1. family and parenting
2. children

BLUEPRINT
FOR CHANGE
Reducing Teenage Pregnancy
A Handbook for Action
March 1996
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
Written by: Kathleen Sylvester
Reaserch by: Stephanie Soler, Soraya Yanar,
and Ann Singhakowinta
Acknowledgements
The invaluable research contributions of three people made this Blueprint possible. Stephanie
Soler, Soraya Yanar, and Ann Singhakowinta searched both the academic and practical realms for
the insights and examples offered here. Navin Girishankar provided additional research and
Rebecca Anderson checked facts. Chuck Alston and Lee Lockwood offered helpful insights and
thoughtful editing. And Eliza Culbertson managed the production process with great patience
and skill.
About the Author
Kathleen Sylvester is vice president for domestic policy of the Progressive Policy Institute. She
directs the Institute's work in a variety of domestic policy areas, with particular emphasis on
family policy, education, and reinventing government.
She is the author of Preventable Calamity: Rolling Back Teen Pregnancy
(1994), and Second-Chance
Homes; Breaking the Cycle of Teen Pregnancy
(1995). She has served as an advisor on teen pregnancy
to federal and state officials.
Ms. Sylvester served as a consultant to Vice President Gore's National Performance Review, and is
an associate of the Alliance for Redesigning Government. She also serves on the board of visitors
of the Georgetown University Graduate Public Policy Program. She is a founder, past president,
and a director of Jobs for Homeless People of Washington, D.C.
Before joining PPI, Ms. Sylvester was a senior writer at Governing, the leading national magazine
of state and local public policy, which she helped found in 1987. She reported for NBC News,
National Public Radio, and The Washington Starand has contributed to a variety of publications
including The Washington Postand Newsday.
She has an undergraduate degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and
a master's degree from Wesleyan University. She also studied at Yale Law School and was a Knight
Fellow at Stanford University.
2
The Democratic Leadership Council and the
Fight Against Teenage Pregnancy
The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) is an idea center, catalyst, and national voice for a
reform movement that is reshaping American politics and setting the agenda for progressive
government in the United States. The DLC, with its affiliated think tank, the Progressive Policy
Institute (PPI), seeks to define and galvanize popular support for a new public philosophy built
on progressive ideals, mainstream values, and innovative, nonbureaucratic solutions that move
the nation beyond the obsolete left-right debate.
The DLC is putting its ideas into action at the local, state, and national levels—working through
a national network of reformers and practitioners, and offering an approach to governing that is
distinctly different from traditional liberalism and conservatism. At its heart are three principles:
promoting opportunity for all, demanding responsibility from everyone, and fostering a new
sense of community. But as proponents of activist government, we also want to reinvent government so that it is more responsive to its customers and taxpayers.
As this Blueprint for Changeillustrates, a progressive strategy to solve teen pregnancy embraces
these tenets. Communities will work together to offer new opportunities to teens at risk of becoming parents too soon. Private and public assistance to teen parents will be conditioned on
responsible parenting. And government will work to engage communities in solving the
problem.Many of the ideas developed in those two policy reports have been adopted by states
and communities. This Blueprintincorporates them into its strategies for building a comprehensive teen pregnancy prevention initiative.
This Blueprintbuilds on PPI’s previous work on teen pregnancy, including: Preventable Calamity:
Rolling Back Teen Pregnancy
(November 1994) and Second-Chance Homes: Breaking the Cycle of Teen
Pregnancy(June 1995).
Preventable Calamityprovided a thorough analysis and critique of the public attitudes and policies that have contributed to the rise in teen pregnancy. Second-Chance Homes
offered a formula
for a partnership between government and communities to address one of the most serious social
consequences of the problem—the needs of very young teen mothers and their children.
The DLC was founded in 1985 and publishes The New Democrat
, a bimonthly magazine. The
chairman of the DLC is Senator Joseph Lieberman. The president is Al From. The past chairmen
include former Representative Dave McCurdy of Oklahoma, Senator John Breaux of Louisiana,
President Bill Clinton, Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, Senator Charles S. Robb of Virginia, and
House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri.
