11,000+ Clients Served

For Immediate Release

September 4, 2008, AUSTIN - Texas Pregnancy Care Network (TPCN), administrator of the two year-old Texas Alternative to Abortion Services Program, announced today that more than 11,500 women throughout Texas have now received pregnancy and parenting support under the Program. Together, those 11,500 women have made over 60,000 visits to TPCN's approved network of Service Providers across the State of Texas.

TPCN also announced that the number of women served during Fiscal Year 2007-08 is up more than 150% from the previous year. Due to this dramatic growth, client services during Fiscal Year 2007-08 are projected to exceed the Program's initial funding level. Demand for client services exceeding the Program's funding is also projected throughout 2008-09.

Regarding the strain on funding, TPCN's Executive Director Vincent Friedewald commented, "It's a good problem to have, absolutely, because of what it affirms," he said. "As we've always said, this Program doesn't create needs—it responds to them. The growing demand for services shows that many women and families across Texas are seeking support, not abortions, when faced with a difficult pregnancy. And the citizens of Texas are responding through this program."

In Friedewald's view, while 11,500 women have benefitted directly from the Program, at least that same number have benefitted indirectly. "All of the clients served were either expecting a child, or were parents of a newborn," Friedewald commented, "so unofficially, we're celebrating services to 23,000 Texans."

Even using official figures, the Program has achieved remarkable programmatic efficiency in only its second full year of existence. The average cost to support a woman in an unplanned pregnancy in fiscal year 2007-08 was approximately $300, or a mere $60 when calculated on a per-visit basis. And with only five full-time staff, TPCN has hired, trained, and provided ongoing monitoring of 25 Service Provider sites in 9 out of 11 Health and Human Services regions across Texas.

More than 350 trained counselors and mentors deliver services across TPCN's approved network of Service Providers, which include adoption agencies, social services agencies, maternity homes, and pregnancy support centers. The first provider in the program two years ago was a maternity home, but the newest providers are two licensed adoption agencies in the Dallas & Ft. Worth area: The Gladney Center for Adoption, and The Children and Family Institute.

Women in need of assistance can be connected to one of these or other TPCN-approved Service Provider sites to receive caring and confidential services by calling toll-free 1-888-LIFE-AID or visiting www.texaspregnancy.org.