Current Status Bill Number:4034 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19950412 Primary Sponsor:Shissias, All Sponsors:Shissias, Meacham, J. Harris, Cromer, Cobb-Hunter, Inabinett, Seithel, Neilson, Cato, Lloyd, Wofford, Sharpe, Simrill, Allison, A. Young, Govan, Stuart, Neal, Moody-Lawrence, Rice, McElveen, Beatty, Littlejohn, Harrison, Harrell, Wells and Cave Drafted Document Number:br1\18303ac.95 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee 27 H3M Subject:Adolescent pregnancy prevention
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
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House 19950412 Introduced, read first time, 27 H3M
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND TITLE 44, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 122 SO AS TO DIRECT THE SOUTH CAROLINA HUMAN SERVICES COORDINATING COUNCIL TO DEVELOP AND COORDINATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY-BASED ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY PREVENTION PROGRAMS THROUGH FUNDING AVAILABLE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR LOCAL PROJECTS AND SELECTION PROCEDURES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 44-122-10. (A) The South Carolina Human Services Coordinating Council shall develop and coordinate the implementation of community-based programs and projects relating to the problem of adolescent pregnancy in order to most effectively reduce the numbers of adolescent pregnancies.
(B) Before funds are allocated for adolescent pregnancy prevention projects, the council shall review the recommendations of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Committee, as established in Section 44-122-20, and shall recommend funding priorities to the Department of Health and Human Services. The council also shall advise the General Assembly on issues relating to the problem of adolescent pregnancy in this State.
Section 44-122-20. There is established the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Committee to be appointed by the Human Services Coordinating Council. Committee membership must be made up of council members and also must include representatives from:
(1) South Carolina Council on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention;
(2) South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics;
(3) United Way of South Carolina;
(4) March of Dimes;
(5) Alliance for South Carolina's Children;
(6) corporate community;
(7) religious community;
(8) two high school students;
(9) media;
(10) a school guidance counselor;
(11) the South Carolina Obstetrics and Gynecology Society.
Members shall serve terms of four years except student members shall serve terms of two years.
Section 44-122-30. (A) The South Carolina Human Services Coordinating Council shall establish and administer a program to distribute funds appropriated for adolescent pregnancy prevention projects and shall adopt rules necessary to implement the program. Projects must be undertaken as pilot projects to serve as successful models for replication in rural and urban areas of the State where there are statistically high incidences of adolescent pregnancy, premature births, and infant mortality.
(B) The council shall evaluate adolescent pregnancy projects funded as a result of this program at least yearly and shall report its findings to the General Assembly, the State Budget and Control Board, and the Governor's Office. The evaluation of these projects shall include a study of the effectiveness of the project in reducing the pregnancy rate within the target populations.
Section 44-122-40. The Department of Health and Human Services shall fund the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program projects. The Human Services Coordinating Council annually shall conduct a proposal-writing session that must be attended by a representative of an agency or organization that wishes to apply for funding, and the session shall define the criteria for accountability and evaluation that the department requires of projects. The session also shall provide information about additional funding sources to which an agency or organization might turn to satisfy the matching requirement for funding, as provided for in Section 44-122-50(E).
Section 44-122-50. (A) A local agency or organization or combination of agencies and organizations may apply to the department for an allocation of funds to operate adolescent pregnancy preventive projects. The application shall contain an analysis of adolescent pregnancy and related problems in the locality the project would serve and a description of how the project would attempt, over a period of at least five years, to prevent the problems. The application also shall contain a project budget.
(B) Projects applying for first-year funding shall:
(1) have a plan of action that extends for at least five years for prevention of adolescent pregnancy;
(2) have realistic, specific, and measurable goals and objectives for the prevention of adolescent pregnancy;
(3) before submitting its proposal, send a representative to the proposal-writing session held by the council;
(4) have an emphasis on abstinence when possible and must be based on strategies with proven success rates, and use materials that are factually and scientifically correct.
(C) Each project shall:
(a) have a board of advisors composed of members from outside the sponsoring agency of the project. The board of advisors shall include representatives from the medical community, the educational field, and one student who must be a junior in high school and who must serve two years. The board also shall include representatives of the media, government, charitable organizations, and private business. The board of advisors shall meet at least quarterly and advise project staff on project policies and operations;
(b) comply with reporting, contracting, and evaluation requirements of the department;
(c) define and maintain cooperative ties with other community institutions;
(d) demonstrate its ability to attract financial support from sources other than the State including sources in the local community;
(D) These criteria must be applied in selecting projects for first year funding:
(1) adequacy of proposed resources to meet project objectives;
(2) appropriateness of project strategies to reduce adolescent pregnancy with a primary focus of preventing the onset of early sexual activity;
(3) level of community support, including endorsement from the appropriate local governmental entity and documentation from the appropriate local governmental entity and from community organizations that citizens were given the opportunity to provide input into the proposed program and that there is community support for the proposal. Documentation may include letters or statements of support from citizens or community organizations or statements that community support was expressed at public hearings. A public hearing is not required by this item;
(4) degree of need of the locality, including that the county has a significant adolescent pregnancy problem;
(5) clear demonstration of how the project will coordinate, collaborate, and utilize the resources of other community entities that have an interest in positive youth development and adolescent risk behavior reduction.
(E) If a project that has been selected for first-year funding continues to meet the requirements of subsections (B) and (C), funding for that project shall continue, to the extent of available money, for an additional four years. The level of funding provided by the council to approved projects must be set according to this schedule:
(1) first year, eighty percent of the project's annual budget not to exceed the maximum award established by the department;
(2) second year, ninety percent of the state funds awarded in the first year;
(3) third year, seventy-five percent of the state funds awarded in the first year;
(4) fourth year, sixty-five percent of the state funds awarded in the first year;
(5) fifth year, fifty percent of the state funds awarded in the first year.
The portion of a project's budget that must come from sources other than the State may be provided as in-kind contributions as well as cash.
(F) No project shall receive state funding if it has received state funding for five full years previously. A project that has received state funding before July 1, 1995, is eligible for consideration for an additional five years' state support but the project must meet the same requirements as other applicants and must be treated as other applicants in the selection process.
(G) The council shall determine the maximum annual amount that may be awarded to any one project.
(H) As adolescent pregnancy prevention project grant funds decrease, a project shall maintain its original budget level, less the amount expended for start-up costs. The council shall develop guidelines for determining start-up costs, and these guidelines must be uniform for all projects. Local match percentage may come from any in-kind source or newly generated funds, public or private, available to the project.
(I) Project selection must be based solely on the merits of the proposals submitted to the council."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.