For more information about joining the DLC or to order any of its other publications, including
The New Democratmagazine, call or write us at 518 C Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, (202)
546-0007, or visit us at our web site http://www.dlcppi.org/.
Blueprint for Change: Reducing Teenage Pregnancy
is part of a series of Blueprints published by the
DLC to be used as resources and guides for action. Words and ideas mean little if people do not
have the technical know-how to implement them. We hope that these Blueprints will provide
activists with a starting place.
3
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
Contents
I. Introduction ............................................................ 5
II. Facts About Teenage Pregnancy .............................. 7
III. A Seven-Step Strategy for States and
Communities to CurbTeenage Pregnancy .............. 9
IV. Reading List ........................................................... 23
V. Additional Resources ............................................. 24
Appendix: Data Factsheet ........................................... 25
4
I. Introduction
G
rowing numbers of poor and uneducated young women in the United
States—often still children themselves—are using public assistance to bear and
raise children outside of marriage.
In this country, 1.2 million teenagers become pregnant every year; half will give birth
and most will not marry. These young women
are producing a new generation of poor and
fatherless children who will begin life with
disadvantages from which they may never
recover. Their children are likely to grow up
poor and poorly nurtured. And because they
are raised in virtual isolation from the rest of
society, they will also grow up unsocialized.
Just as these young people will pay a high
price for our nation’s inability to help their
mothers, society, too, will pay a high price.
These children are at high risk of dropping
out of school, getting into trouble with the
law, abusing drugs, joining gangs, having
children of their own out of wedlock, and
becoming dependent on welfare.
This nation’s long debate about welfare
reform has yielded some painful truths. Once
a poor and uneducated young woman has
given birth to a child, it is extraordinarily difficult and costly to help her become self-sufficient and able to support her child. Once a
man has fathered a child by a woman he is
not married to, it is extraordinarily difficult
to compel him to be responsible for his child—
financially or emotionally. Thus we must keep
young unmarried women—those most at risk
of becoming long-term welfare recipients—from
entering the system in the first place.
The problem is urgent and national in
scope. But while there is a role for government
in helping to solve it, government cannot do it
alone. The long-term goal of an effort to turn
back teen pregnancy must be to reestablish the
social presumption that there are appropriate
ages and circumstances—in effect, a rite of passage—that women and men must achieve before they become parents.
That will require the efforts of families and
communities, reinforced by all institutions of
society, including government. It will require
reestablishing the importance of values—those
of communities and families—in social policy.
To do that, we must begin by engaging each
of the nation’s 83,000 communities in a discussion about teen pregnancy. Many of the past
efforts to curb teen pregnancy were narrowly
focused on programs and pilot projects. These
programs often failed to nurture community
leaders or build community support and they
usually disappeared when government funding
dried up.
If this new effort is to succeed, government
must play a different role. Government’s long
held monopoly over social policy is quickly
5
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
eroding. In the new political environment, gov- 4. Hold fathers accountable, and value their
ernment must catalyze and support efforts that
contributions to their children: More attentake place at the local level and are guided by
tion must be paid to the men who pressure
the private sector. Local, private sector leaders
young women to have sex and babies. Young
have the incentives and the skills to negotiate
men as well as young women must have acpolitical obstacles that cannot be negotiated in
cess to health and contraceptive services and
Washington, D.C. Coalitions of parents, young
be encouraged to use those services. At the
people, teachers, politicians, religious leaders,
same time, communities must renew efforts
local media, and business leaders in every comto ensure that men who father children are
munity must talk about their values and decide
held accountable—both financially and emofor themselves how to promote those values in
tionally—for the welfare of their children.
social policy.
