Shaheen Bypasses GOP-Controlled Executive Council and Delivers Support to New Hampshire Sexual Education Providers
(Washington, DC)—Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) applauded federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headed directly to TLC Family Resource Center and Amoskeag Health in Claremont to support evidence-based sexual education programming in New Hampshire.
“The Republican Executive Council’s decision to cut long-standing federal funding has severely impacted Granite Staters’ access to valuable, evidence-based sex education information for our most vulnerable youth,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m thrilled that HHS heeded my call to directly fund these critical programs at TLC Family Resource Center and Amoskeag Health, which will enable Granite State youth to access essential and routine health care services.”
These funds have been allocated directly to providers through the HHS State Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). Previously, New Hampshire had received this routine funding for nearly a decade to support these programs, but last year the GOP-controlled Executive Council blocked the funds from being delivered to providers. Senator Shaheen was instrumental in delivering the funding directly to providers by finding a way to bypass the Executive Council’s blockade.
“I am grateful for the hard work of Senator Jeanne Shaheen for her help in securing this funding. TLC Family Resource Center and Amoskeag Health will now be able to provide this critical, evidenced-based sex education for our state’s most vulnerable teenagers. I’m proud to have worked with Senator Shaheen to have sounded the alarm on the defunding of these programs earlier this year and to get to this point today,” said Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington.
"TLC Family Resource Center is extremely grateful to Senator Shaheen for advocating for funding to continue the Personal Responsibility Education Program in Sullivan County. With these funds, TLC will provide over 90 youth and their families with the information and education needed to make healthy decisions and prevent teen pregnancy. We are thrilled to be able to partner with local schools, youth serving organizations, and families to bring this important program back to our community,” said Stephanie Slayton, Executive Director, TLC Family Resource Center.
“Amoskeag Health is excited to get back to providing the Personal Responsibility Education Program in Manchester and we are planning to have 200 high school students come through the program in the next year. We are appreciative of Senator Shaheen's advocacy in bringing the funding for this important and effective program back to New Hampshire,” said Betsy Burtis, M.Ed., Chief Officer for Integrated Health Services, Amoskeag Health.
Last December, Shaheen led the New Hampshire congressional delegation in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the Department to fill the gap in funding to support programs operated by TLC Family Resource Center and Amoskeag Health, both of which were on the brink of ending given the Executive Council’s disastrous, politicized decision to deny them funding. Shaheen worked to secure funding from HHS PREP to fill the gap in funding to support evidence-based sex education programs and bring back this critical program to New Hampshire communities. As a result of this push, Shaheen and Democratic Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, a staunch supporter for sex education funding, also wrote an op-ed in the Union Leader noting that teen pregnancies and STD’s would increase without funding for evidence-based sex education programming that has supported Granite State communities for a decade. In August, Shaheen and Warmington visited the TLC Family Resource Center in Claremont, where they heard from staff from the TLC Resource Center and Amoskeag Health about the impact that the loss in federal funding—funding that had been routine for the last decade—has had on high-risk youth in the region.
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