FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005
Contact: Jane Norris
(202) 401-9215
ACF Awards $75M for Reduction in Out-of-Wedlock Births
New
York, Utah and District of Columbia receive bonuses
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the awarding of $25 million bonuses each to New York, Utah and the District of Columbia for achieving significant decreases in out-of-wedlock births.
“Recognizing the dignity of every human person and encouraging healthy marriages and stable families is essential to welfare reform,” said HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade F. Horn, Ph.D. “This Administration is awarding these bonuses to New York, Utah and the District of Columbia for lowering their out-of-wedlock birth rates while decreasing their abortion rate.”
The awards are part of the seventh round of bonuses to states and territories for reductions in out-of-wedlock births, under the welfare reform law of 1996. The law provides bonuses to states that have the largest reduction in the ratio of out-of-wedlock births to total births along with a corresponding decrease in the abortion rate.
“When children grow up in a stable family with a mom and dad in a healthy marriage, they do better in school and a whole host of other indicators,” said HHS Director of the Office of Family Assistance Sidonie Squier. “I congratulate New York, Utah and the District of Columbia for their support and commitment to children and families.”
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news