Communities must reinforce the notion that
This Blueprintoffers the following seven-part
fathers are important as nurturers and role
strategy for reducing teen pregnancy. This Bluemodels.
print is not meant to be comprehensive. Many
legislative initiatives and promising local pro- 5. Crack down on sexual predators: Most men
who father children by teen mothers are not
grams have not been included in this document.
adolescents; other evidence shows that many
But the examples cited illustrate the range of
teen mothers were victims of early sexual
approaches needed to deal with this complex
abuse. Cracking down on sexual predators is
problem. It offers a seven-part framework for
an important part of a strategy to strengthen
policymakers and citizens who want to begin
young women to resist early pregnancy.
to understand the issue and do something about
it. For those who are willing to tackle this tough 6. Reform foster care and adoption laws: An
issue, it is a place to start.
essential part of preventing teen pregnancy
is making sure that all children grow up well
1. Build state and local coalitions: Broadnurtured in permanent homes. Social welfare
based, nonpartisan coalitions of citizens can
systems and courts are often much too slow
reintroduce values—those of families and
in deciding to terminate parental rights and
communities—into the debate on teen pregplace children in new—and permanent—
nancy.
adoptive homes. There are both financial and
2. Launch a sustained campaign to change atsocial barriers to adoption. This issue must
titudes: Society’s message to teenagers must
be addressed.
be unequivocal—early and unmarried pregnancy is wrong because of its consequences 7. Create opportunities and incentives for
young people at risk of becoming parents
for children and for society.
too soon: We must stop rewarding the wrong
3. Second-chance homes for teen mothers:
behavior and instead offer rewards for disadOne way for communities to help teen mothvantaged young women and men who finish
ers, and send a strong message to young
school and delay parenting. To help them,
women who are not yet mothers, is to revive
we must offer the support of caring adults,
an old institution—the maternity home—in
the chance to do well in school, and the opa new form. These would be homes in which
portunity to go on to good jobs.
mothers under age 18 would live with adult
supervision while they finish school and learn
to be good parents.
6
II. Facts About Teenage Pregnancy
T
eenage girls are not alone in choosing
single motherhood. Out-of-wedlock
births are increasing more rapidly, in
fact, among women in their 30s than among
teens. But society has a particular interest—
and responsibility—in preventing unwed teenage childbearing.
Teenage mothers who enter the welfare
system early are the most likely welfare recipients to get “stuck” in the system: Nearly half
of long-term welfare recipients are women who
gave birth before the age of 17. Teenage mothers are far more likely than older mothers to
rely on government to support their children,
which means offering those children a barely
adequate way of life.
Teenage mothers, who often come from
homes with little adult support, face the nearly
impossible task of trying to raise children while
trying to raise themselves. No amount of welfare, no social support system, can lift that
enormous burden.
The statistics about teen pregnancy make
a strong case for community intervention:
• In 1991, 69 percent of teen mothers were unmarried—a rate that had doubled in one generation;
• 77 percent of unmarried adolescent mothers
go on welfare within five years;
• 43 percent of long-term Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients were
age 17 or younger when they gave birth to
their first child;
• In 1993, 6.3 million U.S. children lived with
a never-married single parent:
21% of white children,
32% of Hispanic children,
57% of African-American children;
• A National Institute of Justice study shows
childhood abuse and neglect increased the
odds of future delinquency and adult criminality by 40 percent;
• The federal government spends an estimated
$34 billion each year on families begun by
teenagers;
• The Center for Population Options estimates
that 53 percent of the costs of AFDC, food
stamps, and Medicaid are attributable to
households begun by teens;
• Before age 20, 43 percent of U.S. teens become pregnant once;
• Of the 1.2 million teens who become pregnant each year, about half give birth, about
40 percent choose abortion, and the remainder miscarry;
• The Alan Guttmacher Institute reports that
almost 70 percent of births to teenage girls
were fathered by men 20 and older;
7
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
• An Ounce of Prevention Fund study found
that 60 percent of those in the study reported
being forced into an unwanted sexual experience; the mean age was 11.5 years;
from 1985-1990, while the number of homes
decreased by 27 percent. On any given day,
an estimated 450,000 children are in the foster care system;
• During 1982-1988, the rates of adoption
dropped to three percent for whites and one
percent for African-Americans;
• Poverty is the most accurate predictor of teen
pregnancy. There are nine million children
now living in welfare families; these children
are at risk of creating a new generation of disadvantage.
