Family Planning Council is a private, non-profit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Mission Statement Family Planning Council advances sexual and reproductive health outcomes to promote health equity for individuals, families, and communities. The Council develops, manages, and promotes programs that are innovative, research-based and responsive to women, men and adolescents. In fulfilling this mission, the Council provides financial and other administrative support to a wide range of organizations and programs throughout the five-county Philadelphia region, including family planning providers; providers serving families affected by HIV; and, breast and cervical cancer screening and prevention programs for women 40 and older.

In its family planning program, the Council supports 24 family planning provider agencies in 66 locations throughout the region. This network includes the area's major teaching hospitals, Planned Parenthood affiliates, federally funded community health centers, and the Philadelphia Department of Health. In 2012, 124,293 low-income women, men, and adolescents were served. The basic funding for these programs comes from the Title X Federal Family Planning Program; in 2010, the Council received $5.4 million in Title X funds.

• 136,000 women received contraceptive methods;
• 198,000 tests for Chlamydia and gonorrhea were performed;
• 19,000 Pap tests were performed; and
• 27,400 HIV tests were performed.

annual gynecological medical exams;
• screening for cervical and breast cancer, diabetes, anemia, and high blood pressure;
• testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases;
• HIV testing and prevention education;
• pregnancy testing;
• client-centered options counseling and referrals; and
• contraceptive education and methods.

• annual medical exams;
• testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases;
• HIV testing and prevention education;
• education on preventing pregnancy; and condoms.

While Title X supported services are the bedrock of our business, the Family Planning Council supports a full array of reproductive health and related services.

To meet the needs of HIV-affected families, the Council runs the nationally recognized Circle of Care program serving over 1,000 families in Philadelphia with health care, social services, and respite care. The Circle is a leader in the prevention of perinatal transmission of HIV, and works to empower women and children living with HIV to advocate for improved funding and services. Circle of Care funding comes from the Ryan White Care Act and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Among its other programs, the Council manages a regional project to reduce Chlamydia, the leading cause of infertility in the United States. For the past 20 years, the Council has administered the only school-based condom distribution program in the Commonwealth. Through SafeGuards LGBT Health Resource Center, the Council supports a range of services to improve health care delivery for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. For 30 years, the Council has housed the Title X regional training center for the mid-Atlantic states. Known as Training3, this program provides traditional and web-based trainings for clinical, counseling and administrative staff to enhance service delivery. In 2010, Training3 was awarded a major Federal grant to create the National Male Training Center for Family Planning and Reproductive Health.

In its ongoing commitment to improving service delivery, the Council’s Quality Improvement Department works diligently to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and adherence to best practices by our provider agencies. Through its Special Projects Department, the Council runs a state-funded, regional program providing breast and cervical cancer screening and referral services to uninsured women aged 65 and older. In addition, this innovative Department conducts a parenting education program for men and women incarcerated in two local county prisons.

Finally, the Council houses a widely respected Research Department. The staff conducts both primary research and program evaluations on a range of issues including consumer knowledge about contraception; the changing demographics of people affected by HIV in our community; and, cultural and linguistic challenges to service provision. Research findings have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals including Contraception, Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health, and The Journal of Sex Research.

In 2012, the Council celebrates its 40th anniversary. The Council continues to respond to the changing needs of the community by designing and successfully implementing innovative programs promoting the sexual and reproductive health of women, men and adolescents in southeastern Pennsylvania.

For more information, contact:
Audrey Ann Ross, Communications and Community Engagement Manager at 215-985-2619 or aross@familyplanning.org