The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on October 11, 2005 awards totaling $37 million to 63 abstinence education grantees nationwide. SC PIE was awarded $2.26 million over a three year period as a 2005 Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) grantee. "The only way to be 100 percent certain that kids avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is to stay abstinent until marriage," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade F. Horn, Ph.D. "By focusing on this clear message, the Bush Administration is ensuring youth have the information they need to make the healthiest decision."

The CBAE program is administered by ACF's Family and Youth Services Bureau, which also administers the Title V Section 510 Abstinence Education Program to enable states to support abstinence education, mentoring, counseling and adult supervision to promote abstinence from sexual activity, with a focus on those groups which are most likely to bear children out of wedlock.

Through the leadership of President Bush, Congress authorized historic increases to support abstinence education during the past four years.

The SC PIE CBAE grant will be used to address South Carolina’s persistent problem of adolescent sexual activity which results in adolescent out-of-wedlock pregnancies and adolescent sexually transmitted diseases by equipping public school teachers to provide a strong abstinence until marriage message to students and empowering adult community members to support and reinforce this message.