Passing the torch at pregnancy programPassing the torch at pregnancy program

Jennifer Valentine (left) the new executive director of Marion Adolescent Pregnancy Program poses for a portrait along side the former executive director Christine Haas, outside the MAPP building on Wednesday.(Photo: Matthew Hatcher/ The Marion Star)Buy Photo

MARION – A changing of the guard is planned atA a Marion County organization that has been addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy for more than three decades.

Jennifer Valentine has been named the new executive director of the Marion Adolescent Pregnancy Program (MAPP), replacing longtime director Christine Haas. The process involves an in-depth examination of the siteas operationA as well asA the quality of the visits made by HFA home visitors.

The agency is funded through the United Way of Marion County,A Marion County Community Foundation,A Evelyn Walters Foundation,A Help Me Grow,A Marion County Family and Children First Council,A Federal Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (through the Ohio Department of Health),A Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps and Early Intervention Services,A and a grant from the U.S.