Readout of DAS Marcella visit to Teen Pregnancy Prevention programs

On June 14 and 15, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DAS) and Director of the HHS Office of Population Affairs and HHS Office of Adolescent Health Jessica Swafford Marcella visited New York City to meet with the staff of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) and the Fund for Public Health in New York.  Both PPGNY and the Fund for Public Health in New York are HHS-funded Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program grantees.

PPGNY program leadership emphasized to DAS Marcella the importance of expanding access to high-quality programs to improve outcomes for adolescents. PPGNY implements two TPP grant programs. Project STIQ (Supporting Teens in Queens to Promote Sexual Health) connects teens to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health care and other supportive and positive youth development services. Project SHINE provides innovative teen pregnancy prevention programs to young people aged 16-24 with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, their families, and the professionals who support them.

At the Fund for Public Health in New York, program leadership told DAS Marcella about the importance of expanding access to high-quality programs to improve outcomes for adolescents. The grantee operates a program called “Expansion of New York City Teens Connection to Support Teen Pregnancy Prevention (NYCTC)”, a citywide teen pregnancy prevention program of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). The NYCTC Expansion provides services to reach youth in historically underserved neighborhoods and increases access to high-quality and teen-friendly comprehensive healthcare for young people at considerable risk of teen pregnancy.

These site visits build on the Biden-Harris administration’s longstanding commitment to supporting affordable and high-quality adolescent health services. Since it began in 2010, the TPP program has served more than 1.4 million young people.

During the site visits, Director Marcella thanked the program staff and said, “HHS appreciates your   continued dedication, flexibility, and commitment to providing adolescent health services to young people in New York City during these challenging times.”