(A) Ten percent of the money appropriated annually to the fund by the General Assembly is to be used by the department to evaluate the effectiveness of each initiative and the fund as specified in Section 44-122-60. The remaining money must be distributed by the department to each county government in the following manner:

(1) fifteen percent of the money appropriated must be allocated evenly among all counties;

(2) fifteen percent of the money appropriated must be allocated to counties based on the size of their adolescent population;

(3) twenty percent of the money appropriated must be allocated to counties based on their rate of adolescent pregnancy;

(4) forty percent of the funds appropriated must be allocated to counties based on their number of adolescent pregnancies.

A county government may retain up to five percent of the money it receives to cover the actual costs of administering the fund. All other funds must be allocated for initiatives mainly focused on primary pregnancy prevention.

(B) Money appropriated to the fund must not be used for:

(1) purchase of inpatient care;

(2) purchase or improvement of land;

(3) purchase, construction, or permanent improvement of any building or other facility;

(4) purchase of any item of major equipment costing over two thousand dollars;

(5) transportation to or from abortion services;

(6) abortions; or

(7) provision of goods or services to a participant in a local project or initiative that exceeds fifty dollars per participant per year; counseling and guidance as well as any service of nonmonetary value are exempt from the fifty dollar limit.

(C) If the governing body of a county chooses not to assume the responsibilities and duties assigned to county governments by this chapter:

(1) the governing body may designate an agency or organization to assume those responsibilities and duties; or

(2) in the absence of designation by the governing body, the department may designate another agency or organization within the county to assume those responsibilities and duties.

(D) If a county government uses money it receives pursuant to subsection (A) in a manner not expressly authorized by this chapter, the department may designate another agency or organization within the county to assume those responsibilities and duties, or reallocate that county's funds among compliant counties in accordance with the formula prescribed in subsection (A).

(E) If a county fails to fund an initiative during any fiscal year, the funds allocated to that county shall be reallocated in the following year, in accordance with the formula prescribed in subsection (A).

(F) Funds allocated subsequent to the 1998 appropriation will be subject to the following conditions: New initiatives and initiatives receiving continuation of funds beyond the third year must incorporate either a nationally recognized best practices model for teen pregnancy prevention, or a model that has demonstrated a record of local success in reducing adolescent pregnancy or the risk factors that contribute to adolescent pregnancy in South Carolina during the previous funding period as reflected in the evaluation or the summary progress reports.

(G) The department, on recommendation of the evaluator, will determine if the conditions described above are met before the department disseminates new funds or continuation of funds beyond the third year, in accordance with Section 44-122-30(A).

(H) Funding for an initiative shall be terminated if the evaluator notifies the department and the county government that an initiative substantially deviates from the approved project design, including timelines.

HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 419, Part II, Section 47A; 2001 Act No. 1, Part II, Section 5A, eff July 1, 2000.