The future of a successful teen pregnancy prevention program in Jackson County may be in the hands of county commissioners.

Jackson County boasts the third lowest teen pregnancy rate in the state, thanks in large part to a program started 15 years ago to encourage abstinence and sex education within the local school system, health department officials say.

According to state Department of Health and Human Services statistics, Jackson County registered a rate of 36.4 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19.

“We want to keep it that way,” said Paula Carden, director of the Jackson County Department of Public Health.

Haywood came in at 53.6, Macon at 58.8 and Swain 85.8. Swain County also was the only county of the four to register a pregnancy in the 10 to 14 year old age range.

However, the Jackson County is in danger of losing its teen pregnancy prevention program as its success also has proven to be its downfall. By curtailing teen pregnancy, the county has effectively moved beyond the need for grants to continue funding the program — or at least that’s what the state granting agency has determined.

“Unfortunately success is not rewarded,” said County Manager Ken Westmoreland during a commissioners meeting held June 20.

Consequently, Carden requested the county take over funding the program at a cost of approximately $52,000 per year. The funding request comes after commissioners have passed the 2005-06 budget, meaning monies would most likely come from the county’s contingency account, which stands at about $300,000. Carden said it’s a worthwhile emergency expense.

“We won’t have an adolescent pregnancy prevention program without the county’s support on this,” Carden told Jackson commissioners.

The program was started under the direction of Gail Woody, who tailored the program to target teens at a high risk for early pregnancy. The program most often is taught through health education classes, focusing on issues including controlling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

“We are truthful,” Carden said. “We tell them the facts.”

Students receive five years of sex education beginning in seventh grade with a course titled “Postponing Sexual Involvement.” In ninth grade students are given life-like dolls that are programmed to cry for food and care whether it be 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. By the time students are high school seniors the message includes effective means of contraception.

The program is in no way mandated, but Carden said that based on its success it would be ill advised to cut the program from the county’s pool of health resources.

“I feel that without a program our pregnancy rates will soar,” Carden said.

Of the 129 reported pregnancies in Jackson County in 2002 and 2003 for girls ages 10 to 19, 40 of those were repeat pregnancies, according to the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina.

With grant monies set to expire June 30, Carden agreed to use other mini-grants and donations to keep the program afloat until commissioners hold a vote on funding it July 14. The meeting, held at 6 p.m., will be commissioners’ only meeting for the month of July.