The Teen Pregnancy Initiative Team invited the Richmond County Health Department through the Women's Health Branch at the NC Department of Health and Human Services to apply for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grant offered through the Office of Adolescent Health. In July 2015, the Richmond County Health Department received a five-year grant of $1,250,000 to implement the Redefining and Empowering Adolescent and Community Health or REACH program. The goal will be to reduce the number of teen pregnancies in Richmond County by five percent by 2023, as indicated by the Richmond County Health Department 2020-2023 Strategic Plan.  

Richmond County School System/Richmond County Schools: Eighth and Ninth-grade health teachers and REACH curriculum facilitators collaborate to provide systematic and effective ways for adolescents to learn the essential knowledge and critical skills needed to decrease sexual risk behaviors, promote reproductive health, and connect students to health services in the community. 

In December 2015, the CAG (Community Action Group) and the YLC (Youth Leadership Council) groups were formed to actively support the reproductive health education of Richmond County teens. In the spring of 2016, the health department completed a door-to-door survey of the county to access the county resident’s opinions on teen sexual health and behaviors, where they believe teens should receive sexual education and the type of sexual education they should receive. In addition, through the REACH Program, the health department hired three curriculum facilitators to serve as teen health educators. The curriculum facilitators and health education department have been trained in Reducing the Risk (RTR), Making Proud Choices (MPC), Promoting Health Among Teens and Abstinence-Only(PHAT-AO) curriculums, and Parents Matter. 

The Richmond County Health Department, in collaboration with the Richmond County School System, selected two evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs to be facilitated through the Healthful Living classes in the eighth and ninth grades. The health department piloted Reducing the Risk at the Ninth Grade Academy and Ashley Chapel Educational Center in 2016. During the 2016-2017 school year Reducing the Risk was taught through all ninth grade Healthful Living classes, and Promoting Health Among Teens-Abstinence Only was piloted at Ellerbe Middle, Rohanen Middle, and Hamlet Middle schools. In the 2017-2018 school year, Reducing the Risk will be entering year two of implementation for all ninth-graders, while Promoting Health Among Teen- Abstinence-Only began year one of implementation for all eighth-graders.

Beginning in December 2016 and before June 2021, the health department hopes that all eighth grade Healthful Living teachers in the Richmond County Middle Schools receive training in Promoting Health Among Teens-Abstinence Only for sustainability after the duration of the grant. As a result, the eighth grade Healthful Living teachers will be able to continue with the facilitation of Promoting Health Among Teens-Abstinence Only while the ninth grade Healthful Living teachers will receive training to facilitate Reducing the Risk for sustainability and then facilitate Reducing the Risk to the ninth-grade students.  

The REACH program serves all eighth and nineth grade students of Richmond County through the curriculum of Healthful Living taught by the health and physical education teachers.  In year two (FY 2016-2017), REACH was implemented in five locations and had 683 youths completing the curricula.  In FY2018 or year three, 680 youth were targeted with a total of 894 students participating in a least one session.  In year four or FY2019, a total of 949 youths particiapted in at least one session of the target of 1,099 youths.  In the COVID year of FY2020, classes were done virtually with a total of 531 youth participation in at least one session of the the target of 552 youth.  

A total of 3,006 Richmond County youths were educated in high-risk behaviors, including alcohol, drugs, smoking, and sex, were taught positive reproductive health, and informed students of health services in the community. Eighty-eight percent (2,643) of the youth attended more than seventy-five percent of the program sessions. It is the hope of the health department that all eighth and ninth grade Healthful Living teachers will receive training to facilitate their program for sustainability and will be able to facilitate those programs through interpersonal communication and relationships essential standards of their curriculum. After the duration of the REACH grant, it is the hope of the health department that through the education of teens that adolescent birth rates in Richmond County decrease by at least ten percent. Teen education must be maintained in the school system after REACH funding is no longer provided to ensure the decline of adolescent birth rates.