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I V - A S T A T E O F M A I N E T A N F S T A T E P L A N 11 | P a g e

to programs which establish eligibility and provide services through agencies subject to comparable standards of confidentiality.

Prevention and Reduction of Out-of-wedlock and Adolescent Pregnancies (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(A)(v))

Establish goals and take action to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, with special emphasis on teenage pregnancies.

Maine’s TANF program continues to collaborate with and support the efforts of other State agencies and local groups on issues pertinent to adolescent health and specifically to reduce teen pregnancy and unintended births. Those agencies include the Teen and Young Adult Health Program administered by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maine uses TANF funding for a variety of programs that aim to prevent out of wedlock pregnancies. For example, Maine uses TANF to support programs that provide training and technical assistance to schools and community-based organizations who are delivering evidence-based programming to teenagers that includes topics such as pregnancy prevention, abstinence, and healthy relationships. Maine also uses TANF funds to support domestic violence and sexual assault providers who provide educational programming to children from pre-kindergarten through college. Topics include healthy relationships, and others that assist children to make positive relationship decisions and thus reduce the incidence of out-of- wedlock pregnancy. Maine directs TANF funds to support vulnerable youth who are more susceptible to out-of-wedlock and adolescent pregnancies, such as homeless youth. These programs provide for the youth’s basic needs and provide the resources and support they need to improve their lives, and thus lower the incidence teenage pregnancies.

The Department’s Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery has worked with Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to produce pamphlets placing emphasis on rights and responsibilities of both male and female parents.

Prevention of Statutory Rape and (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(A)(vi))

Conduct a program, designed to reach State and local law enforcement officials, the education system, and relevant counseling services, that provides education and training on the problem of statutory rape so that teenage pregnancy prevention programs may be extended in scope to include men.

The State of Maine contracts with the Maine Coalition against Sexual Assault with the initiative of prevention and intervention of sexual violence and child sexual abuse. This includes statutory rape. The contract includes programs that offer prevention, intervention, and systems advocacy as well as a wide range of resources and training programs to inform sexual violence