HHS awards $27 million for the support of pregnant and parenting teens and women

Affordable Care Act programs a key aspect of administration’s common ground agenda

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded $27 million to support pregnant and parenting teens and women in states and tribes across the country. Of the funds, $24 million was awarded to 17 states and tribes through the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, created by the Affordable Care Act. Another $3 million in Affordable Care Act funds was awarded to 13 tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations through the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program.

“These programs provide states and tribes much needed assistance to support vulnerable teens and women who are pregnant and parenting,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “With this funding, states will link these families to health, education, child care, and other supports that can help brighten the futures of parents and their children.”

Created by the Affordable Care Act, the Pregnancy Assistance Fund is a competitive grant program which helps states and tribes support pregnant and parenting teens and women. The grants help fund a seamless network of supportive services to help pregnant and parenting teens and women complete high school or postsecondary degrees and gain access to health care, child care, family housing, and other critical support. In addition, states are encouraged to use the funds to address violence against pregnant and parenting women.

The Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program will help tribes develop and implement high-quality, culturally-relevant, evidence-based home visiting programs in at-risk tribal communities. Home visiting services provided under this grant will help to assure effective coordination and delivery of critical health, development, early learning, child abuse and neglect prevention, and family support services to these children and families in tribal communities through home visiting programs.

These programs affirm President Obama’s statement in his speech at Notre Dame that we must begin “reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoptions more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term.”