This descriptive study was conducted to identify barriers encountered by school systems, health departments, and other health care agencies while implementing pregnancy prevention projects in public school settings. The following questions were addressed in this study:

1. Do identifiable barriers exist that prevent the implementation of programs to serve adolescent parents in public schools?

2. Do common characteristics exist among school systems and health care agencies which implement pregnancy prevention projects?

3. Do school systems, community health care agencies, and health departments experience similar barriers during the implementation of pregnancy prevention programs?

Eight sites were selected, four each from the categories of Delayed Implemented and Promptly Implemented Sites. Key persons involved with the initial project implementation were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. Tape transcriptions and field notes from the interviews provided data for subsequent coding and classification around major themes.

Three barriers were identified that were common to all Sites: access to contraceptives; access to abortions; and religious opposition to the project, or a specific project activity. Much of the religious opposition involved issues related to dispensing contraceptives, abortions, and the secular nature of the projects.

An overwhelming majority of persons interviewed felt that pregnancy prevention and service delivery to adolescent parents were important issues for the school systems. A past working relationship appeared to be common to joint operated projects.

An unstable funding cycle, staff recruitment, and staff retention were common barriers to project operators. Staff recruitment and staff retention were also impacted by the year-to-year funding cycle. There is also some indication that school system operated projects experienced fewer problems during implementation and enjoyed considerable support among the school staff and the community.