II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1437 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out 

programs to provide youth in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant 

communities the information and skills needed to reduce teenage pregnancies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2011 

Mrs. BOXER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to carry out programs to provide youth in racial or 

ethnic minority or immigrant communities the information and skills needed to reduce teenage pregnancies. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Communities of Color 

5 Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Teenage pregnancy is one of the most crit2 ical issues facing the Nation today. The United 

3 States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of 

4 any developed nation, with nearly 750,000 teenage 

5 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 becoming preg6 nant each year, and 82 percent of those pregnancies 

7 unplanned. 

8 (2) For the first time in more than a decade, 

9 between 2005 and 2006, the teenage pregnancy rate 

10 in the United States rose 3 percent. The decrease in 

11 teenage pregnancy rates in the 1990s was over12 whelmingly the result of more and better use of con13 traceptives. 

14 (3) Nationally, teenage pregnancy has signifi15 cant fiscal implications, costing taxpayers at least 

16 $10,900,000,000 annually. 

17 (4) Communities of color are disproportionately 

18 affected by teenage pregnancy. Fifty-two percent of 

19 Latinas and 50 percent of African-American girls 

20 will become pregnant at least once before they turn 

21 20. In comparison, only 19 percent of non-Hispanic 

22 white teenage girls under the age of 20 become preg23 nant. 

24 (5) Between 2007 and 2009, the teen birth rate 

25 decreased for most communities of color, however 


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1 the birth rates for Hispanic, African-American, and 

2 Native American teenagers continue to be much 

3 higher than other racial and ethnic groups. 

4 (6) Research shows that starting a family too 

5 soon may have significant social, educational, and fi6 nancial impacts on the lives of young people. Less 

7 than half of teenage mothers finish high school and 

8 less than 2 percent go on to finish college, making 

9 it difficult to find and maintain a job. 

10 (7) Research also shows that teenage dating vi11 olence and abuse are serious public health problems 

12 and are associated with higher levels of teenage 

13 pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy. Adolescent 

14 girls in physically abusive relationships are 3 times 

15 more likely to become pregnant than non-abused 

16 girls. 

17 (8) Promoting and building healthy relation18 ships are fundamental to preventing teenage preg19 nancies and unplanned pregnancies. 

20 SEC. 3. PROGRAMS TO REDUCE TEENAGE PREGNANCIES. 

21 Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘PART W—PROGRAMS TO REDUCE TEENAGE 

2 PREGNANCIES 

3 ‘‘SEC. 399OO. PURPOSE. 

4 ‘‘It is the purpose of this part to develop and carry 

5 out research and demonstration projects on new and exist6 ing program interventions to provide youth in racial or 

7 ethnic minority or immigrant communities the information 

8 and skills needed to reduce teenage pregnancies, build 

9 healthy relationships, and improve overall health and well10 being. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–1. DEMONSTRATION GRANTS TO REDUCE 

12 TEENAGE PREGNANCIES. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award com14 petitive grants to eligible entities for establishing or ex15 panding programs to provide youth in racial or ethnic mi16 nority or immigrant communities the information and 

17 skills needed to avoid teen pregnancy and develop healthy 

18 relationships. 

19 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec20 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants— 

21 ‘‘(1) proposing to carry out programs in racial 

22 or ethnic minority or immigrant communities; 

23 ‘‘(2) that have a demonstrated history of effec24 tively working with such targeted communities; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) that have a demonstrated history of engag2 ing in a meaningful and significant partnership with 

3 such targeted communities. 

4 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM SETTINGS.—Funds received under 

5 this section shall be used to provide information and skills 

6 as described in subsection (a)— 

7 ‘‘(1) through classroom-based settings, such as 

8 school health education, humanities, language arts, 

9 or family and consumer science education; 

10 ‘‘(2) through after-school programs; 

11 ‘‘(3) through community-based programs; 

12 ‘‘(4) through workforce development programs; 

13 ‘‘(5) through health care settings; or 

14 ‘‘(6) in collaboration with systems that serve 

15 large numbers of at-risk youth, such as juvenile jus16 tice or foster care systems. 

17 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—As a condition of 

18 receipt of a grant under this section, an entity shall agree 

19 that, with respect to information and skills provided 

20 through the grant— 

21 ‘‘(1) such information and skills will be— 

22 ‘‘(A) age-appropriate; 

23 ‘‘(B) evidence-based or evidence-informed; 

24 ‘‘(C) provided in accordance with section 

25 399OO–5(b); and 


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1 ‘‘(D) culturally sensitive and relevant to 

2 the target populations; and 

3 ‘‘(2) any information about contraceptives shall 

4 include the health benefits and side effects of all 

5 contraceptives and barrier methods. 

