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WHAT IS THE FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM?
The Medical Assistance Administration (MAA) Family Planning Program provides family planning services and birth control methods to Medicaid eligible clients. Our vision is to increase access to and use of birth control methods by low income men and women to increase their chances of becoming and remaining self sufficient.

WHAT'S NEW?
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Pre-Pregnancy Family
Planning Program: Pre-pregnancy family planning exams to women, with family incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, are available at 21 family planning agencies around the state. The exam includes a medical history, physical exam, pap test, pregnancy test, STD screening, contraception counseling, and follow up contact. All other medical care, including birth control methods and STD treatment, are not covered. The women will need to discuss payment options with the clinic for additional medical care or birth control methods.

First Steps/Family Planning Project: Washington State will be adding another partner in the community continuum of family planning services. Beginning July 1, 2000 Maternity Support Services (MSS) staff will begin implement an enhanced family planning component into their work with pregnant women. This integration involves completion of a Performance Measure. The measure is for these women to have a birth control method in place by six weeks post-partum to assist families in planning and spacing children. Training for MSS staff is now occurring. Local community combined MSS/First Steps and Family Planning meetings to develop a family planning continuum of care and identify local networks for follow up care for post-pregnant women are being scheduled. For more information, please contact Diane Tiffany at tiffadp@dshs.wa.gov. or Lenore Lawrence at lawrele@dshs.wa.gov. The Performance Measurement Interview Guide is attached. To read more about the First Steps Program, please click here.

Program for Appropriate Technology in Health-(PATH) Emergency Contraception project: Through a unique collaborative agreement with DSHS Economic Services Administration (ESA), MAA is contracting with PATH to expand the geographic scope of emergency contraception services to rural and undeserved populations of Washington State. This project begins June 2000 to run through June 2001. Project goals are to increase the numbers of trained pharmacist able to prescribe emergency contraception and promote awareness of these services to rural and areas of the state with high rates of unintended pregnancy. For more information about this project, please contact Mary Neukom at MAA or Jane Hutchings at PATH.

CSO Profiles: Birth and Unintended Statistics For Community Services Offices, 1990 to 1997 MAA contracted with DSHS Research and Data Analysis (RDA) to provide information on birth and unintended pregnancy statistics per DSHS Community Services Office (CSO). This CSO specific information is useful for comparing the rate of unintended pregnancy to the statewide rate and identifying target populations for follow up care and outreach. For a copy of the report, please click here.

"Access to Reproductive Health" Project: The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) in Washington D.C., selected Washington State as a project participant to identify ways that family planning has been incorporated into welfare reform and other programs which serve low income families. CLASP looked at what welfare agencies can do to improve voluntary utilization of and access to reproductive health services. The goal was to identify innovative successful and unsuccessful strategies.A report, describing efforts in three states Washington, California, and Georgia is now available from CLASP.

WHAT CURRENTLY EXIST?
Medical Assistance Administration (MAA) clients have access to a full range of family planning services and all Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraceptives. MAA has the most comprehensive family planning coverage of any insurance company in Washington State. For more information about the full scope of MAA family planning program, please click here.

Emergency Contraception Pills (ECPs): Pharmacists with prescriptive authority for emergency contraception may bill MAA for the counseling portion of this service. In addition, prescribing pharmacists are able to bill MAA for specific antiemetics when prescribed with ECPs. For more information about emergency contraception and clinic/pharmacy listing, please click here or call the hotline at 1-888-NOT-2-LATE (1-888-668-2-5283).

"Take Charge" Family Planning Federal Medicaid Waiver: MAA is on fast track with the waiver request. When approved, it will consist of a 5 year Medicaid demonstration project that would provide family planning services to men and women with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The goal is to provide family planning services prior to pregnancy. Proposed beginning date for this new program is November 2000. For more information, please contact Claudia Lewis at lewiscl@dshs.wa.gov or call her at 360-725-1652.

Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Community Services Offices
(CSO) models of CSO based family planning services: MAA contracted with DSHS Research and Data Analysis (RDA) to describe the various models of delivering CSO-based family planning services, describe the common elements crucial to a well established program, offer suggestions for problem solving, and look at future directions. Five CSOs; Ballard, Friday Harbor, Kelso, Port Townsend, and Spokane North were interviewed. A report was published and distributed. It is available by completing an order form in the publications section below.

PUBLICATIONS:
Marketing publications - new publications as of May 5, 2000 are the "Birth Control Methods Work" magnet (size 3 1/2" high by 2" wide), "{Pregnant? Plan for a Healthy Future" flyer, and "Take Charge" wallet card pads with the Family Planning and Emergency Contraception Hotline numbers. Please click here for ordering information.

**CSO Profiles: Birth and Unintended Statistics For Community Services Offices, 1990 to 1997 - provides information on birth and unintended statistics per DSHS Community Services Office (CSO).

County Profiles -1997 and 1998 versions documenting estimated county-specific
birth and unintended pregnancy statistics for Washington State.

Family Planning in Washington State Community Services Offices:
Challenges and Strategies - reports key findings of critical factors for
integrating family planning into Community Services Offices (CSOs)
and future directions for CSO-based family planning.

**Family Planning Interview Guide (1999): used in the First Steps/Family
Planning Project. This is a recommended interview guide for all First Steps
and Family Planning staff in Washington State.

Unintended Pregnancy - characteristics of women who had unintended
pregnancies (1997).

Unintended Pregnancy and Family Planning: Views of Leaders in Three
Washington Communities - perceptions and attitudes of 71 local leaders
in Yakima, Spokane and Centralia-Chehalis (1997).

To order publications, except for direct ordering of marketing publications,
please complete an order form or send download the report from the DSHS Research and Data Analysis website at http://www.wa.gov/dshs/geninfo/rdapub.html.

OTHER SITES OF INTEREST: