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Delaware’s TANF State Plan 10-1-2017 to 9-30-2020

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Jobs for Delaware Graduates

The Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG) program provides services to needy children attending middle schools in Delaware with the goal of reducing school dropout rates, keeping children in their homes and the community, and reducing out of wedlock and teen pregnancies. Delaware uses Federal TANF funds and/or State MOE (Maintenance of Effort) funds to fund the program. The JDG program provides a nationally recognized curriculum. The curriculum supports short and long-term goal setting, academic achievement, acquisition of life skills, and work skill development.

Other Initiatives

Delaware believes that the number of out-of-wedlock births to teens must be reduced significantly to eliminate poverty and dependency. A study by Doble Research Associates commissioned by the Governor's Family Council in June 1998, concluded that Delaware's efforts to reduce teen pregnancy, including establishing more after- school programs, strongly enforcing child-support enforcement and the Sexual Predator Act, and making teen mothers ineligible for cash assistance, are solidly supported by public opinion. We are undertaking a number of statewide initiatives to reduce adolescent pregnancy. Many of these initiatives are coordinated through the activities of the Alliance for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (AAPP). Ventures include the provision of adolescent health services through school-based health centers and improving teen utilization of our family planning centers.

The AAPP is a statewide public and private partnership charged with the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan to prevent adolescent pregnancy in Delaware. The organizational structure of the Alliance includes a 12 member advisory board appointed by the Governor and a statewide membership of over 200 schools, agencies, organizations, churches, and individuals concerned with teen pregnancy. Staff and program support for the Alliance is provided through a contract from the Division of Public Health (DPH) to Christiana Care.

Since its inception, the AAPP has awarded mini-grants to non-profit youth organizations to provide community based teen pregnancy programs; implemented a statewide media campaign to increase community awareness; and worked with existing coalitions to