The Family Planning program, authorized under Title X of the Public Health Service Act, is administered within the OPA by the Office of Family Planning (OFP), although its budget line is located within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The program is funded at $280 million in fiscal year 2004. Susan Moskosky is the Director, OFP.

The Title X program is the only Federal program devoted solely to the provision of family planning and reproductive health care. The program is designed to provide access to contraceptive supplies and information to all who want and need them with priority given to low-income persons. A broad range of effective and acceptable family planning methods and related preventive health services are available on a voluntary and confidential basis. In addition to contraceptive services and related counseling, Title X supported clinics also provide a number of preventive health services such as: patient education and counseling; breast and pelvic examinations; cervical cancer, STD and HIV screenings; and pregnancy diagnosis and counseling. For many clients, Title X clinics provide the only continuing source of health care and health education.

The Title X program also supports three key functions aimed at assisting clinics in responding to clients needs: (1) training for family planning clinic personnel through general training programs; (2) information dissemination and community-based education and outreach activities; and (3) data collection and research to improve the delivery of family planning services.

Created in 1970, the Title X program is the only Federal program solely dedicated to family planning and reproductive health with a mandate to provide a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods and services.

The program supports a nationwide network of approximately 4,600 clinics and provides reproductive health services to approximately 5 million persons each year. Title X service funds are allocated to the ten DHHS Regional Offices. The Regional Offices manage the competitive review process, make grant awards and monitor program performance. In fiscal year 2003, Title X provided Federal funds for service delivery grants to 86 public and private organizations to support the provision of comprehensive family planning services and information. Services are delivered through a network of community-based clinics that include State and local health departments, hospitals, university health centers, Planned Parenthood affiliates, independent clinics, and public and non-profit agencies. In nearly 75 percent of U.S. counties, at least one provider of contraceptive services is funded by the Title X family planning program.

Title X funds are critical to maintaining and operating clinics which ensure the availability of family planning services to low-income and uninsured individuals in the United States. Over the last thirty years, the network of Title X family planning clinics has played a critical role in ensuring access to confidential family planning services for millions of low-income or uninsured women at no cost or at a reduced cost. Title X also provides access for many under-insured women who do not have coverage for contraceptive services, devices or drugs. For many women, Title X serves as an entry point into the health care system, as well as a source of primary health care services. Title X-funded services, available regardless of ability to pay, help ensure access to reproductive health care for low-income and uninsured persons, a population which is disproportionately composed of racial and ethnic minorities. Nearly two-thirds of Title X clients have incomes below 100 percent of the poverty level and 89 percent have incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level.

The contraceptive counseling and services available in Title X-funded clinic settings help couples space births and plan intended pregnancies, an important element in ensuring positive birth outcomes and a healthy start for infants. Each year, publicly subsidized family planning services help women avoid an estimated 1.3 million unintended pregnancies. Estimates also show that every public dollar spent for contraceptive services saves an average of $3 in Medicaid costs for pregnancy-related health care and for medical care of newborns. Title X services assist individuals in preventing sexually transmitted infections including HIV and concomitant complications and also play a major role in the early detection of breast and cervical cancer.