42 U.S.C. § 300z — Findings and purposes

(a) The Congress finds that — Congress listed 11 findings: (1) In 1978, an estimated 1.1 million teenagers became pregnant. More than 500,000 carried their babies to term, and over half of those babies were born out of wedlock. (2) Teens age 17 and younger made up more than half of all out-of-wedlock births to teenagers. (3) In many cases, the pregnant teen's own parent was also an unmarried teen parent, and the pattern is continuing. (4) About 80% of unmarried teens who carry a pregnancy to term live with their families before and during the pregnancy, and stay with their families after the birth. (5) Pregnancy and childbirth among unmarried teens, especially young teens, often causes severe harm: more pregnancy and birth complications; more low birth weight babies; higher infant death and illness rates; a greater chance the teen's marriage will end in divorce; a lower chance of finishing school; and higher risks of unemployment and welfare dependency. Because of this, education, training, and job search services matter for teen parents. (6)(A) Adoption is a positive option for unmarried pregnant teens who are unwilling or unable to raise their children, since it gives the child a permanent family among approved couples who cannot easily have or carry children of their own. (B) Right now, only about 4% of unmarried pregnant teens who carry to term choose adoption or arrange for relatives or friends to care for the baby. (7) A teen who becomes pregnant once is likely to become pregnant again, with increased risks. (8)(A) The problems of teen premarital sex, pregnancy, and parenthood are complex and often connected to other family troubles. (B) These problems are best addressed through a mix of integrated services from family members, religious and charitable organizations, voluntary associations, other private groups, and publicly sponsored programs. (9) A wide range of educational, health, and support services are either unavailable to teens with these problems and their families, or, when available, too fragmented to effectively discourage teen premarital sex and its consequences. (10)(A) Preventing teen sexual activity and pregnancy depends mainly on strong family values and close family ties, since the family is where teens form their attitudes about sexuality and pregnancy — so programs work best when they encourage and support the family's role. (B) Federal policy should therefore encourage developing appropriate health, educational, and social services where they are lacking or inadequate, and better coordinating existing services where they are available. (C) Federally encouraged services should promote parents getting involved with their teens, and should emphasize support from family members, religious and charitable organizations, voluntary associations, and other private groups to help families deal with these issues. (11)(A) There has been limited research on the societal causes and consequences of teen pregnancy. (B) There is limited knowledge about which interventions actually work to reduce or eliminate teen premarital sex and pregnancy. (C) It is necessary to expand this knowledge to develop approaches that work in both urban and rural settings. (b) Therefore, the purposes of this subchapter are — (1) To find effective ways, centered on the family, to reach teens before they become sexually active — maximizing the guidance and support they get from parents and family, and promoting self-discipline and other sensible approaches to teen premarital sex, including teen pregnancy. (2) To promote adoption as an alternative for teen parents. (3) To build innovative, comprehensive, and integrated approaches to caring for pregnant teens — with primary emphasis on unmarried teens age 17 and under — and for teen parents. These approaches should come from assessing existing programs and, where appropriate, better coordinating, integrating, and linking them, in order to (A) let pregnant teens get proper care and help them and teen parents become productive, independent contributors to family and community life, and (B) help families of teens understand and resolve the societal causes tied to teen pregnancy. (4) To encourage and support research and demonstration projects on the societal causes and consequences of teen premarital sex, contraceptive use, pregnancy, and child rearing. (5) To support evaluative research identifying effective services that reduce, eliminate, or resolve negative consequences of teen premarital sex and childbearing, for parents, the child, and their families. (6) To encourage and provide for sharing the results, findings, and information from programs and research projects on teen premarital sex, pregnancy, and parenthood.