Printer-friendly version

PREGNANCY ASSISTANCE, BENEFITS, AND SERVICES

     For detailed information about any of the services listed below, please contact the respective agency as eligibility and service information may change. Descriptions in this listing are reprinted from agency brochures and web sites. With the exception of those identified as Department of Health, the department exercises no control over the content of these sites and provides the links for informational purposes only. This information is not a substitute for medical care. Agencies are listed alphabetically within each section.

     The listing was compiled in November 2003 and was accurate as of that date.

STATE AGENCY SERVICES

Bright Start Initiative (www.sdbrightstart.com/)

Provides a variety of services to assure that every baby born in South Dakota has the opportunity for a good start in life. Services may include home visitation, newborn hearing screenings, early intervention screenings, immunizations, responsive parenting seminars and information for parents via the web, the infant welcome box and a monthly newsletter.

Department of Health

Community Health Services (http://doh.sd.gov/Community.aspx)
Provides risk assessment, case management, perinatal education, prenatal/postpartum visits, referral to community resources and referral for genetic counseling. 

Family Planning Program (http://doh.sd.gov/FamilyHealth/FamilyPlanning.aspx)
Provides pregnancy testing and referrals to medical care and other available resources and sources of assistance.

WIC (http://doh.sd.gov/WIC/)
Supplemental nutrition program for eligible women, infants and children providing nutrition education and counseling, breast-feeding support (information & breast pumps perinatal education), healthy foods, referral to doctors, nurses, health and social service agencies.

Department of Human Services

Alcohol and Drug Abuse (http://dhs.sd.gov/ada/Treatment/pwomen.aspx)
Funds treatment programs for pregnant women and women with dependent children.

Mental Health (http://dhs.sd.gov/dmh/services.aspx#Adult)
Provides a variety of services including medical, social, educational, vocational and other support services necessary to meet basic human needs. Services are available through Community Mental Health Centers.

Department of Social Services (http://dss.sd.gov/)

Services include food stamps, energy assistance, financial assistance for medical services, assistance with transportation, financial assistance with child care, information about adoptions and adoption resources. The department also funds domestic abuse centers.

Safe Havens (Baby Moses Law) South Dakota law allows a parent to deliver an infant 60 days of age or younger, who has not been harmed, to an emergency medical services provider* or a licensed child placement agency with the intent of relinquishing permanent custody of the infant. The law is referred to as the Baby Moses law and the specific statute is SDCL 25-5A-27 through 25-5A-35, found at SDCL 25-5A. Additional information about the law can be found at this Department of Social Services site (http://dss.sd.gov/cps/babymoses/index.asp). (*licensed health care facility or clinic, a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or an emergency medical technician.)

Alpha Center (www.alphacenter.org/)
The Alpha Center is a nonprofit agency that provides a full range of services to women and men involved in an unplanned pregnancy. Our goal is to provide positive alternatives with practical support to women and men facing an unplanned pregnancy.

Birthright (www.birthright.org)
Birthright provides caring, non-judgmental support to girls and women who are distressed by an unplanned pregnancy. Using our own resources and those of the community, Birthright provides positive and loving alternatives to abortion. Birthright provides many services and refers for many more. We provide friendship and emotional support, free pregnancy tests, and maternity and baby clothes. We also provide information and referrals to help clients meet legal, medical, financial, and housing needs. Birthright treats each woman as an individual who deserves kindness and respect, as well as personal attention to her unique situation. And all Birthright services are free, absolutely confidential, and available to any woman regardless of age, race, creed, economic or marital status.

Lutheran Social Services (www.lsssd.org/index.html)
Lutheran Social Services is the largest private non-profit social service agency in South Dakota. Its services include consumer credit counseling, mental health counseling, residential care for youth at risk, employee assistance program, affordable housing, housing resource center, child care, adoption, foster care, school-based mentoring, refugee and immigration, interpreter services, rural ministry, disaster response, and Partners in Caring.

National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing (www.noparh.org/) consults on the formation of post-abortion support services within secular and religious settings including Project Rachel, provides training for care providers, maintains a national "800" referral line for those seeking assistance in reconciling an abortion experience, publishes the International Post-Abortion Support Services Directory, produces and vends audio, video, and printed materials, maintains an annotated book list, tracks support group models, and sponsors the Healing Vision conference at Marquette University. Project Rachel is the post-abortion healing ministry of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1984 in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Vicki Thorn. At this time, Project Rachel is in more than 110 dioceses in the United States with more ministries forming.

Private Physicians
To find a private physician providing care related to your pregnancy, contact the Community Health Nurse in your area. (http://doh.sd.gov/LocalOffices/CHS.aspx)

Project Rachel (http://www.hopeafterabortion.com/hope.cfm?sel=JHY7)
Project Rachel is an outreach program that offers help, hope, and healing to those dealing with the hurt and loss of an abortion experience

OTHER AGENCY SERVICES

Community Health Centers (www.communityhealthcare.net/)

Community Health Centers provide quality primary and preventive health care regardless of ability to pay.

Indian Health Service (www.ihs.gov)

IHS delivers care services to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level.

Local school counselors/nurses
Many local schools have counselors and nurses who may be able to offer assistance in identifying resources and services.