CHENANGO COUNTY – Family Planning of South Central New York, Inc. does more than just provide contraceptives and sexual-health-related medical services. They also educate the residents and youth of Chenango County and neighboring counties about sexuality, reproduction and other related topics.

“Family Planning of South Central New York, Inc. provides comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate sexuality education to young people in schools, human service agencies, and even households throughout Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Broome Counties. We believe people of all ages need accurate information to make healthy decisions about their sexuality now and in the future,” said Ingrid Husisian, the Director of Public Communications.

The organization believes medically accurate, evidence-based sex education for youth and adults is important because it prevents unintended pregnancy, including teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Family Planning’s education programs encourage people to make educated choices about how they want to plan their families and protect their sexual and reproductive health.

Husisian says, “Whether or not we’re comfortable with the idea, some teenagers do choose to have sex. Unfortunately, many young people are not getting medically accurate, age-appropriate sexuality education to prepare them for this important and potentially life-altering decision. Many ‘abstinence only until marriage’ programs refuse to answer specific questions about birth control or focus only on failure rates of condoms and birth control rather than equip young people with the skills to use them as effectively as possible. This leaves many young people with a real need for information.”