6 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—Of the total amount made avail7 able to carry out this section for a fiscal year, the Sec8 retary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Dis9 ease Control and Prevention and other agencies as appro10 priate, shall allot up to 10 percent of such amount to carry 

11 out a rigorous, independent evaluation to determine the 

12 extent and the effectiveness of activities funded through 

13 this section in changing attitudes and behavior of teens 

14 with respect to healthy relationships and childbearing. 

15 ‘‘(f) GRANTS FOR INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIBAL ORGA16 NIZATIONS.—Of the total amount made available to carry 

17 out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall re18 serve 5 percent of such amount to award grants under 

19 this section to Indian tribes and tribal organizations in 

20 such manner, and subject to such requirements, as the 

21 Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribes and tribal or22 ganizations, determines appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(g) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

25 ‘eligible entity’ means a State, local, or tribal agenVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:27 Jul 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1437.IS S1437

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1 cy, a school or postsecondary institution, an after2 school program, a nonprofit organization, or a com3 munity or faith-based organization. 

4 ‘‘(2) PREVENTING EXCLUSION OF SMALLER

5 COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.—In carrying 

6 out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the 

7 amounts and requirements of grants provided under 

8 this section do not preclude receipt of such grants 

9 by community-based organizations with a dem10 onstrated history of effectively working with adoles11 cents in racial or ethnic minority or immigrant com12 munities or engaged in meaningful and significant 

13 partnership with the targeted community. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–2. MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGNS TO REDUCE 

15 TEENAGE PREGNANCIES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award com17 petitive grants to public or private entities to carry out 

18 multimedia campaigns to provide public education and in19 crease public awareness regarding teenage pregnancy and 

20 related social and emotional issues, such as violence pre21 vention. 

22 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec23 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants pro24 posing to carry out campaigns developed for racial or eth25 nic minority or immigrant communities. 


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1 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED.—As a condi2 tion of receipt of a grant under this section, an entity shall 

3 agree to use the grant to carry out multimedia campaigns 

4 described in subsection (a) that— 

5 ‘‘(1) at a minimum, provide information on— 

6 ‘‘(A) the prevention of teenage pregnancy; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) healthy relationship development; and 

9 ‘‘(2) may provide information on the prevention 

10 of dating violence. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–3. RESEARCH ON REDUCING TEENAGE PREG12 NANCIES AND TEEN DATING VIOLENCE AND 

13 IMPROVING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

15 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre16 vention, shall make grants to public and private entities 

17 to conduct, support, or coordinate research on teen preg18 nancy, dating violence, and healthy relationships among 

19 racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities that— 

20 ‘‘(1) improve data collection on— 

21 ‘‘(A) sexual and reproductive health, in22 cluding teenage pregnancies and births, among 

23 all minority communities and subpopulations in 

24 which such data are not collected, including 

25 American Indian and Alaska Native youth; 


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1 ‘‘(B) sexual behavior, sexual or reproduc2 tive coercion, and teenage contraceptive use 

3 patterns at the State level, as appropriate; and 

4 ‘‘(C) teenage pregnancies among youth in, 

5 and aging out of, foster care or juvenile justice 

6 systems and the underlying factors that lead to 

7 teenage pregnancy among youth in foster care 

8 or juvenile justice systems; and 

9 ‘‘(2) investigate— 

10 ‘‘(A) the variance in the rates of teenage 

11 pregnancy by— 

12 ‘‘(i) racial and ethnic group, including 

13 Hispanic, Asian, African-American, Pacific 

14 Islander, American Indian, and Alaskan 

15 Native; 

16 ‘‘(ii) socioeconomic status, taking into 

17 account income of the family and edu18 cation attainment; 

19 ‘‘(B) factors affecting young people’s risk 

20 of teenage pregnancy or dating abuse, including 

21 the physical and social environment, level of ac22 culturation, access to healthcare, aspirations for 

23 the future, and history of physical or sexual vio24 lence or abuse; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the role that violence and abuse play 

2 in teenage sex, pregnancy, and childbearing; 

3 ‘‘(D) strategies to address the dispropor4 tionate rates of teenage pregnancies and dating 

5 violence in racial or ethnic minority or immi6 grant communities; 

7 ‘‘(E) how effective interventions can be 

8 replicated or adapted in other settings to serve 

9 racial or ethnic minority or immigrant commu10 nities; and 

11 ‘‘(F) the effectiveness of media campaigns 

12 addressing healthy relationship development, 

13 dating violence prevention, and teenage preg14 nancy; or 

15 ‘‘(3) test research-based strategies for address16 ing high rates of unintended teenage pregnancy 

17 through programs that emphasize healthy relation18 ships and violence prevention. 

