Department of Health & Human Services

Office of the Secretary

Assistant Secretary for Health
Office of Public Health and Science
Office of Population Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20201

Date: February 24, 1998

From: Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs

Subject: OPA Program Instruction Series, OPA 98-1:
Certifications for Encouraging Family Participation and
Counseling to Minors on How to Resist Coercive Attempts
to Engage In Sexual Activities

To: Regional Health Administrators, Regions I-X

The fiscal year 1998 appropriations bill for the Departments of
Labor/HHS and Education (P.L. 105-78) contains language governing
the use of Title X funds. Specifically, the language states:

"None of the funds appropriated in the Act may be made available
to any entity under Title X of the Public Health Service Act unless
the applicant for the award certifies to the Secretary that it
encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek
family planning services and that it provides counseling to minors
on how to resist attempts to coerce minors into engaging in
sexual activities."

To implement this requirement, each Title X grantee is required to have
on file with the Office of Grants Management, an updated Title X
Certification of Compliance certifying that the grantee: (1) encourages
family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning
services, and (2) provides counseling to minors on how to resist coercive
attempts to engage in sexual activities. Attached for your information is
a copy of the revised certification. The Office of Grants Management will
contact each Title X grantee to obtain the necessary signatures. Compliance
with the signed certification will continue to be an item reviewed by
regional office staff as part of ongoing program oversight activities
and during periodic on-site program reviews.

Clinic staff should be made aware of the new certification requirement.
Toward that end, we encourage sharing of this memorandum with delegate
agencies and service providers. We would also like to take this
opportunity to encourage grantees to review existing policies to
assure that service, counseling and outreach provisions reflect the
concerns contained in the appropriations language. As is always the
case, it is important that client records include documentation of all
counseling and information provided. We also encourage grantees to
assure that appropriate training is available, including utilization
of training available through the Title X training grantees, as need be.

If you have any questions, please contact Sam Taylor, Acting Director
of the Office of Family Planning at (301) 594-4008.

/s/
Thomas C. Kring
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Population Affairs

Attachment

cc: Regional Program Consultants
Regions I-X