Since the start in November 2014, the Indiana Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services Program©, administered by the nonprofit Real Alternatives, is celebrating providing life-affirming counseling, mentoring and support services to 125,000 Hoosier women.
Kevin Bagatta, President and CEO of Real Alternatives said, “In 2022, the people of Indiana charged us, through their legislature, to increase services to pregnant women throughout the state. The legislature increased program funding the last two years which resulted in substantial increases in women served.” The life-affirming taxpayer-funded program, is funded $6.25 million a year by the Indiana legislature. In Fiscal Year 2023-24, 250 counselors statewide lovingly encourage and compassionately provide support to 16,518 women.
With this comprehensive state-wide program, Hoosier women have a person to assist them during their pregnancy and 24 months after which empowers them to overcome obstacles and pressures so they can provide a healthy life for their baby.
Real Alternatives partners with a growing network of 32 pregnancy support centers and social service agencies throughout Indiana that provide caring, compassionate, and trained counselors who offer free pregnancy support and parenting education services to women. Hoosier women from 90 counties receive services.
In addition to Indiana, Real Alternatives has been administering statewide life-affirming pregnancy support services for 28 years – including programs in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Those high performance and fiscally accountable programs together assisted over 480,000 women in need who sought out pregnancy and parenting support services.