New
Guide to Help Local Communities Establish Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Programs
For Immediate Release
Monday, October 25, 1999
Contact: NCHS Press
Office (301) 436-7551
CDC Office of Media Relations (404) 639-3286
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov
Declines
in Teenage Birth Rates, 1991-98. Vol. 47, No. 26. 12. pp. (PHS)
2000-1120. View/download PDF 143
KB
HHS Secretary Donna E.
Shalala released a new guide today to help communities and nonprofit
organizations establish successful local teen pregnancy prevention
programs. The comprehensive guide, developed by the National Campaign to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy, will be distributed nationwide for local health
organizations’ use.
Titled Get Organized: A
Guide to Preventing Teen Pregnancy, the publication stresses a localized
approach, a long-term commitment, and careful evaluation. It also provides
novel approaches for addressing teen pregnancy, including ways to involve
faith leaders and the business community, suggestions on how to target
young men in prevention efforts, and mechanisms for channeling community
views on pregnancy prevention into effective, localized strategies for
addressing the overall issue.
"We’ve seen a
continued decline in teen pregnancy and teen birth rates in the last
several years, which has been very encouraging," Secretary Shalala
said. "But we can't afford to stop our efforts now—too many
teenagers are still jeopardizing their futures. By making this guide
available to local communities, we hope to strengthen existing teen
pregnancy prevention programs—and build others—that will coach girls
and boys with common sense guidance, positive alternatives and the
emotional support it takes to stand up to peer pressure."
According to a new
report released today by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),
the teen birth rate is at its lowest level since 1987. After years of
rising rates, teen births began to decline in 1991, continuing to decline
every year and falling another 2 percent in 1998. Declines have been
particularly marked in younger teens, with the birth rate for teenagers
15-17 years dropping 5 percent for 1998 to a record low of 30.4 per 1,000.
Despite this decline,
however, four out of 10 American girls get pregnant at least once before
they turn 20, leading to more than 900,000 teen pregnancies a year.
Today's guide is a three-volume publication that includes strategies for
collecting basic data, reaching out to religious leaders, raising money
and conducting program evaluation.
"The National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy was created in response to the
President and Vice President's challenge to parents and leaders all across
our country," Secretary Shalala said. "The message was clear:
winning the fight against teen pregnancy isn't the sole responsibility of
parents, religion, school or the government. Winning this crusade is
everyone's job--and the only way we'll win is if all of us join
together."
The NCHS report also
contains state-by-state data for 1991-1997. That data show that teen birth
rates have declined in every state and the declines have exceeded 20
percent in 10 states and the District of Columbia.
Founded in 1996, the
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is a nonprofit, non-partisan
initiative supported almost entirely by private donations. The campaign's
mission is to prevent teen pregnancy by supporting values and stimulating
actions that are consistent with a pregnancy-free adolescence. The
campaign's goal is to reduce the teen pregnancy rate by one-third between
1996 and 2005.
Note: For other HHS
Press Releases and Fact Sheets pertaining to the subject of this
announcement, please visit our Press Release and Fact Sheet search engine
at: www.dhhs.gov/news/press/.