Real Alternatives

Real Alternatives exists to provide life-affirming alternatives to abortion services throughout the nation. These compassionate support services empower women to
1. choose childbirth rather than abortion,
2. avoid crisis pregnancies,
3. protect their reproductive health,
4. receive adoption education, and
5. improve parenting skills.

For those in a unexpected pregnancy, core services are delivered by providing direct counseling support during the parenting and adoption decision. Services include:
• counseling and case management in a non-judgmental atmosphere,
• education on fetal development and the health and nutritional needs of pregnant women, through the use of books, videos, brochures, and fetal models
• pre- and post-natal education; pregnancy and certified childbirth classes
• access to information on medical care, hospital clinics, doctors, health care facilities, and other professional services; assistance with identifying drug and alcohol programs, if needed
• adoption service information
• life-skills training for parenting and nutritional needs
• availability of other community social services
• tangible aid in the form of maternity clothes, food and furniture
• referrals to maternity homes
• referrals to other programs for the physical and emotional needs of the women experiencing the stress of a crisis pregnancy.

For women who have given birth, support services are delivered by providing direct parenting or adoption support because of their decision not to abort. Such services take the form of:
• parenting counseling and classes
• education referrals for upgrading skills or obtaining a GED
• child care referrals
• mentoring
• information on Women Infants and Children (WIC) programs
• job service and vocational training opportunities availability
• tangible aid in the form of baby and infant items and other needed supplies.

For those who come to our Service Providers thinking they are experiencing a unexpected pregnancy, self-administered pregnancy test kits are available. For those in this category who are not pregnant, support services are delivered by providing:
• information on the risks of sexually transmitted diseases
• relationship counseling
• decision-making education
• teen pregnancy prevention programs with the goal of modifying risk-taking behavior that lowers out-of-wedlock births and sexually transmitted diseases.

Real Alternatives has a network of vendors that it contracts with to provide services throughout each of the states it serves. These include: pregnancy counseling centers, social service agencies, adoption agencies, and maternity homes. By state they are as follows:

Pennsylvania: 28 service providers with 92 sites in 30 counties and 357 counselors statewide.
Michigan: 7 service providers with 15 sites in 11 counties and 44 counselors statewide.
Indiana: 8 service providers with 23 sites in 12 counties, with 134 counselors statewide.

Real Alternatives:
* Conducts a review of prospective service Providers,
* Conducts annual Service Provider Site Monitoring as well as program compliance training,
* As funds allow, reaches out to women in need of our services and connects them to Service Providers via:
1. Statewide marketing campaigns, including TV and Radio campaigns,
2. Service provider and site specific marketing campaigns,
3. The 1-888-LIFE-AID hotline, and
4. The Real Alternatives Website, www.realalternatives.org, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
* Handles billing and data collection for client services provided,
* Purchases client educational materials on behalf of the service providers,
* Presents an annual service provider conference, with awards for outstanding Service Providers and counselors, and
* Provides funding to service providers.

Real Alternatives funding allows our counselors to provide:
* Confidential counseling, mentoring and non-judgmental support from conception through the first year after the child is born
* Maternity and baby clothing, food and furniture
* Pregnancy, childbirth and parenting education
* Chastity education to modify risky lifestyle behavior
* Adoption information
* Assistance with education and career decisions
* Referrals to other supportive agencies for:
• food,
• shelter,
• prenatal and other medical care,
• financial help, and
• any other support the client needs to care for her baby.
* Free pregnancy self-test kits
* Other related services necessary for the well-being of the mother and child

Financial Responsibility and Accountability:
* 6 Consecutive Perfect annual CPA "Yellow Book" Audits
* 17 Consecutive Perfect annual CPA "A-133" Federal Audits
* Consistently low administrative cost ratios: 6.93% for PA, 12.52% for MI and 5.68% for IN in the 18-19 fiscal year

Program Soundness:

Real Alternatives was the first of four nonprofits in Pennsylvania to be certified with the "Seal of Excellence" by the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO), passing rigorous ethics and accountability standards. This certification has been renewed twice.

The Standards for Excellence is based on fundamental values such as honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility, and accountability. Real Alternatives' programs and services, management, fundraising, and financial practices were examined in depth using 56 criteria before the accreditation was granted.

More Women Reached:

Real Alternatives has served over 320,000 women in Pennsylvania in the last 23 years and has provided over 1.6 million support service visits to women throughout the Commonwealth. In fiscal year 2018-2019 (ending June 30, 2019), over 18,000 Pennsylvania women were provided comprehensive counseling, mentoring, education, and support services that were available to them throughout their nine months of pregnancy and twelve months after the birth of their baby.

In 2013, Real Alternatives was asked to start up and administer the Michigan Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services Program modeled after the successful Pennsylvania Program. That regional program has served over 8,715 women to date.

In 2014, Real Alternatives was asked to start up and administer the Indiana Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services Program modeled after the successful Pennsylvania Program. That regional program has served over 61,163 women to date.

Real Alternatives has helped 12 other states start programs modeled after ours, and has advised 6 additional states in setting up their own programs.

Real Alternatives looks to the future and expects to continue to grow its programs nationally so more women in unexpected pregnancies can be provided comprehensive and compassionate life-affirming services.

Successful Outcomes:

Our fiscal year 2018-2019 statistics demonstrate that our program successfully helps women choose life.
For PA, after program services:
* 86% of clients who were pressured by others to abort chose life,
* 54% of clients who were abortion-minded chose life,
* 54% of clients who were both abortion-minded and pressured by others chose life.

For MI, the numbers were 86%, 52% and 51% respectively.

For IN they were 70%, 43% and 33% respectively.