Statewide Chair Mary McLellan Heritage Community Services Regional Chairs Mariscia Cooper (Pee Dee) Charlie Lybrand (Lowcountry) Lenna Neill (Upstate) Rev. Randy Riddle (Grand Strand) Dr. Roger Rollins (CSRA) Charlotte Valentine-Green (Ace Basin)   Advisory Council Eugene Bacote Darlington School District Dr. Vera Bailey Hilton Head Preg. Care Center Pamela Berry Colleton Fire and Rescue Dr. Vonda Calcutt Lowcountry Ctr. Diabetes Sen. Chip Campsen Charleston/Berkeley Rev. Chuck Coward Charleston Outreach Robin Crosby Colleton County Ligure Ellington Ret.Capt. Charleston City Police Dr. Randy Goings Chiropractic Physician Faye Hill Lowcountry Pregnancy Center & SC Association Pregnancy Care Centers WC Hoecke Fatherhood Practioner Leroy Lewis Upward Bound at Cof C Norman L. Moore, Jr. Colonel, USAFR(Ret) Cyndi Mosteller Comm. for Higher Education Alexia Newman Carolina Pregnancy Center Fred Payne Marriage Savers of Upstate Jerry & Barbara Seymour R& R Marriage Min. Ronald Shoupe Colleton County Dr. A. V. Strong A Better Way, Inc. (Gang Out) Dr. Robert Thomas Pulmonary Medicine Pastor Phil Thrailkill St. Luke UMC Hartsville Kelly Walker Upstate Fatherhood Coalition	March 19, 2010   SC Healthy Family Formation Coalition E-News!   When a teacher or parent feels inadequate to promote abstinence, the default message will always be condoms and birth control.   Does this mean we give up on our kids?  NO!  It means, we learn how to teach abstinence to our kids.   It is beyond ludicrous to expect a Safe Sex Educator to be successful at teaching abstinence when that is neither their goal nor specialty.  They don’t know how to teach abstinence.   Research has shown that Safe Sex programs, in general, do not delay the initiation of sex. Safe Sex programs can only claim, at most, to increase condom use in the previous 3 months.  They do not measure correct and consistent condom use, just that a condom was used more often.   Just as you would not expect an English teacher to teach your child Algebra, it is beyond ludicrous to expect an Abstinence Educator to teach Safe Sex.  Or vice versa!  Abstinence and Safe Sex are two completely different subject areas with different goals and outcomes.   SC state law mandates that there be an emphasis on abstinence education.  School districts must provide an emphasis on abstinence, but they cannot comply by teaching Safe Sex-only.  When parents actually read the language used in Safe Sex programs, they want abstinence education instead.    The social norms in a school should include abstinence, not Safe Sex, because delaying sex is the best physical, mental and emotional health message for all concerned.    The solution is to train teachers and parents to advocate for abstinence so that abstinence becomes the default message.   Also, welcome trained Abstinence Educators into the schools to teach youth that they have an option when it comes to sexual health decisions that could impact them for life.   Heritage Keepers® is a proven effective program that teachers and parents can be trained in to successfully impact the predictors of sexual activity thus motivating youth to delay sex rather than engage in it.  A year after the Heritage Keepers® Abstinence Education program, the students involved were half as likely to initiate sexual activity as similar non-program students.    The outcomes were across age, gender and race, plus the abstinence program did not decrease use of condoms among sexually active youth.    Furthermore, a Mathematica Policy Report reveals that five years after the Heritage Keepers® core abstinence education program, 72% of 16-year-old participants reported never having had sex compared with 48% of 16-year-olds statewide. Even more of the students, 78%, reported abstaining the year prior to the survey, implicating a recommitment to abstinence.   Such solid research cannot be ignored except by Safe Sex-only zealots.  If you believe that there should be a strong message to delay sex until one is in a committed life-long monogamous relationship, like marriage, why not ask to be trained by Heritage Keepers®?     Stand up South Carolina!  Stop sexual extremist groups from taking over your child’s classroom, Girl Scouts, YMCA, and every other venue that has your kids.         You’re Teaching My Child What? The Lunch & Learn is this Monday.  You must register with name, address, affiliation/organization represented and phone number to be seated.       Another letter to the editor deemed not ‘fit to print’!   Dear Editor  Abstinence education has been a topic of much debate and interest over the last few years. I would like to shed some light on this often controversial issue. I have been an abstinence and life skills educator in the Pee Dee and surrounding communities for five years. This profession was one of the best career moves I could have ever made because I get to witness lives being changed.   In a media driven society, where our young people are taught to be sexually uninhibited, abstinence education offers a healthier lifestyle for our young people to choose. Abstinence education enables youth to live life free from the possible consequences of sex like emotional stress, STD’s and unwed pregnancy.   Throughout my years of teaching abstinence education, I have talked with countless young teens that were seeking guidance and direction and discovered it through the abstinence message in my class. Abstinence education not only teaches about the benefits of delaying sexual activity but also promotes self worth and includes instruction about making wise decisions and refuting negative pressure to have sex. This message is one that needs to be heard and promoted.   I can recall teaching a class in the Florence area when one particular student did not really care much for being in the class at first. As the days went by, he gradually began to participate more in the class. By the time the class ended, this student was one of the biggest advocates of the program and became a champion for the abstinence message. That student encouraged me more than he will ever know. It is stories like this that inspire me to keep doing what I’m doing.   Wouldn’t it be great if more students across the state were able to benefit from all that abstinence education has to offer? Many more students could be empowered to make the healthiest decision for their future.    Sincerely, James R. Dupree Marlboro County         Read previous E-News in the Newsletter Archives Follow the SC-HFF Coalition on Twitter! Join the Heritage Keepers® Facebook Cause
	The South Carolina Healthy Family Formation Coalition (SC HFF Coalition) is organized and staffed by Heritage Community Services. The SC HFF Coalition promotes child and family well-being by providing opportunities for statewide communication about such issues as: adolescent pregnancy, unwed childbearing, fatherlessness, sexual exploitation of our youth, dating violence and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, gang activity and youth violence.    Coalition members support healthy family formation initiatives that integrate character-based life skills, teen pregnancy prevention with an emphasis on abstinence-centered education, and the importance of fidelity-within-marriage.   Together we can impact our culture so that forming healthy families becomes a norm, rather than the exception, for South Carolina. Please, forward this E-News to interested friends, family and colleagues and ask them to consider joining the Coalition. Join/Subscribe Unsubscribe PRIVACY POLICY: Information you share will never be sold, rented, or given to any third party. Contact Mary McLellan , Statewide Chairman (843)654-7740 ext.122