Grant Program
The Positive Alternatives Program provided approximately $2.36 million in 2008 and 2009 for alternatives-to-abortion programs that support, encourage and assist women in carrying their pregnancies to term and caring for their babies after birth.Read the Positive Alternatives Act at 145.4235 Positive Abortion Alternatives.
Every woman receiving grant-funded services must be offered information on, referral to, and assistance with securing:
- Medical care
- Nutritional services
- Housing assistance
- Adoption services
- Education and employment assistance, including services that support the continuation and completion of high school
- Child care assistance
- Parenting education and support services
Grantees may directly provide these or other needed services. It is expected that potential grantees work in collaboration with other community resources and base their grant proposals on identified "missing pieces" in their communities´ pregnancy and family support network and propose programs accordingly. Thus, they will be able to tailor services to the most pressing needs within their community.
To be eligible for grant funding, an organization must:
- Be a private, nonprofit organization
- Demonstrate that the program is conducted under appropriate supervision
- Not charge women for services provided
- Provide each pregnant woman counseled with accurate information on the developmental characteristics of babies and of unborn children
- Ensure that program´s purpose is to assist and encourage women in carrying their pregnancies to term and to maximize their future potential
- Ensure that none of the funding is used to encourage or affirmatively counsel a woman to have an abortion not necessary to prevent her death. The organization may provide nondirective counseling
- Ensure that none of the funding is used to provide abortions or to directly refer to an abortion provider for an abortion
- Have had alternatives to abortion program in existence for at least one year as of July 1, 2005 Grantees.
Current Grantees
There are currently 31 Positive Alternatives grantees throughout Minnesota. List of Positive Alternatives Grant Award Recipients
The types of services provided by grantees are diverse and were tailored to meet the needs of their communities.
- Medical programs provide pregnancy testing or prenatal medical care.
- Material assistance programs offer items such as cribs, car seats and clothing.
- Parenting, crib and car seat safety classes address safety risks to the infant.
- Women receive assistance in accessing or maintaining housing, continuing their education or making adoption plans.
- Services are provided at some sites in Spanish or Hmong, and translators are available at other sites.
- Prenatal education is provided in classroom settings to pregnant teens.
- Case management services and residential programs provide one-on-one care to pregnant and parenting women.
- Nutrition classes educate new moms on healthy meal-planning and cooking.
During the first grant-funded cycle from July, 2006 to June, 2008, over 12,000 women received services under the Positive Alternatives program.
Participants Served by the Positive Alternatives Program 2008-2010
| Time Frame | Participants Served |
|---|---|
| July, 2008 - June, 2009 | 6,389 |
| July, 2009 - June, 2010 | 6,633 |
| Total: July, 2008 - June, 2010 | 13,022 |
In order for a participant to be counted as being served in the Positive Alternatives Program, she must have been offered information on, referral to and assistance with securing each of the following pregnancy support services:
- Medical care
- Supplemental nutrition
- Housing assistance
- Adoption services
- Education and employment assistance, including services that support the continuation and completion of high school
- Child care assistance, and
- Parenting education and support services.
Individual grantees may offer additional services. Please see the Locations and Services of Positive Alternatives Grantees chart for the complete listing of services offered by each grantee.
Background
The Positive Alternatives Program (Minnesota Statutes 145.4235) that passed during the 2005 legislative session provides services that promote healthy pregnancy outcomes and assist pregnant and parenting women in developing and maintaining family stability and self-sufficiency.
Whether an unintended pregnancy is greeted as a crisis, a challenge, or a welcome surprise, the woman facing it often needs additional support to have a healthy baby. Activities funded by Positive Alternatives target risk factors for poor pregnancy outcomes associated with unintended pregnancy, such as late or inadequate prenatal care, and economic challenges.