• In a 1991 survey by the National Foster Parent Association, the number of children in
need of foster care increased by 47 percent
8
III. A Seven-Step Strategy for States
and Communities to Curb Teenage
Pregnancy
Step One: Build state and local
coalitions
lems such as sexually transmitted diseases and
substance abuse. They survey their communities to find out about available resources and
hold meetings with all relevant community
groups—including school boards and
churches—to devise teen pregnancy prevention
strategies acceptable to the communities.
Eventually, these groups are able to leverage public funds. The North Carolina Coalition
and its local affiliates, for example, have convinced the state legislature to fund a variety of
initiatives, including some school-based health
clinics that offer contraceptive services. These
groups worked out the politics ahead of time
before approaching the legislature. Their coalitions were led by local business leaders with
money and clout; the advocates who lobbied
the legislature came armed with citizen petitions
and transcripts of public hearings. They gave
the legislature the political cover to support the
programs they wanted for their own
communities.
In its early years, while the state coalition
was developing strategies and building local
coalitions, teen pregnancy rates in North Carolina fluctuated. In the past three years, however,
the rates have dropped a total of 30 percent.
This is the most substantial and sustained
progress reported by any large teen pregnancy
prevention initiative in the country.
Broad-based, nonpartisan coalitions of citizens
can reintroduce values—those of families and
communities—into the debate on teenage pregnancy. They can engage communities in solving the problem so that the solutions will reflect community values.
At the state and local level, the coalitions
should include parents, teens, educators, members of the community and neighborhood organizations, the media, and the corporate community. When broad-based community groups
decide what they need to do to curb teen pregnancy, they will be able to accomplish several
important tasks. They can raise public awareness, help redirect existing public or private efforts to teen pregnancy prevention, and build
public support for additional initiatives and programs to bolster existing efforts.
The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina illustrates the value of
long-term commitment and effective coalition
building. This 10-year-old state coalition works
to help communities build local coalitions by
offering those communities information, resources, and training for local advocates.
At the local level, coalitions are able to
gather data on teen pregnancy and related prob-
9
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
The North Carolina Coalition’s governing
structure and experiences provide a useful
model. Its by-laws specify the following:
Members are chosen because of their commitment to reducing teen pregnancy. They must
be free to vote for strategies that promote that
goal. Those who are constrained by the political views of their own organizations are not
appropriate board candidates.
And finally, a paid full-time or part-time
staff person to support each coalition is
essential.
• The board may have up to 30 members with
equal representation from each of the state’s
three regions, which have distinct economies
and populations.
• The board must include equal representation
from these groups:
Recommendations:
— the private sector, which includes nonprofits
that serve children and families and community organizations. For example, the Salvation
Army, Catholic Charities, and the Boys’ and
Girls’ Clubs.
• Challenge communities to set their own goals
for reducing teen pregnancy and let each devise its own strategy. Offer matching state funds
to private sector and community efforts.
— the public sector, which includes elected officials and representatives of public organizations
that serve young people. For example, mayors,
state legislators, school superintendents, and
directors of health departments.
• Reward effective community-based programs
with public tributes.
• Sponsor conferences featuring speakers from
successful coalitions for interested community groups.
— the volunteer community, which includes representatives that can broaden the scope of the
council. For example, business leaders and
members of the media.
What the states have done:
The local teen pregnancy coalitions are similarly constituted. They have as many as 20 members and include two representatives from each
of the following groups: media, education, business, neighborhood and community organizations, health care providers, parents, teens,
elected officials, churches, and public social service agencies.
After a decade of experience, the North
Carolina Coalition reports that certain characteristics mark the local boards that have been
effective. The “quotas” for representation are
nonnegotiable, and board members rotate off
the board within a reasonable period of time,
specified by the board itself. There are no designated organizational seats on the board. When
the director of a local health clinic rotates off
the board, the seat goes to another interested
member of the health care community, not necessarily to another representative of the same
clinic.
