Indiana has not gone the way of other states in walking away from federal dollars for abstinence education.

But as a result of inconsistencies with the delivery of the money, the Indiana State Department of Health opted last year to keep the funding for a media campaign rather than continue passing it along to 25 local abstinence-based programs, including several across the region.

As state officials prepare to reapply for the funding, they say it could begin flowing again to the local groups.

It all depends on whether the federal government once again begins to distribute the money consistently enough for the state to re-establish agreements with the local abstinence-based programs, said Jennifer Dunlap, director of the ISDH's office of public affairs.

Local groups that received funding during the 2006-07 fiscal year included A Positive Approach of Teen Health (PATH) in Valparaiso, St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers in Hammond, St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point and St. Anthony Memorial Health Centers in Michigan City, said Stephanie Woodcox, adolescent health coordinator for the ISDH.

Indiana expects to receive $753,554 for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, said Dr. Judith Ganser, medical director for the ISDH's maternal and children's special health care services.

The state has received the Title V, Section 510 funding since 1998 and had been directing most of it to community-based abstinence education programs, she said. The local groups were required to come up with a $3 match for every $4 in federal money.

The distribution to the local groups was discontinued as reauthorization of the money became less certain and distribution more inconsistent, Ganser said.

There is a second batch of federal dollars that flow directly to local organizations for abstinence-based education that is unaffected, she said.

The federal funds received by the state department of health are now directed to its Indiana Respect program for a media campaign, Dunlap said. Most of the funding has been used to fund a television campaign, including spots designed for parents that introduce strangers with the message, "If you don't talk to your kids about sex, I will."

The other spots are directed to young people and focus on the potential negative health consequences of sex.

The campaign has also included advertisements in high school newspapers and sports magazines, and some billboards, Dunlap said.

The current round of federal funding is set to expire Sept. 30, but more has been reauthorized by Congress through June 30.