SC Campaign Receives Grant to Increase Utilization and Access of Teen Clinics

Posted on 5/3/08

SC Campaign Receives Grant to Increase Utilization and Access of Teen Clinics

The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (SC Campaign) has recently been awarded a grant from the March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter, providing funding to increase utilization and access to teen reproductive health services in the state.

Funded at $45,000, the grant will support the SC Campaign in its efforts to improve the friendliness of five strategically selected teen reproductive health services in South Carolina. “One way to continue recent declines in teen pregnancy is to ensure that providers who serve our young people are highly skilled,” said Forrest Alton, Executive Director of the SC Campaign. With funding from the March of Dimes, the Campaign will work with staff of teen reproductive health services around the state to improve their comfort discussing contraception, reproductive health, and sexually transmitted and urinary tract infections with their teen clients. Through education and technical assistance from the SC Campaign, the staff of the selected sites will also report a significant increase in their ability to apply science based approaches to teen pregnancy prevention.

“We know abstinence is the first and best choice for our young people,” stated Alton. “We also know that more than 50% of South Carolina high school youth are sexually active. This project will allow us to meet the needs of these young people.”

For more information on the SC Campaign, visit www.teenpregnancysc.org.

About the South Carolina Campaign: The mission of the SC Campaign is to prevent adolescent pregnancy in South Carolina through education, technical assistance, public awareness, advocacy and research. To achieve its mission, the SC Campaign works with a variety of programs – public, private, school and community based – in each of the state’s 46 counties.

About the March of Dimes: Last year, the South Carolina Chapter of the March of Dimes invested more than $4.2 million in program services, including research grants and local community services. Through these grants, the March of Dimes is seeking ways to prevent birth defects and infant death, reduce South Carolina’s increasing premature birth rate, increase access to prenatal care and educate men and women about having healthy babies. To find out more about what the March of Dimes in South Carolina visit: marchofdimes.com/southcarolina.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.