Fact Sheet: Community-Based Abstinence Education Program

History and Purpose

The Community-Based Abstinence Education Program supports public and private entities in developing and implementing abstinence education programs for adolescents, ages 12 through 18, in communities across the country. Projects funded by the program must promote abstinence education as defined by Section 510 of Title V of the Social Security Act.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides funds for community-based abstinence educational interventions designed to reduce the proportion of adolescents who have engaged in premarital sexual activity, including but not limited to sexual intercourse, the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies among adolescents, and the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents.

The funding for the Community-Based Abstinence Education Program was appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the FY 2005 appropriations bill. Originally administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau since 2001, the Community-Based Abstinence Education Program was redelegated by the Secretary in February 2005 to the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB).

The mission of the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) is to provide national leadership on youth and family issues. The Bureau promotes positive outcomes for children, youth, and families by supporting a wide range of comprehensive services and collaborations at the local, Tribal, State, and national levels.

Services Provided

Curricula developed or selected for use in the Community-Based Abstinence Education Program must address all eight elements of the Section 510 abstinence education definition. Abstinence education is defined as “an educational or motivational program which:

(A) Has as its exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity;

(B) Teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school age children;

(C) Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems;

(D) Teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity;

(E) Teaches that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects;

(F) Teaches that bearing children out-of-wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child's parents, and society;

(G) Teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increases vulnerability to sexual advances; and

(H) Teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.''

Specific objectives for the Community-Based Abstinence Education Program are to: (1) support programmatic efforts that foster the development of abstinence education for adolescents, ages 12 through 18, in communities across the country; (2) develop and implement abstinence programs that target the prevention of teenage pregnancy and premature sexual activity; (3) develop abstinence education approaches that are culturally sensitive and age-appropriate to meet the needs of a diverse audience of adolescents; and (4) implement curriculum-based community education programs that promote abstinence education and positive youth development to adolescents.

Program Funding Process

Any public or private entity, including a nonprofit or faith-based organization, is eligible to apply for funding through the Community-Based Abstinence Education Program. Projects must be community-based and must involve an educational intervention.

Funds were distributed in the form of 3-year implementation grants through FY 2006. Starting in FY 2007, the project period for grants has been extended to 5 years. There is no match requirement for these grants. In FY 2007, 167 grantees received funding totaling $92.8 million.

For More Information

For further information about FYSB's Community-Based Abstinence Education Program, contact the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, P.O. Box 13505, Silver Spring, MD 20911-3505; (301) 608-8098; fax: (301) 608-8721; e-mail: ncfy@acf.hhs.gov; Web site: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov.