Moving Forward Together
Adolescent Health: Moving Forward Together
By Dr. Rachel L. Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
I am so pleased to greet you in my new role as the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As a longtime member and Fellow of SAHM, I am eager to work with all of you to build a healthier future for America’s adolescents.
Having led the response for the state of Pennsylvania, I am well aware of the urgent need we face to get the pandemic under control and restore a sense of security and normalcy for our communities. This is my top priority and the top priority of President Biden’s administration. In the earliest phases of the pandemic, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) focused on helping to ensure Americans had access to coronavirus testing. As we turn the corner, we are focused on bolstering vaccine confidence and making progress towards achieving health equity across the nation.
The intersection of physical, mental and behavioral health will be a major driver during my tenure as ASH. At the request of President Biden, OASH will also help lead HHS’ efforts on environmental justice to maintain a healthy environment in which to live, learn and work. I know that you join me in supporting all of these efforts.
I’d like to share some of the recent and planned activities of the OASH Office of Population Affairs (OPA), which has promoted health across the reproductive lifespan, including adolescent health. Below are highlights of 2020 and an outline of OPA’s plans for the coming year.
TITLE X TURNED 50
Title X of the Public Health Service Act established the National Family Planning Program at HHS in 1970. For 50 years, Title X clinics have ensured access to a broad range of family planning methods and related health services for millions of women, men and adolescents with priority given to persons from low-income families. These services are voluntary and confidential. Today, Title X grantees comprise a network of public and private nonprofit entities that provide services across the U.S. and in eight U.S. territories and freely associated states.
Since 1970, Title X clinics have provided more than 190 million client visits, and almost a third of those visits were with adolescents.[1] In addition, OPA’s Family Planning Annual Report (FPAR) data show that from 1999 to 2019, Title X clinics performed 34.1 million chlamydia tests[2], 18.3 million HIV tests, and 76.5 million non-HIV STD tests.
Throughout the pandemic, OPA has supported its Title X grantees in being flexible in their approach to continue to deliver high-quality family planning services. Title X grantees quickly adapted their programs to ensure that the over 3 million clients per year who rely on them could continue to receive critical services through telehealth and drive-by appointments. See this Infographic on and watch this short video to learn more.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention
In 2020 OPA implemented 78 Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) grants replicating effective programs to improve the health of adolescents across 28 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. When the pandemic began, OPA’s 95 TPP grantees pivoted from in-person to virtual program implementation in schools and communities and providing needed support services to vulnerable youth, families, and communities. TPP grantees serve approximately 180,000 young people and families each year.
In addition to supporting Title X and TPP grantees, in 2020 OPA funded 17 new TPP demonstration grantees to develop and test new interventions, including 13 new innovative and impact network grants to develop interventions in seven key priority areas, and four new grants to rigorously evaluate innovative interventions. OPA also awarded four TPP research grants and one research-to-practice center grant to promote health and positive assets to reduce teen pregnancy.
Other Accomplishments
The OPA Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) program, authorized and appropriated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 from fiscal year (FY) 2009 through FY2019, was a competitive grant program for states and tribes that aimed to improve the health, educational, social, and economic outcomes of expectant and parenting teens, women, fathers, and their families. The impact of the program was highlighted in a 2020 supplement to the Maternal and Child Health Journal that included information about the PAF program, PAF grantees’ promising approaches, implementation experiences, lessons learned, systematic reviews, evaluation data, and related research analyses.
Looking to the future
OPA is planning new programmatic, partnership and research activities for 2021, including:
- Training and technical assistance to help Title X clinics provide youth-friendly services
- Training and technical assistance to help OPA grantees provide trauma-informed services
- Celebrating National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month in May with grantees and partners
- Continuing to expand the Reproductive Health National Training Center to support the integrated training needs of Title X and TPP grantees
- Sharing evaluation research results on our website, in journals, and at conferences
To learn more about OPA‘s work, I invite you to sign up for the bi-monthly on the OPA website for the bi-monthly OPA Bulletin follow OPA on Twitter at @HHSPopAffairs, and check out the webinars and videos on the OPA YouTube channel. You can also follow OASH on Twitter at @HHS_Health, follow me on Twitter at @HHS_ASH, and email me at ASH@hhs.gov.
I hope you will share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas with me on how to improve adolescent health in the U.S. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you as we move forward together.
Footnotes
[2] Data reflects services provided from 2005 through 2019 and assumes 1 chlamydia test per user tested.
