A program aimed at preventing teen pregnancy in western Iowa is in jeopardy because of a Trump administration decision to curtail federal money for such efforts.

Like most of the country, Iowa has seen teen pregnancies become much rarer in recent years. In 2008, 33 of every 1,000 Iowa women ages 15 through 19 gave birth. By 2015, that rate had plummeted to less than 19 per 1,000.

Supporters of programs like the one in western Iowa say the decline in teen pregnancy is largely due to carefully designed education efforts, which help adolescents understand the effects of sexual activity and the benefits of waiting to become pregnant.

“The reality is, as soon as you take away that education, those rates can pop right back up,” said Andi Grubb, education director for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.

Grubb oversees a program focusing on three western Iowa counties – Mills, Pottawattamie and Woodbury – and two eastern Nebraska counties. The counties were chosen because they had relatively high teen-pregnancy rates and because they lacked strong prevention programs, Grubb said.

Federal officials recently notified Grubb’s agency that they would halt the program’s $966,000 annual grant money next June – two years before the five-year grant was scheduled to end.

Trump administration officials said they decided to suspend more than $200 million annually in such grants because the education programs have not been proven effective. “The very weak evidence of positive impact of these programs stands in stark contrast to the promised results, jeopardizing the youth who were served, while also proving to be a poor use of ... taxpayer dollars,” according to a statement provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The department said it was reviewing the Teen Pregnancy Prevention grants, and would make recommendations to Congress about whether to restart them. “Decisions by the Department regarding the TPP program will be guided by science and a firm commitment to giving all youth the information and skills they need to improve their prospects for optimal health outcomes,” the statement said.

Grubb said her program has reached more than 1,000 teens in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. She said that after just two years, it is too soon to expect concrete evidence of its effect on teen births. However, she said, the instructors are using proven education methods. Proponents of such efforts say that by preventing unintended pregnancies, they can save public money that would be spent on health care and social services for teen parents and their babies.

Grubb said her agency's program tailors education efforts to different age groups. With sixth-graders, the instructors talk about resisting pressure they might come under to do things they don’t want to. “It’s really about helping young people understand what their boundaries are,” she said.

With older teens, the instructors discuss more specifics, including how to use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases if the teens decide to become sexually active, she said. The program doesn’t distribute contraceptives, but it can refer teens to agencies that offer those products.

Grubb said Planned Parenthood hopes to find other sources of money to continue offering at least parts of the education program.

The curtailment of federal grant money for the teen-pregnancy prevention program comes on top of a state decision in April that blocked $2 million in family planning money from going to Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and other agencies that provide abortions. In the wake of that decision, Planned Parenthood announced that it would be forced to close clinics in Bettendorf, Burlington, Keokuk and Sioux City.

The Legislature's decision meant Iowa is foregoing about $3 million in federal Medicaid matching money. Supporters said the change was worthwhile, because it meant fewer tax dollars would go to agencies that provide abortions. They said other organizations could step in to provide the family-planning services. But critics contend the change will limit access to birth-control options, especially for rural Iowans. That will lead to more unintended pregnancies and more abortions, they predict.

Along with a decline in teen pregnancies, Iowa has seen a dramatic drop in overall abortions. From 2007 through 2014, the number of abortions performed in the state fell 40 percent, from 6,649 to 4,020, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.