Narrative: e.

Minnesota’s female population age 15–44 in 2013 is estimated at 1,049,636. Of the total resident births (69,183), 46,420 were to married women, 22,739 were to women who were not married and 24 were unknowns. Thus, the out–of–wedlock birth rate in Minnesota for 2013 is 21.7/1000 for women ages 15 to 44. The out–of–wedlock birth rate in Minnesota for 2012 was 21.6/1000 and for 2011 it was 21.3/1000. While the out–of–wedlock birth rate for Minnesota has remained relatively stable over the last several years, Minnesota still continues to face significant challenges in trying to lower our out–of–wedlock birth rate. To address the issue, Minnesota has focused significant attention on reducing unintended pregnancies, particularly those occurring to teens and young adults who are less likely to be married or prepared to care for a child. While Minnesota’s teen pregnancy rate compares well to national rates, it masks significant and persistent racial and ethnic disparities. African American and American Indian youth are three to four times more likely to have a child when they are a teen then is a white youth. In an effort to address these disparities, the Minnesota legislature provided the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) with $2 million annually in TANF funds that support non–profit and government agencies in reducing the disparities in teen pregnancy rates between Minnesota’s white population and Minnesota’s racial, ethnic and American Indian communities. The Department of Health also receives up to $505,743 annually in federal abstinence funds to support evidenced–based efforts to delay sexual activity in youth. Minnesota’s program is a coordinated countywide approach in Ramsey County focusing on adolescents 14 and under, reaching them before they start engaging in sexual activity. The Health Teen Imitative has three components: direct service to youth in schools through Teen Outreach Program Clubs; reaching out to parents in the community through It’s That Easy: Guide to Raising Sexually Healthy Children Parent Education Training; and Making Authentic Connections, a way of making authentic connections and relationships with youth in the community. The Department of Health was recently re–awarded a federal Personal Responsibility Education Program grant which targets young people of color and American Indian youth, youth in foster care or ageing out of foster care, youth in juvenile detention or on probation, youth in Alternative Learning Centers, homeless or runaway youth and LGBT youth. This initiative’s goal is to support high–risk adolescents to successfully transition from youth to adulthood. The Minnesota Department of Health also administers programs directed at increasing access to family planning services for low–income Minnesotans and those at high risk for unintended pregnancies. The State legislature funds Minnesota’s Family Planning Special Projects (FPSP), a grant program that made available $10,706,000 (including $2,312,000) to community family planning clinics across the state in the current two–year grant cycle. In state fiscal 2013, FPSP provided family planning services to 30,489 women and 2,475 men who were low income and at risk for unintended pregnancy. Twenty nine 29 percent of the people receiving services were under the age of 19. To assist Minnesotans in accessing subsidized family planning services, the Department also funds a 1–800 family planning hotline. Minnesota receives $3.1 million in a federal Title X funds to augment this work (through Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota and Ramsey Public Health). Access to subsidized family planning services has also been increased through The Minnesota Family Planning Program, the name for Minnesota’s 1115 family planning waiver, which covers those age 15 to 50 who are not eligible for Medicaid and have incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and are U.S. citizens or eligible non–citizens qualified to participate in federally funded programs. For state fiscal year 2013, the Minnesota Family Planning Program served about 35,000 people, with a monthly average enrollment of about 20,000. Reimbursement for family planning services under this program was nearly $14.9 million. Other state efforts that support reducing unintended pregnancies include The Family Home Visiting Program administered by the Minnesota Department of Health. Approximately $8 million in federal TANF funds are directed to the Family Home Visiting Program, which provides funding to all of Minnesota’s local public health agencies and to nine of the 11 tribal governments to serve families at or below 200 percent of poverty. The goal of the program is to: • prevent child abuse and neglect, • reduce juvenile delinquency, • promote positive parenting and resiliency in children ;and • promote family health and economic self–sufficiency. The program also focuses on providing family supports that would reduce the risk of teen pregnancies. To work even more closely with pregnant or parenting teens to delay subsequent pregnancies, Minnesota has received an additional $8.5 million in federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program funds that augment the state’s TANF–funded home visiting efforts.