SC cuts funding for teen pregnancy prevention

The state agency that oversees Medicaid in South Carolina says it’s eliminating a program aimed at preventing teen pregnancy. State Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Jeff Stensland said Friday the program will end by January. The Post and Courier in Charleston reports the move comes in response to the three percent budget cuts each agency was ordered to make.

AP
Published: September 27, 2008
Updated: September 28, 2008

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The state agency that oversees Medicaid in South Carolina says it’s eliminating a program aimed at preventing teen pregnancy. State Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Jeff
Stensland said Friday the program will end by January. The Post and Courier in Charleston reports the move comes in response to the three percent budget cuts each agency was ordered to make.

South Carolina’s teen pregnancy rates are on the rise, after a decade of decline. The latest data shows more than 10,000 girls ages 10 to 19 got pregnant in South Carolina in 2006. Stensland said the $400,000 program targeted girls ages 10 to 19 considered at risk of getting pregnant. The money went to 40 providers statewide. He said the agency is concerned about the program’s effectiveness.