Rhode Island General Laws Title 23. Health and Safety § 23-13-20. Coordination of community-based family life and sex education

(a) The director of health, with the consultation from the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, the director of human services, the family life center at the community college of Rhode Island, and the director of the department of children, youth, and families, is authorized to establish a family life and sex education coordination program to assist in the establishment of community networks of educators, counselors, and health and human service providers in the maternal and child health planning areas of the state with high rates of teenage pregnancy.  The epidemic of teenage pregnancy is, in part, a result of a deteriorating quality of family life reflected in high divorce rates, confusion between love and sex, and increasing reports of isolation and hopelessness.  This community-based approach can address the problem of teenage pregnancy created by the demographic, economic, and cultural phenomena that have dramatically changed both the definition and the role of the family.  This program shall include counseling in substance abuse prevention.

(b) It is the intent of the general assembly that the complex social problem of teenage pregnancy be addressed by the thoughtful orchestration of community institutions and interest groups to support a sound school program designed both to enhance the personal competence and self-esteem of youth, and improve parent skills in providing explicit sexuality education in the home.