Missouri’s Federal Abstinence Education Program

Adolescent Health

Background
In 1996, the U.S. Congress established an abstinence education program as part of the welfare reform legislation (Public Law 104-193, Section 510).  The law provides for a mandatory annual appropriation of $50 million for each of the fiscal years 1998-2002.  The U.S. Congress passed a series of continuing resolutions for State Section 510 abstinence education grants from 2003-2005.  Grants are awarded to states based on a statutory formula determined by the proportion of low-income children in a state to the total number of low-income children in all states.  In fiscal year 2007, Missouri’s total annual grant award was $885,593.  The President has signed legislation to extend funding of abstinence education activities authorized under Title V, Section 510 of the Social Security Act.  Continuation of the program is contingent upon U.S. Congressional reauthorization or subsequent extensions of the legislation.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) administers the State Abstinence Education Program.  At the federal level, Section 510 State Abstinence Education and Community-Based Abstinence Education programs are administered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Family and Youth Services Bureau.

For more information about the Section 510 State Abstinence Education Program and the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) Program, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb/content/abstinence/index.htm

Definition of Abstinence Education

In Section 510, abstinence education is defined as “an educational or motivational program which:

1. Has as its exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity;
2. Teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school age children;
3. 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;
4. Teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity;
5. Teaches that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects;
6. Teaches that bearing children out-of-wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child’s parents, and society;
7. Teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increases vulnerability to sexual advances; and
8. Teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.”

Missouri’s Program

Missouri’s program directly supports abstinence education to delay sexual activity until marriage and to decrease out-of-wedlock pregnancy and frequency of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents.  The DHSS believes that parents, local schools, communities, and faith-based organizations must play an active role in supporting and promoting abstinence education. 

The Missouri DHSS administers the program through contracts with schools, local health agencies, and community and faith-based organizations to provide abstinence education.  Programs include curriculum-based abstinence-only education programs, youth development programs, and parent-adolescent sexuality education programs.