Colorado
Colorado’s legislature created the Teenage Pregnancy
Reduction Project as a pilot project in certain counties,
with a goal to reduce teen pregnancy by 10 percent. It
requires that minor parents under age 16 participate in
the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) training
component of the welfare program. In addition, counties
will be responsible for assessing the living conditions and
preparing a self-sufficiency plan for each minor AFDC
parent. Contact: John Calhoon, policy advisor, Office of
Governor Roy Romer, (303) 866-2155.
The state may award grants to community
organizations that are successful in reducing teenage
pregnancies, increasing awareness and responsibility of
potential and actual teenage fathers, establishing paternity
for children born to minor parents, launching media
campaigns aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy, and
providing effective support services. Contact: Senator Mike
Feeley, (303) 866-2318.
Arizona
Arizona’s Senate Bill 1073, enacted in 1995, makes an
appropriation to establish contracts to educate and
mobilize local communities in developing culturally diverse
programs and strategies. Contact: Senator Ann Day, (602)
542-4326.
10
Step Two: Launch a sustained
campaign to change attitudes
Resources:
Barbara Huberman
(Former Director, Adolescent Pregnancy
Prevention Coalition of North Carolina)
Advocates for Youth
1025 Vermont Avenue, NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 347-5700
Society’s message to teenagers must be unequivocal: Early and unmarried pregnancy is
wrong because of its consequences for children
and society. This message must be repeated and
reinforced by all those who can influence young
people—parents, peers, communities, schools,
churches, and the media.
To build consensus on this issue, the campaign will have several stages and many audiences.
First, the general public must be educated
about teenage pregnancy. The public needs to
become familiar with the many factors that contribute to teen pregnancy and recognize that
many teen mothers have been badly nurtured,
victimized by sexual predators, and raised in
isolation from the opportunities and values of
society’s mainstream. Community groups must
be armed with public educational materials and
data about teen pregnancy’s root causes and
costs.
Second, they must be informed about programs that work. As community groups put forward possible strategies such as mentoring programs or school-based health clinics, the general public and parents must be educated about
why those strategies are sensible and effective.
In other words, the public must be educated so
that adults will stop erecting barriers that prevent young people from getting effective help.
Finally, the campaign must focus on young
women and the men with whom they are involved. Its goal will be changing young women’s
attitudes about early childbearing and changing male attitudes about responsible behavior
toward women and young girls. This will be very
difficult, and will require the most sustained
media effort. Once communities have organized
to speak out against teen pregnancy, they must
organize to pressure the popular media to bolster their message.
Advocates offers a database of contacts, programs, and
curricula for teen pregnancy prevention.
Ann Brewster Jones
Executive Director
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition
of North Carolina
1300 Baxter Street
Suite 171
Charlotte, NC 28204
(704) 335-1313
Donna Fishman
Co-Director
Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy,
Prevention & Parenting
P.O. Box 40392
St. Paul, MN 55104
(612) 296-2908
Joy Campbell
South Carolina Council on Adolescent Pregnancy
Prevention
P.O. Box 383
Columbia, SC 29202
(803) 777-1180
Jenny Knauss
Executive Director
Illinois Caucus on Adolescent Pregnancy
Suite 610
28 E. Jackson
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 427-4460
Barbara Ziegler
Teen Health Connection
1509 Elizabeth Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28204
(704) 344-8336
Regina Malate
Executive Director
National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy,
Parenting & Prevention (NOAPPP)
4421 A East-West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 913-0380
NOAPPP produces a directory of resources and state
coalitions.
11
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
Recommendations:
Children. The campaign is a collaborative effort between
public and private organizations in consultation with the
• Establish a task force on teenage pregnancy. department of social services. The campaign includes six
major messages: delaying sexual intercourse by teenagers,
In addition to generating innovative ideas, promoting contraceptive use, educating male adolescents
the existence of a task force will raise public about the responsibilities of fatherhood, promoting open
communication between teenagers and their parents,
awareness of the issue.
promoting community involvement by adolescents to
• Declare May Teen Pregnancy Awareness Monthbuild self-esteem and life skills, and educating the
and host a state summit during that month. community about the criminal aspect of sexual assault of
May is the month when the highest number minors. Contact: Deputy Majority Leader Robert D.
