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Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Teen Pregnancy Prevention

While recent data shows that the U.S. teen pregnancy rates are falling, the United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world, with thirty-five percent of young women becoming pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 — about 850,000 a year. The NEA Health Information Network is particularly concerned about these numbers because teen mothers are less likely to complete high school (only one-third receive a high school diploma) and only 1.5% have a college degree by age 30.4 Clearly, we all need to work to prevent teenage pregnancies.

The NEA Health Information Network provides information to NEA members about the issue and is a proud member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Joint Work Group on School-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention.

NEA HIN’s teen pregnancy prevention program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control’s Division of Adolescent School Health (CDC DASH) and includes two major activities.

The Joint Work Group on School-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention

NEA HIN is an active member of the Joint Work Group on School-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention (JWG), a group of 8 national non-governmental education and health organizations funded through CDC DASH since 1998. The JWG set out to enhance the ability of each of its organizations’ respective constituencies to develop and implement teen pregnancy prevention policies and programs. The JWG strives to work with policymakers, administrators and school personnel in selected states to build their capacity to address school-based teen pregnancy prevention policies and programs, and to partner with local communities on this issue. The JWG is made up of the following 8 organizations:

  • The American School Health Association (ASHA)
  • The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP)
  • The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
  • The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
  • The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE)
  • The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
  • The National Education Association Health Information Network
  • The National School Boards Association (NSBA)

The JWG works together throughout the year. Back in the 2000-2002 project years, the JWG provided intensive, coordinated technical assistance to Delaware, Oklahoma, Maryland, Hawaii, and California. This resulted in each state conducting a two-day training for selected leaders and health and education professionals. The agendas for these trainings were planned and customized to address the unique needs of each particular state in the area of school-based teen pregnancy prevention. All six states were chosen through a competitive application process and a series of site visits by Joint Work Group members.

Essential Tips for Successful Collaboration-2004 (pdf).

Essential Tips for Successful Collaboration provides a summary of the “lessons learned” by NEA HIN and its partners in the Joint Work Group on School-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention members over five years of organizational collaboration as part of our cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health.

The Joint Work Group member organizations worked together to strengthen collaboration among national education, health, and other organizations in their efforts to build the capacity of state and local agencies/organizations to implement effective school-based teen pregnancy prevention. We believe that the “lessons learned” can be applied to collaborations addressing any number of education and/or health issues with a variety of collaborative members.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Toolkit for School Employees

NEA HIN is currently developing a resource to help school employees address issues related to teen pregnancy in their school or district. Once completed, this guide will offer a range of very practical tools and suggestions to encourage academic and personal achievement and discourage risky behaviors.

Unfortunately, the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Toolkit is not available at this time. If you are interested in more information about the Toolkit, contact Kandra Strauss Riggs at [email protected] or 202-822-7570.

For Data on Teen Pregnancy:

1. National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (1997). Whatever Happened to Childhood? The Problem of Teen Pregnancy in the United States. Washington, DC: Author. www.teenpregnancy.org

2. National Campaign Analysis of Henshaw, S.K. (2003). U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics with Comparative Statistics for Women Aged 20-24. New York: The Alan Guttmacher Institute. Ventura, S.J., Martin, J.A., Curtin, S.C., Menacker, F., & Hamilton, B.E. (2001). Births: Final Data for 1999. National Vital Statistics Reports, 49 (1). www.agi-usa.org

3. Maynard, R.A., (Ed.). (1996). Kids Having Kids: A Robin Hood Foundation Special Report on the Costs of Adolescent Childbearing, New York: Robin Hood Foundation.http://www.robinhood.org/home/home.cfm

Additional Resources

Five new PowerPoint presentations, based on research published as part of the National Campaign’s “Putting What Works to Work” (PWWTW) project, are now available for free download. These presentations join three full-length research documents and nine “Science Says” research briefs that have been produced as part of the CDC-funded PWWTW project. The project is an effort to provide the latest research in straightforward language and provide clear implications for policy leaders, program practitioners, and parents. Visit http://www.teenpregnancy.org/works/default.asp#presentations to view or download the presentations. Click here for the black and white version:

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