Teen mothers may soon lose an outlet to receive their education after it was announced yesterday that Teen Services may have to close its doors due to a lack of funding.

The continuation school has offered counselling and secondary education to pregnant teens for the past 35 years.

There are currently 17 young mothers attending the school and there has been such a demand for the service that students have had to be turned away in recent months.

In a press release sent to The Royal Gazette last night, Acting Minister of Health and Family Services Terry Lister said he was sorry that such an announcement had to be made.

"The Ministry of Health recognises the contribution that this programme has made over many years and regrets that the Board of Directors of Teen Services has had to make this decision."

Teen Services' operating costs are funded by a $380,00 annual grant from the Ministry of Health along with donations, but The Royal Gazette understands it costs around $500,000 for the school to run all of its programmes.

In addition to the funding, said Mr. Lister, Government has permitted the continuation school to operate out of Teucer House, located on Cedar Avenue, which it owns. While he did not give a potential date for closure, he said the Ministries of Health and Education have been working with Teen Services to address the school's long-term funding needs.

"It is our hope that we will be able to assist them to find a solution that will enable their students to continue to receive services from the continuation school," he said.

And that is exactly what Shadow Minister of Health Michael Dunkley is hoping for.

As he expressed his surprise at the announcement, Mr. Dunkley questioned why the school was in financial jeopardy only halfway through Government's fiscal year.

"This leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Is emergency money coming through?" he asked. "The last thing we would want to do is leave them out on a limb."

And while he acknowledged that Teen Services' budget had been cut from $400,000, Mr. Dunkley said an in-depth look into different agencies and how they serve the community might indicate how Government money could be better spent.

"It's fine for us to debate (the budget) but we need to look at the effectiveness of programmes. Rather then just spending the money, look at where we can perhaps combine programmes and assess how long we need them," he said.

Attempts to reach the Director of Teen Services, Michelle Wade-Johnson, were unsuccessful.