CHENANGO COUNTY – Family Planning of South Central New York, Inc. does more than just provide contraceptives and sexual-health-related medical services. They also educate the residents and youth of Chenango County and neighboring counties about sexuality, reproduction and other related topics.
“Family Planning of South Central New York, Inc. provides comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate sexuality education to young people in schools, human service agencies, and even households throughout Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Broome Counties. We believe people of all ages need accurate information to make healthy decisions about their sexuality now and in the future,” said Ingrid Husisian, the Director of Public Communications.
The organization believes medically accurate, evidence-based sex education for youth and adults is important because it prevents unintended pregnancy, including teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Family Planning’s education programs encourage people to make educated choices about how they want to plan their families and protect their sexual and reproductive health.
Husisian says, “Whether or not we’re comfortable with the idea, some teenagers do choose to have sex. Unfortunately, many young people are not getting medically accurate, age-appropriate sexuality education to prepare them for this important and potentially life-altering decision. Many ‘abstinence only until marriage’ programs refuse to answer specific questions about birth control or focus only on failure rates of condoms and birth control rather than equip young people with the skills to use them as effectively as possible. This leaves many young people with a real need for information.”
“It’s interesting to note that just because an adult has been sexually active for years, it doesn’t mean he or she has accurate information,” she adds.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit organization that works to advance reproductive health, unintended pregnancy remains a persistent problem in the United States. More than 37 percent of the pregnancies in the United States are unintended and in 31 states, more than half of pregnancies are unintended. New York is one of these states with an unintended pregnancy rate of 62 percent, the institute says.
According to the New York State Department of Health, one in 15 teenage females between the ages of 15 and 19 years old become pregnant in Chenango County, which means there are 64 pregnancies per 1,000 teen females. This rate has increased in the past four years and is higher than in neighboring counties. The NYS Department of Health also reports in 2011, 56 people had HIV or AIDS in Chenango County.
The educators for Family Planning receive extensive, ongoing training to stay current in their field. The educators recently returned from the Center for Family Life Education’s national sexuality education conference in New Jersey, which is attended by health and sexuality educators, sex therapists and health teachers. The conference is an annual update for the most current information on sexuality and sex education.
Marilyn Hess is the Community Educator for Chenango County. Hess works at the Family Planning location in Norwich on 5 Cortland St. She offers programming in the schools in Chenango and Otsego Counties. Hess also offers individual education in Chenango County, including for people with special needs. She speaks at public schools, human services agencies and tables at health fairs.
“Marilyn follows WIC to all of their mobile enrollment sites in Chenango County. If a client wants more information about family planning, WIC suggests they visit Marilyn’s table while they process their paperwork. She also provides all of the STD and HIV education for Chenango County Mental Hygiene’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services program. This is an important part of the clients’ recovery from addiction,” says Husisian.
 Every year, Family Planning sends a letter to schools and agencies in Chenango County explaining their services and giving examples of the programs they offer. They tailor the educational program to each school’s or agency’s needs.
“With permission of the school’s principal, we bring examples of the most common birth control options. We explain how a pregnancy happens and how each method prevents pregnancy. It is always age appropriate,” says Husisian.
The list of topic educational choices the organization offers includes and is not limited to the following: abstinence, bullying (including cyber-bullying), communication skills, contraception, dating and dating violence, decision-making, goal-setting, healthy relationships, HIV/ AIDS education, sexual orientation, male responsibility, media messages, parenting now or later, postponing sexual involvement, puberty education, reproductive life plan, refusal skills, risk reduction and safer sex, sexually transmitted infections, self esteem and body image, “sexting” and online safety, sexual harassment, teen pregnancy prevention and technology and sexuality.
It is also important to note that the organization understands the changing needs of the new generation of technologically advanced and social media savvy teens.
“We’ve done educational programs about ‘sexting’ and cyber-bullying. We’ve covered these topics in individual education programs. Families often ask us to talk to their teens about how risky this behavior can be. We use Facebook to promote our agency. There are so many new social media outlets that we try, as an agency, to stay on top of the trends so we know what risk factors are facing teens. We emphasize that social media isn’t private,” says Husisian.
While Family Planning allows the schools and agencies to choose what they include in their sex education programs, they explain the advantages of comprehensive versus abstinence-only education. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the abstinence-only programs are required to promote scientifically questionable ideas and withhold health-promoting and life-saving information, which can have devastating consequences. The rise of unintended pregnancies, teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases has highlighted the inefficiency of abstinence-only education and the need for comprehensive sex education.
Commenting on the effectiveness of their sex education programs, Husisian says, “We hand out evaluation forms after all of our programs, and based on the results, we adjust the programs accordingly. This education is life-long. It’s not that you hear it once and you’re done. Sexuality education is a lifelong process. We have good relationships with our local schools and human service agencies.”
Family Planning also offers in-person education to families and individuals who request it. In the comfort of an individual’s own home, they can take advantage of the information the organization has to offer. “Maybe lack of transportation or to add some privacy, we can offer this to teens, families, couples or anyone else who wants the services,” says Husisian.
 The organization facilitates parent-child communication regarding sexuality as well. “We help parents find the right words they need to share their own values with their kids. We offer parents books, brochures, and in-person education so they can speak with our educator, who can help get the conversation started,” says Husisian.
Husisian says the mission of Family Planning of South Central New York, Inc. is to advocate and provide individuals, families and organizations in the region with information, education, and health care services pertaining to human sexuality and reproductive health in a private and confidential manner, respectful of all beliefs and values, supporting individual freedom of choice and responsibility.
To learn more about Family Planning of South Central New York, Inc. visit their website at fpscny.org.