Godfrey, (860) 240-8585; Assistant Majority Leader Patricia
of teen pregnancies occur.
Dillon, 92nd District, (860) 240-8585.
• Declare a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Week.
Invite speakers to schools; have students write
papers on the issue; encourage churches,
synagogues, and other congregations to organize teen pregnancy forums; hold discussions with parents and their children, perhaps
using a film or a magazine article as a focus
for the discussion.
Florida
• Meet with local newspapers and television stations to encourage them to expand their coverage of teenage pregnancy and related issues.
California
Florida House Bill 1627, introduced by State Representative
Shirley Brown, creates the Education Now and Babies Later
(ENABL) Act, an abstinence-based teen pregnancy
prevention program. The program is multifaceted, utilizing
public awareness media campaigns along with sex
education curriculum in schools to reduce teenage
pregnancy in targeted communities. Contact:
Representative Shirley Brown, (904) 488-7754; District
(941) 361-6180.
Proposed California Senate Bill 1169 implements a
statewide media campaign targeting high-risk teens to
prevent teen pregnancy. Contact: Senator Bill Lockyer,
(916) 445-6671.
• Develop print, radio, and television campaigns to be aired as public service announcements.
Maryland
The Maryland Governor’s Council on Adolescent
Pregnancy, created by the General Assembly, was designed
to reduce the incidence of adolescent pregnancy
throughout the state and to improve services for teens atrisk and teen parents. Emphasizing a comprehensive,
community-driven approach, the Council advocates
tailoring strategies appropriate to the varied and diverse
needs of individual communities. The Council coordinates
Community Incentive Grants, designed to support
community-based programs that target reducing teenage
pregnancy, as well as Interdepartmental Committees on
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting (ICAPPPS)
which are coalitions of public and private agency, school,
and community representatives. The Governor’s Council
also offers technical assistance, informative materials, and
workshops and presentations on topics such as program
evaluation, grant writing tips, and opening
communication lines between parents and children on
sexuality. Contact: Maryland Office for Children, Youth,
and Families, (410) 225-4160.
• Use the resources of nonprofit organizations,
such as the National Fatherhood Initiative
and the Children’s Defense Fund, to help develop and produce media materials for local
use.
What the states have done:
Arizona
Arizona Senate Bill 1073, approved by the governor in
April 1995, funded a comprehensive media and public
relations campaign to promote an abstinence-only
message. In addition, $110,000 was appropriated to
establish a task force on teen pregnancy prevention made
up of health care providers, advocates, parents, members
of the public, and elected officials to compile and analyze
information on teenage pregnancy prevention and to
make recommendations to reduce the rate of teen
pregnancy through education and other programs.
Contact: Senator Ann Day, (602) 542-4326.
Resources:
Children’s Defense Fund
25 E Street, NW
Connecticut established a three-year teen pregnancy Washington, DC 20001
prevention media campaign entitled Campaign for Our (202) 628-8787
Connecticut
12
National Center for Responsible Fatherhood
8555 Huff Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1519
(216) 791-1468
(216) 791-0104 (fax)
of these young women suffer from mental and
emotional problems.
They are easy prey for older men; young
women who have been victims of early sexual
abuse often develop emotional patterns that
make them vulnerable to the attentions of older
men. And teenage mothers’ life prospects are
severely limited by their lack of socialization:
They learn how to treat their own children from
the parents who raised them; they model social
behavior after peers from the same neighborhoods. They have few models for any other life.
One way for communities to help teen
mothers, and send a strong message to young
women who are not yet mothers, is to revive
the maternity home. Community-based maternity homes disappeared when social work became professionalized and unwed childbearing
became less stigmatized. To replace them, communities should create a national network of
second-chance homes in which mothers under
age 18 would live with adult supervision while
they finish school and learn to be good parents.
Prototypes for such second-chance homes
already exist in communities where citizens and
organizations decided that a welfare check is not
enough to help a fragile family. These successful prototypes vary widely. But all offer the three
elements that teen welfare mothers need to
change their lives: socialization, nurturing and
support, structure and discipline.
And they all offer a genuine social contract.
