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What is the..... Abstinence
Education Program?
The Abstinence Education Program is a statewide program that supports
community-based prevention programs to promote abstinence and decision
making for healthy life choices. The program includes a network of 12 local projects in
10 counties that provide abstinence education and youth
development activities such as drama and community service clubs in schools,
youth centers, group homes, and detention centers.
Why is this program
needed?
In 2005, Arizona’s birth rate of 56.5 per 1000 births for 15-19 year old
females was higher than the national rate, ranking
Arizona with the 4th highest birth rate among the states. Of the 95,798 births to females in
2005, 11,333 were to girls age 19 or younger and 42% of
the total births were to unmarried women. This is higher than the U.S.
average of 34.6%. In 2004, 84% of mothers 15-19 years of age were unmarried
in Arizona. Before 1998, there was no statewide coordinated effort to
decrease the number of out of wedlock pregnancies and births in Arizona.
Children born to teenage mothers have a lower probability of obtaining the
emotional and financial resources they need to develop into independent,
productive and well-adjusted adults. They are twice as likely to drop out of
high school, twice as likely to have a child themselves before age twenty
and more likely to be out of work and school in their late teens and early
twenties.
What are the goals
of the program?
The mission of the Abstinence Only Education Program is to promote
abstinence as a healthy choice and a positive lifestyle through
implementation of programs designed to educate about the
consequences of out of wedlock sexual activity including pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases. The program goals are: 1) to implement
programs for school aged children, and 2) to implement programs for parents,
teachers and youth workers.
What has the
program achieved?
Enrollment numbers
increased from 11,891 participants in 1998 to 32,741 in 2002. In FY2006, the
program reached 20,708 youth and 1,769 parents/adults and was provided at
219 schools and 3 after-school settings. The average age of participants is
13.9. Student satisfaction with the program remains high. Participants
report that due to the program they feel more knowledgeable about sexuality
and more in control of their behavior and decisions about sex. Health
reasons and personal value reasons to abstain showed the highest significant
increases at post test for both preteens and teens in 2006. Parents who
participated in a workshop expressed high satisfaction. The majority
indicated that they felt more comfortable talking to their child about
abstinence.
Need more information?
Dorothy
Hastings, Education Section Manager
150 North 18th Avenue, Suite 320
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Phone: (602) 364-1423
Fax: (602) 364-1496
Email: hastind@azdhs.gov
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