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Vermont TANF State Plan Renewal October 1, 2024 through December 31, 2027 12

(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.

By targeting the teenage population, Vermont is in the best position to reach the widest captive audience and have the greatest effect. This is particularly true with the younger teens who are more accessible as a group because they are still of school age. Focusing on teens eventually affects the greater population as the teens move toward adulthood. Reducing teen pregnancies also reduced the overall rate if out-of- wedlock pregnancies because the vast majority of these births are to single mothers.

In 2020, Vermont’s teen pregnancy rate was 9.1 pregnancies per 1000. The teen birth rate in Vermont declined 57 percent between 1991 and 2011 and has continued to decline since then. Vermont has the fourth lowest teen pregnancy rate in the nation.

No single program or initiative accounts for the decreasing incidence of teen pregnancies in Vermont, however the partnership between Reach Up and the Boys and Girls Clubs is particularly important in providing a safe, healthy environment for teens. The strategy includes a combination of integrated services, education and commitments that have contributed to improved adolescent health and behavior. Some of the contributing factors employed by the State include access to appropriate health care, comprehensive health and sexuality education where students learn responsible decision-making, and improved prospects for the future. In addition, some research suggests that nearly half of adolescent girls who become pregnant have earlier been victims of sexual abuse, which is associated with later risky sexual behavior. Vermont has made remarkable progress in reducing child sexual abuse and its commitment to maintain this trend may result in further declines in teenage pregnancies.

(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 expanded in scope to include men.

In Vermont, funding for community-level rape prevention and education (RPE) work is provided to the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Umbrella, Inc. and the Sexual Assault Crisis Team. RPE programs target individuals of all genders, ages, races, sexualities, and circumstances. Most of the RPE program contractors are working in schools and communities to offer educational activities that are aimed at promoting healthy relationships and consent. Many of the local RPE program contractors work with law enforcement, community-based organizations, and educational institutions to conduct outreach and prevention education within their communities. RPE programs address the spectrum of sexual violence, including statutory rape, during their prevention education activities targeting adolescents.

Youth receive and benefit from comprehensive health education in Vermont’s elementary and secondary schools. Comprehensive health education includes the study of several topics directly related to statutory rape, such as sexuality, reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention, development of responsible personal behavior and decision making about sexual activity including abstinence, possible outcomes of premature sexual activity, contraceptives,