19 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this section, the 

20 Secretary shall give priority to research that incor21 porates— 

22 ‘‘(1) interdisciplinary approaches; 

23 ‘‘(2) a strong emphasis on community-based 

24 participatory research; or 

25 ‘‘(3) translational research. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–4. ADOLESCENT HEALTH WORK GROUP. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of the Communities of Color Teen4 age Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2011, the Secretary shall 

5 direct the Interagency Adolescent Health Work Group 

6 within the Office of Adolescent Health of the Department 

7 of Health and Human Services to include teen dating vio8 lence prevention and healthy teen relationship strategies 

9 in the work of such group, with a particular focus among 

10 racial or ethnic minority or immigrant communities, in 

11 consultation with the Interagency Working Group on Teen 

12 Dating Violence chaired by the Department of Justice. 

13 ‘‘(b) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

14 periodically submit to Congress a report containing— 

15 ‘‘(1) a review of the evidence-based programs 

16 identified by the Adolescent Health Work Group; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) a description of such programs that in19 clude teen dating violence and healthy teen relation20 ships as part of the strategy to prevent teen preg21 nancy. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–5. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—An entity seeking a grant 

24 under this part shall submit an application to the Sec25 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 


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1 agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary 

2 may require. 

3 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

4 may award a grant under this part only if the applicant 

5 involved agrees that information, activities, and services 

6 provided under the grant— 

7 ‘‘(1) will be evidence-based or evidence in8 formed; 

9 ‘‘(2) will be factually and medically accurate 

10 and complete; and 

11 ‘‘(3) in the case of a grant program directed to 

12 a particular population group, will be provided in an 

13 appropriate language and cultural context. 

14 ‘‘(c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the total amount made 

16 available to carry out this part for a fiscal year, the 

17 Secretary shall use 10 percent to provide, directly or 

18 through a competitive grant process, training and 

19 technical assistance to the grant recipients under 

20 this part, including by disseminating research and 

21 information regarding effective and promising prac22 tices, providing consultation and resources on a 

23 broad array of teenage and unintended pregnancy 

24 and violence prevention strategies, and developing 

25 resources and materials. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out this 

2 subsection, the Secretary shall collaborate with enti3 ties that have expertise in the prevention of teenage 

4 pregnancy, healthy relationship development, minor5 ity health and health disparities, and violence pre6 vention. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–6. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this part: 

9 ‘‘(1) MEDICALLY ACCURATE AND COMPLETE.— 

10 The term ‘medically accurate and complete’ means, 

11 with respect to information, activities, or services— 

12 ‘‘(A) verified or supported by the weight of 

13 research conducted in compliance with accepted 

14 scientific methods; and 

15 ‘‘(B)(i) published in peer-reviewed jour16 nals, where applicable; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) comprising information that leading 

18 professional organizations and agencies with 

19 relevant expertise in the field recognize as accu20 rate, objective, and complete. 

21 ‘‘(2) RACIAL OR ETHNIC MINORITY OR IMMI22 GRANT COMMUNITIES.—The term ‘racial or ethnic 

23 minority or immigrant communities’ means commu24 nities with a substantial number of residents who 


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1 are members of racial or ethnic minority groups or 

2 who are immigrants. 

3 ‘‘(3) REPRODUCTIVE COERCION.—The term ‘re4 productive coercion’ means, with respect to a person, 

5 coercive behavior that interferes with the ability of 

6 the person to control the reproductive decision7 making, such as intentionally exposing such person 

8 to sexually transmitted infections, in the case such 

9 person is a female, attempting to impregnate such 

10 person against her will, intentionally interfering with 

11 the person’s birth control, or threatening or acting 

12 violently if the person does not comply with the per13 petrator’s wishes regarding contraception or the de14 cision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy. 

15 ‘‘(4) YOUTH.—The term ‘youth’ means individ16 uals who are 11 to 19 years of age. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–7. REPORTS. 

18 ‘‘(a) REPORT ON THE USE OF FUNDS.—Not later 

19 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Commu20 nities of Color Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 

21 2011, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 

22 the use of funds provided under this part. 

23 ‘‘(b) REPORT ON THE IMPACT OF PROGRAMS.—Not 

24 later than March 1, 2016, the Secretary shall submit to 


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1 Congress a report on the impact that the programs under 

2 this part had on reducing teenage pregnancy. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 399OO–8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap5 propriated to carry out this part such sums as may be 

6 necessary for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

7 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated under 

8 subsection (a)— 

9 ‘‘(1) are authorized to remain available until ex10 pended; and 

11 ‘‘(2) are in addition to amounts otherwise made 

12 available for such purposes.’’. 

Æ 


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