Located in:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
States that include TANF in the Combined State Plan must outline how the State will meet the requirements of section 402 of the Social Security Act including how it will:
e. Establish Goals and Take Action to Prevent and Reduce Out-of- Wedlock Pregnancies, with Special Emphasis on Teenage Pregnancies (section 402(a)(1)(a)(v) of the Social Security Act)
Current Narrative:
The Department of Human Resources partners with the Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama to competitively award grants to community and faith—based organizations for fatherhood programs across the state. These programs offer a myriad of services to all non—custodial parents, including parenting classes, with the over arching goal to strengthen families, to enhance child support collection and to address the multi—faceted needs of children growing up without the involvement of one or both parents in their lives.
The Department of Human Resources partners with the Alabama Department of Public Health which serves all women of child bearing age and the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (ACPTP) for pregnancy prevention efforts. The mission of the ACPTP is “Leading Alabama in embracing evidence informed sexual health education as critical to healthy youth development. Five key areas that guide the work of ACPTP are Knowledge, Resources, Skills, Policy and Partnerships. Information about those guiding principles and other information about the work of the Campaign can be found on the ACPTP website at www.acptp.org.
Our goal specifically targeting teen pregnancy is to maintain out of wedlock teen births to at least 5% below the national average as published by the National Center for Health Statistics. In regard to the overall issue of out of wedlock pregnancy prevention, as part of the JOBS Program client assessment the case manager provides discussion and information about the impact of additional children as it pertains to the goals of personal responsibility, parenting and family support. Through these discussions it is our goal to provide individuals with sufficient information and assistance to move families from welfare to work without additional pregnancies during receipt of assistance and until such time as the family is stable. These activities in conjunction with our fatherhood and healthy marriage initiatives provide the foundation for success in this area.