Trump administration’s cuts imperil Colorado teen pregnancy prevention program
A program working to prevent unwanted teen pregnancy in Colorado and that receives 75 percent of its funding from federal grants is in jeopardy of closing after the Trump administration decided to end those grants early.
Colorado Youth Matter is one of 84 programs across the country to learn in recent weeks that its funding will be pulled next summer — two years earlier than expected. The federal grant provides the organization with about $750,000 per year.
“For us, as an organization, it’s critical,” Andrea Miller, the group’s executive director, said of the federal funds.
Colorado Youth Matter works with schools in Denver and Aurora, as well as with a program at Children’s Hospital Colorado, to teach what it calls “comprehensive” sex education. That includes providing information about both abstinence and birth control, while also teaching teens about sexually transmitted infections, healthy relationships, consent and the services available at school-based clinics.
Paco Sandoval, a software designer for Altia Inc., climbs at CityRock in Colorado Springs on August 30, 2017. The company took him on a tour of the city which included CityRock where he is now a regular. The Chamber also launched its new website ChooseColoradoSprings.com to help recruit key employees to the Springs. (Photo by Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette).