With the enactment of health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), on March 23, 2010, the federal government created the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), the first-ever, dedicated funding stream for comprehensive sexuality education. However, the legislation also reauthorized the failed Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program, which originally expired on June 30, 2009. States now may choose to apply for comprehensive sexuality education funds, abstinence-only funds, or both. Initial grant application materials for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 funds were due on August 30, 2010. Of those states that applied for funds, 86% applied for PREP while 60% applied for Title V abstinence-only funding.

 

·         PREP totals $75 million per year in mandatory funding for a period of five years, 2010–2014 with just over $55 million dedicated to state grants. A minimum of $250,000 per year is allocated to each state.

·         Programs supported by PREP are required to provide information on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, with a substantial emphasis on both abstinence and contraceptive use. Programs must also address three of the following adulthood preparation topics: healthy relationships, adolescent development, financial literacy, educational and career success, and healthy life skills.

·         The grant requires no matching funds from states.

 

·         The Title V abstinence-only state-grant program totals $250 million over the next five years, 2010–2014.

·         While the guidance issued for the Fiscal Year 2010 funding announcement makes the program more flexible than it has been in previous years, funded programs must continue to teach abstinence to the exclusion of other topics and may in no way contradict the A–H federal definition for “abstinence education.”

·         The grant requires states to make a match of $3 for every $4 federal dollars received.

 

State Standings for FY2010 PREP and Title V Abstinence-Only Funds   ·         A total of 47 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories applied for Fiscal Year 2010 funds. Of those, 43 states, the District of Columbia, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Puerto Rico applied for PREP; and 30 states and Puerto Rico applied for the Title V abstinence-only program. Three states chose not to apply for either program—Hawaii, Indiana, and Nevada—however, both Hawaii and Nevada plan to apply for Fiscal Year 2011 PREP funds. ·         An overwhelming majority of states applied for the PREP funds, including states that have staunchly supported an abstinence-only-until-marriage approach in the past. ·         A total of 16 states, the District of Columbia, and the Federated States of Micronesia applied only for PREP funds—Alaska, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Federated States of Micronesia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—including two states that had previously accepted Title V abstinence-only funds in FY 2009, Illinois and Oklahoma. ·         Despite its increased flexibility, only seven states applied for Title V abstinence-only funds in FY 2010 who had previously rejected the funds in FY 2009: Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia. Among these states, all applied for PREP funds except for Minnesota and Virginia. In addition, Oregon applied to support a state-wide comprehensive sex education program.

    

State[1]	Applied for Title V Abstinence-Only		Applied for PREP
	FY09	FY10	FY10
Alabama	X	X	X
Alaska			X
Arizona	X	X	X
Arkansas	X	X	X
California			X
Colorado		X	X
Connecticut			X
Delaware			X
District of Columbia			X
Fed. States of Micronesia			X
Florida	X	X	X
Georgia	X	X	X
Hawaii	X
Idaho			X
Illinois	X		X
Indiana	X
Iowa			X
Kansas		X	X
Kentucky	X	X	X
Louisiana	X	X	X
Maine			X
Maryland	X	X	X
Massachusetts			X
Michigan	X	X	X
Minnesota		X
Mississippi	X	X	X
Missouri	X	X	X
Montana			X
Nebraska	X	X	X
Nevada	X
New Hampshire	X	X	X
New Jersey		X	X
New Mexico			X
New York		X	X
North Carolina	X	X	X
North Dakota	X	X
Ohio			X
Oklahoma	X		X
Oregon	X	X	X
Pennsylvania	X	X	X
Puerto Rico	X	X	X
Rhode Island			X
South Carolina	X	X	X
South Dakota	X	X	X
Tennessee		X	X
Texas	X	X
Utah	X	X	X
Vermont			X
Virginia		X
Washington			X
West Virginia	X	X	X
Wisconsin			X
Wyoming			X