BILL NUMBER: AB 2141	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 2, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 6, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 27, 2006

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly  Member   Jones
  Members   Jones   and Berg 
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Koretz   and Liu   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2006

   An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 124240) to
Chapter 4 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to family planning.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2141, as amended, Jones  Family planning: Parent-Child
Communication Assistance Program.
   Under existing law, specified family planning services,
administered by the Office of Family Planning within the State
Department of Health Services, are provided to Medi-Cal recipients
and certain other persons.
   Existing law establishes various programs administered by the
department relating to adolescent health.
   This bill would establish the Parent-Child Communication
Assistance Program within the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent 
Health  Branch of the department, with the goal of decreasing
teenage pregnancies through programs that equip parents, guardians,
and parenting adults with the knowledge, understanding, and
communication skills necessary to talk to their children about making
responsible decisions regarding at-risk sexual behavior  , 
 including unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases  . The bill would require that the program  provide
funding for community-based programs, initiatives, or activities
that  focus on parents, guardians, and parenting adults of minor
children at risk of becoming pregnant or impregnating someone, and
would specify the funding priorities and certain  provider
 qualifications  for funding  under the program. It
would provide for the program to be implemented to the extent that
an appropriation for that purpose is made from state or federal
funds.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Research shows that  teenagers  
adolescents  who feel comfortable communicating openly 
about sexuality  with their parents, their guardians, or
other adult mentors  about sexuality  are more likely to
delay sexual activity, are less likely to engage in risky sexual
behavior, and are better equipped to have healthy relationships than
other  teenagers   adolescents  .
   (b) The goal of the Parent-Child Communication Assistance Program
is to decrease teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases,
and sexual assault through programs that equip parenting adults with
the knowledge, understanding, and communication skills necessary to
talk with their children about sex and sexuality.
   (c) Parenting adults often do not feel comfortable discussing sex
with their children. Parents, guardians, and other parenting adults
want to help their children make the best possible decisions
regarding  what's best for them   their health
and safety, their values, and sexuality  . Honest  and open
 communication  between parenting adults and their children
  not only  provides minors with the tools
necessary for making responsible decisions  , but also helps
protect them from sexual abuse and from becoming sexual abusers.
  . 
   (d) Parenting adults also need information regarding protecting
their children from child internet predators and recognizing the
danger signs involving strangers, adult friends, and relatives, peer
pressure, and other circumstances involving sexual harassment and
abuse, so they can effectively counsel their children to avoid these
dangers. 
  SEC. 2.  Article 3 (commencing with Section 124240) is added to
Chapter 4 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:

      Article 3.  Parent-Child Communication Assistance Program

   124240.  (a) The Parent-Child Communication Assistance Program
 (PCCAP)  shall be a continuing program within the Maternal,
Child, and Adolescent  Health  Branch of the department,
with the goal of decreasing teenage pregnancies  through
  and sexually transmitted diseases by supporting 
programs that equip parents, guardians, and parenting adults with the
knowledge, understanding, and communication skills necessary to talk
to their children about  their sexual health, including the
prevention of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases, and  making responsible decisions regarding at-risk
sexual behavior.
   (b) The  program shall   provide funding for
community-based programs, initiatives, or activities that  focus
on parents, guardians, and parenting adults of minor children at
risk of becoming pregnant or impregnating someone, in an effort to
provide the parents, guardians, and parenting adults with effective
tools for communicating with their children regarding responsible
behavior  and sexual health, including the prevention of
unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases  .
   (c) Participation in the program by a parent, guardian, or
parenting adult shall be on a voluntary basis only.
   (d) Priority for funding under the  program  
PCCAP  shall be given to public or private nonprofit 
community-based  organizations operating  any of the
following types of programs:   programs, initiatives, or
activities that meet the following criteria: 
   (1)  Programs that target   The program,
initiative, or activity targets  parents, guardians, and
parenting adults in geographic areas that have been found to be at
high risk of teen pregnancy.
   (2)  Programs for   The program, initiative,
or activity targets  parents, guardians, and parenting adults of
foster care youth.
   (3)  Programs   The   program,
initiative, or activity is  designed to  assist
  provide  parents, guardians, and parenting adults
 in   with the necessary tools for 
communicating effectively with minors  regarding their sexual
health, including the prevention of unintended pregnancies and
sexually transmitted diseases, and  to increase the minors'
understanding of, and ability to act responsibly regarding, their own
sexuality and the social pressures affecting them.
   (e) Grants shall be made available to qualified public or private
nonprofit  providers   organizations  . The
Maternal, Child, and Adolescent  Health  Branch of the
department shall establish  provider  qualifications
 for funding  , which shall include, but not be limited to,
each of the following:
   (1) Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and competence  in
addressing the needs of   the target population  .
   (2)  All factual information in the curriculum regarding human
sexuality, the prevention of unintended pregnancy, and sexually
transmitted infections shall be medically accurate and objective.
   (3) Demonstrated ability to provide effective tools, skills, and
strategies for adult communication with minors regarding sexuality.
   (4) The provision of, or referral for, a comprehensive range of
services to meet the health, education, and welfare needs of minors.

   (5) The provision of a list of available resources in the
community.
   (f) For purposes of this section,  "parenting adult
  the following definitions apply: 
    (1)     "Parenting  " means an adult
in a child rearing or mentoring role, regardless of whether the adult
is a relative of the minor.  
   (2) "Medically accurate" means verified or supported by research
conducted in compliance with scientific methods and published in peer
review journals, where appropriate, and recognized as accurate and
objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise
in the relevant field, including, but not limited to, the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Public
Health Association, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists. 
   (g) This section shall be implemented to the extent that an
appropriation for that purpose is made from funds made available by
the federal government or the state, or by both.