The young mothers who live in these homes
learn to cook and clean, to manage money, to
get along with each other, and resolve conflicts.
Most importantly, they learn to nurture their
children well. They get help with day care,
health care, and schoolwork. They are protected
from violent family members and abusive boyfriends. In return, they must stay drug free and
abide by curfews. They must help with household duties, stay in school or job training, and
take good care of their children.
Not every young woman who gets a second chance in one of these homes succeeds.
Many drop out or are expelled because they are
Wade Horn
National Fatherhood Initiative
600 Eden Road, Building E
Lancaster, PA 17601
(717) 581-8860
(717) 581-8862 (fax)
The National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) has sponsored
local and national conferences on father absence, with
help from public officials, community organizations, and
neighborhood groups. In addition, NFI has helped states
and localities develop fatherhood promotion campaigns
and disseminate products that promote fatherhood skill
building. They have helped cities and communities hold
special “fatherhood forums” and they have developed an
information kit specially designed for citizens to send to
local newspapers, television stations, and radio outlets.
Step Three: Set up secondchance homes for teenage
mothers
Part of any campaign to change attitudes must
include a change in the way society treats teen
mothers and their children. The way teen mothers are treated sends a signal to young girls who
are potential teen mothers about society’s attitude toward unmarried childbearing and its
expectations about responsible parenting.
Thus it is crucial to send a strong message that
government no longer offers unconditional support for young women who bear children out of
wedlock—that society expects them to be good
mothers, good workers, and good citizens.
Policies aimed at helping them achieve
those goals must take into account the realities
of their lives. Who are teenage mothers? Most
come from homes strained by poverty and dysfunction. Most teenage mothers do badly in
school; many drop out before they become pregnant. They have been badly nurtured. Many
have been subjected to neglect or physical violence. Some studies show that as many as twothirds were victims of rape or sexual abuse at
an early age—crimes often committed by males
living in the same household. As a result, many
13
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
unable to cope with the rigid rules and requirements. Others cannot conquer drug abuse or
mental health problems. Some are “reclaimed”
by families eager to cash in on their welfare
checks. And many of these young women cannot resist the power of old boyfriends who make
new promises.
But in communities as varied as Los Angeles, Wheeling, and New Albany, Indiana, these
homes have produced notable and promising
results: fewer second pregnancies, slightly
higher adoption rates, less child abuse, better
maternal and child health, dramatically increased school completion rates for mothers,
higher employment rates, and reduced welfare
dependency.
These homes also serve as an important link
between welfare mothers and the larger community. Most of the homes are shoestring operations reliant on community support. And
they get support. Churches, Rotary Clubs, and
local businesses begin by offering money and
other donations. Soon, they become engaged
in the lives of the young mothers and children.
Thus the homes offer a critical element now
missing in most efforts to help welfare mothers: connection to community and community
standards.
Finally, such homes would help ensure that
the welfare system meets one of its most important responsibilities—removing vulnerable
children from dangerous environments. Some
of these teen mothers, left too long in dysfunctional homes, are so damaged that they can
never learn to put the needs of their children
ahead of their own.
law should be amended to give states the option of allowing designated second-chance
homes to cash out participants’ food stamp
coupons in order to create a flexible fund that
home administrators can use for food budgets. Housing subsidies, too, could be cashed
out and used by residents as part of the program fee they pay to a second-chance home.
• Find examples of local residential facilities for
pregnant and parenting teenagers in your
state. Provide matching funds to successful
homes and hold them up as models.
What the states have done:
Iowa
In Iowa, welfare provisions require that teenage parents
live with their own parents in most cases. In an effort to
ensure adult supervision for every teenage parent, Iowa
also enacted legislation authorizing the Iowa Department
of Human Services to research the feasibility of establishing
second-chance homes. They are considering supporting
all options, including not only government-operated
facilities but also facilities run by churches and community
groups. Contact: Jo Lerberg, program manager,
Department of Human Services, (515) 281-4207.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts requires teen AFDC recipients to live at
home or move into group homes. The Department of
Social Services contracted with 12 providers to set up
second-chance homes. All providers must meet a set of
basic contracting requirements such as offering a
minimum of 6 hours of parenting classes, the continuation
of a high school program, arrangements for psychological
counseling and child care, and 24-hour staffing. Contact:
Lisa Kelly, program analyst, Office of Field Programs, (617)
727-3171, x412.
