(a) The Information and Education Program shall be a continuing program within the Office of Family Planning with the goal of decreasing teenage pregnancies through educational programs that equip teens at high risk for pregnancy with the knowledge, understanding, and behavioral skills necessary to make responsible decisions regarding at-risk behavior.

(b) (1) The program shall target youths in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to, schools, juvenile justice facilities, community-based settings, social services and youth agencies, and foster care programs.

(2) The program shall also focus on parents of high-risk youths and other adults responsible for serving youths at risk in an effort to assist them with effective tools for counseling at-risk youth regarding responsible behavior.

(c) Priority for funding under this program shall be given to the following:

(1) Programs that will increase youths’ knowledge and ability to deal responsibly with their own sexuality and the social pressures affecting them.

(2) Programs that will enhance the ability of parents and other parenting adults to fulfill their roles as the primary sex educators of their children.

(d) Grants shall be made available to qualified public or private nonprofit providers for implementation of the Information and Education Program.

(e) This section shall be implemented to the extent funding is made available through the federal government, or in the annual Budget Act or another state statute, or any combination of any sources of funding.

(Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 643, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2004.)