Barack Obama

Obama Introduces Bill to Reduce Teen Pregnancies in Minority Communities

Monday, July 16, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ben LaBolt

Legislation would strengthen community-based efforts, establish national information database

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today introduced the Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007, which would help prevent teen pregnancies in minority communities. This legislation would strengthen community-based intervention efforts for teen pregnancy services; establish a comprehensive national database to provide culturally and linguistically sensitive information on teen pregnancy reduction; and support research on teen pregnancy in communities of color. U.S. Representative Hilda Solis sponsored this bill in the House (H.R. 468).

“Teen pregnancy can derail the plans of students with dreams of achieving professional success, and it’s hitting minority communities particularly hard,” said Senator Obama. “While the country’s overall teen birth rate continues to decline, pregnancies in African American and Latino communities remain inexcusably high. We must develop innovative approaches to strengthen our community support networks and services to educate our teens about pregnancy and provide them with every chance to succeed in school and beyond.”

Recently, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics released a study showing that in 2005, the teen birth rate hit a new low. In 2005, the adolescent birth rate was 21 per 1,000 young women ages 15-17, which represents a decline of more than 40 percent from 1991 to 2005. Yet despite this good news, nearly 750,000 teens will become pregnant this year and approximately 4 million will contract a sexually transmitted infection.

According to the Forum study, communities of color continue to be at significantly higher risk for teen pregnancies. The birth rate among 15-17 year old African American and Latina adolescents is 3 times and 4 times higher, respectively, than the rate for white teens. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, over half of Latina teens and African American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20.

The Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act creates a three-pronged approach to reverse these trends. This bill provides grants to public and private non-profit entities for community-based intervention efforts targeting schools, the family, and the media to promote and strengthen communication and services regarding teen pregnancy. It establishes grants for the creation of a National Clearinghouse to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate information and technical assistance to those seeking to reduce rates of teen pregnancy. Finally, this legislation supports research on teen pregnancy in communities of color.

The Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007:

Community-Based Intervention Programs

• The main emphasis of the bill is on community-based intervention programs to prevent teen pregnancy. This section receives the majority of funding provided by the bill for grants for public or non-profit private entities to carry out teen pregnancy prevention programs in racial and ethnic or immigrant communities with higher than average teen pregnancy rates.
• To receive a grant, an applicant could apply one or more of the following strategies to prevent teen pregnancy and STI’s:


• Promote family communication, especially between parents/guardians and children;


• Educate community members about the consequences of teen pregnancy; or


• Provide medically-accurate contraceptive information for sexually active teens (or those at high risk for engaging in sexual activity) and talk about the responsibilities of parenthood.
• This section would also require HHS to fund its own evaluation of six programs funded by grants in this section. This evaluation would provide currently unavailable crucial information about effective messages for communities of color, and puts the responsibility of evaluation on HHS, which has the resources for such an evaluation, not on an individual grantee with limited funds.
• The bill authorizes $40 million per year for four years for this section.

School-Based Projects

• This section provides grants for public and nonprofit private entities to partner with local schools operating in racial and ethnic or immigrant communities with higher than average teen pregnancy rates to:
• Provide counseling to prevent teen pregnancy and STI’s;
• Provide training for staff; and
• Promote healthy outcomes for pregnant teens.
• This section acknowledges the importance of supportive school environments for teens to prevent teen pregnancy or prevent subsequent pregnancies.
• The bill authorizes $10 million per year for four years for this section.

Multimedia Campaigns

• This section provides grants to public and nonprofit private entities for multimedia campaigns to prevent teen pregnancy and STI’s, directed toward racial and ethnic or immigrant communities with higher than average teen pregnancy rates.
• The bill authorizes $6 million per year for four years for this section.

National Clearinghouse for Teen Pregnancy Prevention

• This section provides grants for a nonprofit entity to establish a National Clearinghouse for Teen Pregnancy Prevention. This Clearinghouse would provide information and assistance to develop content and messages for teens and adults that address teen pregnancy and STI’s.
• The Clearinghouse must have significant experience and demonstrate cultural and linguistic competency.
• The bill authorizes $1.5 million per year for four years for this section.

Research

• This section provides grants to public and private nonprofit entities for research on teen pregnancy and STI’s in communities of color, its impact on education and health, and how rates vary by location, ethnicity, and level of acculturation.
• The bill authorizes $7.5 million per year for four years for this section.

General Requirements:

• All information provided must be age-appropriate, factually and medically-accurate and complete, and scientifically based.
• All information and activities must be culturally and linguistically competent