unplanned pregnancies.
4.Demonstration
grants to reduce teenage pregnancies
(a)The Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible
entities for new and existing program interventions to provide youth in racial
or ethnic minority or immigrant communities the information and skills needed
to reduce teenage pregnancies and develop healthy relationships.
(b)In
awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to
applicants proposing to carry out projects in racial or ethnic minority or
immigrant communities.
(c)Funds received under this section may be used to provide
information and skills as described in subsection (a)—
(1)through
classroom-based settings, such as school health education or family and
consumer science education; after-school programs; community-based programs;
workforce development programs; and health clinics; or
(2)in collaboration
with systems that serve large numbers of at-risk youth such as juvenile justice
or foster care systems.
(d)As a condition on receipt of a grant under this
section, an entity shall agree that information and skills provided through the
grant will be—
(1)age-appropriate;
(2)evidence-based;
(3)provided in
accordance with section 7(b); and
(4)culturally
sensitive and relevant to the target population
(e)Of
the total amount made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year,
the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, shall use 10 percent of such amount to carry out a rigorous,
independent evaluation to determine the extent and the effectiveness of
activities funded through this section in changing attitudes and
behavior.
(f)In
this section, the term eligible entity means a State, local, or
tribal agency; a school or postsecondary institution; an after-school program;
a nonprofit coalition; a community or faith-based organization; or any other
entity determined appropriate by the Secretary.
5.Multimedia
campaigns to reduce teenage pregnancies
(a)The Secretary shall award competitive grants to carry out
multimedia campaigns to provide public education and increase public awareness
regarding teenage pregnancy and related social and emotional issues.
(b)In
awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to
applicants proposing to carry out campaigns developed for racial or ethnic
minority or immigrant communities.
(c)Information To
be providedAs a condition on receipt of a grant under this
section, an entity shall agree to use the grant to carry out multimedia
campaigns described in subsection (a) that—
(1)at a minimum,
shall provide information on—
(A)the prevention of
teenage pregnancy; and
(B)healthy
relationship development; and
(2)may provide
information on the prevention of dating violence.
6.Research on
reducing teenage pregnancies
(a)The
purpose of this section is to provide for the conduct, support, or coordination
of research among culturally and linguistically specific communities, including
projects that—
(1)examine factors
that contribute to disproportionately high rates of teenage and unintended
pregnancy or sexual abuse in such communities;
(2)explore
research-based strategies for addressing high rates of teenage pregnancy and
unintended pregnancies through programs that emphasize healthy relationships;
and
(3)study the role
which violence and abuse play in the decisions made by young people about
relationships, sex, pregnancy, and childbearing.
(b)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, shall make grants to public and private
entities to conduct, support, or coordinate research that—
(1)investigates the
incidence and prevalence of teenage pregnancy and births in racial and ethnic
minority or immigrant communities;
(2)examines—
(A)the relationships
between teenage pregnancy or dating abuse and one or more of—
(i)the
mental and physical health and well-being of teenagers in such
communities;
(ii)the
scholastic achievement of such teenagers, including with respect to school
completion;
(iii)family
communication; and
(iv)exposure to
violence, sexual abuse, pregnancy coercion, and birth control sabotage;
(B)effective
interventions to reduce pregnancy coercion and birth control sabotage;
(C)the variance in
the rates of teenage pregnancy by—
(i)location (such as
inner cities, inner suburbs, outer suburbs, and rural areas);
(ii)population
subgroup (such as Hispanic, Asian, African-American, Pacific Islander, American
Indian, and Alaskan Native);
(iii)level of
acculturation; or
(iv)socioeconomic
status (such as income, educational attainment of the parents of the teenager,
and school attendance of the teenager);
(D)the importance of
the physical and social environment as a factor in placing communities at risk
of increased rates of teenage pregnancy or dating violence abuse; and
(E)the importance of
aspirations and motivations as factors affecting young people’s risk of teenage
pregnancy or dating abuse;
(3)improves data
collection on—
(A)sexual and
reproductive health, including teenage pregnancies and births, among all
minority communities and subpopulations, with an emphasis on American Indian
and Alaska Native youth;
(B)sexual behavior,
sexual or reproductive coercion, birth control sabotage, and teenage
contraceptive use patterns at the State level; or
(C)teenage
pregnancies among youth in and aging out of foster care or juvenile justice
systems;
(4)examines
underlying factors that lead to teenage pregnancy among youth in foster care or
juvenile justice systems;
(5)identifies
strategies to address the disproportionate rates of teenage and unintended
pregnancies and dating violence in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant
communities;
(6)examines the
effectiveness of media campaigns addressing healthy relationship development,
dating violence prevention, and teenage pregnancy; or
(7)examines how
effective interventions can be replicated or adapted in other settings to serve
racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities.
(c)In
carrying out this section, the Secretary shall give priority to research that
incorporates—
(1)interdisciplinary
approaches; or
(2)a
strong emphasis on community-based participatory research.
7.
(a)To
seek a grant under this Act, an entity shall submit an application to the
Secretary in such form, in such manner, and containing such agreements,
assurances, and information as the Secretary may require.
(b)A grant may be made under this Act only if the
applicant involved agrees that information, activities, and services under the
grant—
(1)will be
evidence-based;
(2)will be factually
and medically accurate and complete; and
(3)if directed to a
particular population group, will be provided in an appropriate language and
cultural context.
(c)Training and
technical assistance
(1)Of the total amount made available to carry out this Act
for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall use 10 percent to provide, directly or
through a competitive grant process, training and technical assistance to the
grant recipients under this section, including by disseminating research and
information regarding effective and promising practices, providing consultation
and resources on a broad array of teenage and unintended pregnancy and violence
prevention strategies, and developing resources and materials.
(2)In
carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall collaborate with a variety of
entities that have expertise in the prevention of teenage pregnancy, healthy
relationship development, and violence prevention.
8.In this Act:
(1)Medically
accurate and completeThe
term medically accurate and complete means verified or supported
by the weight of research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific
methods and—
(A)published in
peer-reviewed journals, where applicable; or
(B)comprising
information that leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant
expertise in the field recognize as accurate, objective, and complete.
(2)Racial or ethnic
minority or immigrant communitiesThe term racial or ethnic
minority or immigrant communities means communities with a substantial
number of residents who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups or who
are immigrants.
(3)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human
Services.
(4)The
term youth means individuals who are 11 to 19 years of age.
9.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated—
(1)to carry out
section 4, $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015;
(2)to carry out
section 5, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015; and
(3)to carry out
section 6, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.