Byline: CATHERINE CLABBY Staff writer
Gov. Mario M. Cuomo's State of State Message, while not clarifying how much will be spent where, touched on several issues of relevance to women in health and education.
Some reflected the influence of the Inter-Agency Work Group on Women's Health, whose members have held public meetings and convened focus groups to study women's health needs. While the inter-agency group has not released its final report, its members turned up many common themes in research, said Judith Avner, director of the state Division for Women.
The governor said he plans to extend the statewide network of Breast Health Partnerships - already up and running at Albany Medical Center Hospital - to provide cancer screening services for women who are uninsured. Breast cancer is the most common cancer that strikes women in New York.
He announced the creation of programs designed to better assess women's health needs in different communities and to develop education programs targeted for women on diverse ailments such as heart disease, lung cancer, AIDS and hypertension.
'People's needs vary from community to community,' said Avner, who is active in the inter-agency group. 'We need to look at where are these services sited? What are the hours? Is there one place where women and children can get services? Should we build on more of a community health worker model?'
The state Health Department curriculum in the public schools will be reviewed to discern whether it adequately addresses women's health needs, the governor stated.
Cuomo said he also plans to expand financial support for family planning services and the state's sex education programming in the public schools.
The Health Department expects that expanded support will translmate into up to an additional $1 million in support for family planning programs, particularly for adolescents, said to agency spokeswoman Faith Schottenfeld.
Between 1980 and 1990, the pregnancy rate in New York of young women aged 15 to 19 increased 19 percent. New York City adolescents had a pregnancy rate 78 percent higher than those of upstate teens.
The increased funding for the state's sex education programming is expected to expand staffing for its family life education programs - now funded with $350,000 - which instructs teachers and parents on how to teach youngsters about sexuality. New York does not mandate curriculum in that area but recommends it, with programming decided upon by individual school districts.
The governor also expressed interest in widening career opportunities for women, who make up 46 percent of the state's workforce, in technical fields. He said he will introduce legislation that will set minimum standards for accredited rape crisis programs.
