Page 170

(6) make recommendations concerning the incremental implementation of the plan. (c) The Department of Education and Early Development, the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall assist the department in developing the plan required under (a) of this section. In addition, through appropriate means, the department shall solicit advice from teens, parents, educators, school administrators, taxpayers, civic groups, community organizations, Native organizations, officials of local governments, religious institutions, and other concerned persons about how state programs can be coordinated and operated in a manner that will enhance their effectiveness and efficiency in addressing the many needs associated with adolescent parenting, the prevention of adolescent pregnancies, and the provision of adolescent peer counseling. Article 2. Public Information About Programs. Sec. 47.18.050. Public awareness campaign. (a) The department shall develop and implement statewide a continuing public awareness campaign, including appropriate public forums and workshops, radio and television public service announcements, and press releases designed to (1) communicate to the public the scope and magnitude of the adolescent pregnancy and parenthood problem in the state; (2) encourage community activities that will educate adults and adolescents about the importance of reducing adolescent pregnancy; (3) enlist the active support and involvement of members of the public and community organizations in the development and implementation of community-based programs and activities to reduce adolescent pregnancy and assist adolescent parents in obtaining needed educational, vocational, and parenting skills. (b) A primary policy and objective of the public awareness campaign required under (a) of this section shall be to encourage adolescents to abstain from premarital sexual intimacy. Article 3. Adolescent Pregnancy Projects. Sec. 47.18.100. State funding authorized. In order to encourage and support community-based initiatives to combat the many problems associated with adolescent pregnancy and parenthood, the department shall, from appropriations for that purpose, give grants or award contracts to fund a percentage of the cost of local projects designed to prevent adolescent pregnancy and assist adolescent parents in obtaining needed educational, vocational, and parenting skills. Sec. 47.18.110. Eligible projects. (a) Projects funded under AS 47.18.100 shall be designed with a holistic approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of adolescent parenthood and a broad array of related circumstances, such as low self-esteem, domestic violence, substance abuse, economic security, financial responsibilities of having a child, cultural integrity, sources of adolescent stress, parenting skills, educational and vocational opportunities, and access to reproductive health services.