Message from the CEO/President

"We have a great deal to celebrate this year, and we are eagerly looking forward to a friendly administration in Washington. But this is no time for complacency. We must stay energized so we can capitalize on the opportunities that lay before us.."

At Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, 2007-2008 was a year that ended with a lot to celebrate and many opportunities before us.

Aside from Prop. 8, which is still being fought in the legal system, we had a very successful year at the polls. We preserved teen safety by defeating Prop. 4 and helped elect five of the nine local school board candidates that we supported. These victories were part of an historic election, and a clear vote for change to a more progressive agenda following the stifling policies of the Bush administration.

But the past year was also one of significant challenges, with Medi-Cal reimbursement rates cut by 10% and the elimination of state funds that supported our Male Involvement Program.

Despite this challenging environment, last year was one of unprecedented growth.

  • At 18%, we more than doubled our historical rate of growth in medical services, providing more than 94,000 clinic visits to 57,000 patients.
  • We published a breakthrough report on the state of sex education in the schools (www.publicschoolsproject.com), which evaluated the curricula and textbooks being used in each of the high school districts in Orange and San Bernardino counties. The report received considerable publicity and created a healthy dialogue on sex education in several communities in both counties.
  • PPOSBC added text messaging to our online and telephonic health education hotlines in an effort to use technology to reach greater numbers of young people with accurate reproductive health information.

So we have a great deal to celebrate this year, and we are eagerly looking forward to a friendly administration in Washington. But this is no time for complacency. We must stay energized so we can capitalize on the opportunities that lay before us.

President-elect Barack Obama has been clear that health care reform is one of his top priorities, and we must be at the table to ensure that reproductive health care remains a part of any national insurance program. We also must continue to advocate improved access to contraception and to expand funding for comprehensive sex education.

Last year, the federal government spent $176 million on abstinence-only education. Since George W. Bush took office, more than $1 billion has been spent on abstinence-until-marriage programs that we know do not work. They are often misleading and can be harmful to young people. We have an opportunity to work with the Obama administration to redirect those funds so we can provide comprehensive sex education and we are well-positioned to optimize that opportunity here in Orange and San Bernardino counties.

  • We are currently expanding our peer education program with a goal of having peer educators in every high school in both counties.
  • PPOSBC staff is developing a train-the-trainer model so that teachers, coaches, clergy, and community-based youth workers can be taught to use approved curricula to provide comprehensive sex education in their existing environments.
  • Through the newest addition to our online services, an interactive website called BetterthanSexEd.org (expected to launch in 2009), we can engage young people in conversations about reproductive health, informed decision-making, safer sex, body image, and healthy relationships through user-generated content in a safe online environment.

Planned Parenthood remains dedicated to serving the ever-increasing number of individuals who need our care. In these tough economic times, the need is only expected to climb as more people in our communities become unemployed and uninsured. We will continue to work to defeat the escalating campaign to deny access to accurate information and reproductive health care services.


Jon Dunn
President/CEO of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties