A REVIEW OF THE HHS FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM: MISSION, MANAGEMENT, AND MEASUREMENT OF RESULTS, new from the Institute of Medicine, recommends that family planning be re-established as a core value in public health practice. The report urges the Department of Health and Human Services and Congress to support the Title X program as the leading voice for the nation's family planning effort.
Among the report's recommendations:
- HHS should reassert the Title X program's original goals of helping individuals plan for desired pregnancies as well as avoid unintended ones.
- HHS should develop a multiyear, evidence-based strategic plan for the program to help ensure that it is grounded in science.
- Funding for Title X should be increased so the program can meet its statutory responsibility to provide family planning services to those who cannot obtain them through other sources.
THE REPORT IS AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Reporters who wish to obtain copies should contact the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.