New Jersey
In New Jersey, as part of its welfare reform initiative, the
legislature has endorsed the idea of second-chance homes
for teen mothers.
Recommendations:
Maryland
• Create second-chance homes as part of welfare reform to ensure that teen mothers get
the support they need to become good parents.
A large portion of continuing support
could be funded by fees paid from participants’ welfare or foster care support. Current
In Maryland, pending state legislation calls for unmarried
minor parents to live with an adult supervisor. Secondchance homes would be provided for young mothers who
are unable to live with their own parents. Young mothers
who are minors would no longer be able to set up
independent households, and would have the benefit of
adult direction and guidance. Contact: Delegate Samuel
Rosenberg, (410) 358-2712.
14
Resources:
person annually, or $36,000 per family annually. Homes
for the Homeless also operates two summer camps for
homeless children.
Homes for the Homeless operates four “American
Family Inns,” which offer housing and comprehensive
services to homeless mothers and their children. A needs
assessment is developed for each family upon entry to
the centers. Assistance is offered in the areas of health
care, educational enhancement for both parents and
children, employment training, foster care, independent
living skills, substance abuse treatment, and follow up
services. Two innovative aspects of the program are a “safe
nursery” for children at risk of abuse and an inhouse
apprenticeship program, where residents learn job skills
by working within the organization.
Bridgeway
85 S. Union Boulevard, Suite 204
Lakewood, CO 80228
(303) 969-0515
Rich Haas, executive director
Founded in 1986, Bridgeway is a private, nonprofit
organization that operates three homes and an education
center for 16 pregnant teenagers and their babies.
Parenting mothers can stay up to six months or more in a
home supervised by live-in houseparents. Bridgeway has
an annual budget of approximately $235,000 and is
funded by workplace campaigns and business and
individual donations.
Bridgeway provides counseling and Lamaze childbirth
classes, self-esteem, nutrition, parenting, adoption options,
prenatal care, resume-writing, job skills, and drug abuse.
Volunteers from the community serve as “Bridgers” who
act as mentors.
St. Ann’s Infant and Mothers’ Home
4901 Eastern Avenue
Hyattsville, MD 20782
(301) 559-5500
Peggy Howard Gatewood, director
Florence Crittenton Homes and Services
of West Virginia
2606 National Road
Wheeling, WV 26003-5393
(304) 242-7060
Sharon Perry, executive secretary
St. Ann’s, a Catholic charity, has taken in pregnant women
since its inception in 1860. In 1983, it established a
program for adolescent mothers and their babies.
Currently 14 young women, aged 16- to 19, and their
babies live at the home for up to two years. On average,
23 young women go through the program annually. Many
are referred from foster care and other public agencies,
while some are homeless and come in off the street.
The cost is $175 daily for a mother and baby. Funding
is provided by a combination of state block grants, local
government appropriations, allocations from the United
Way, and private grants. For those who can afford it,
payment is based on a sliding scale.
The mothers are supervised 24 hours a day by a staff of
27, including social workers, nurses, child care workers, a
parenting specialist, a job placement specialist, and a child
psychologist.
FCHS of West Virginia was created in 1895 as a residential
home for young mothers. In the 1991-1992 program year,
it served more than 1,100 young mothers throughout
West Virginia and Belmont County, Ohio. Pregnant
teenagers are referred from the Department of Health and
Human Resources, the judicial system, high school
counselors, church leaders, and family members.
Located in a residential neighborhood, the facility is
equipped with an alternative on-site school, day care
center, health clinic, and counseling and case management
services. The main facility is surrounded by three residential
homes that are used for transitional living programs and
is staffed full time.
Crittenton also offers 10 community, home-based
service sites. Programs here include maternity care,
community outreach, pregnancy and child abuse
prevention programs, day care, health clinics, support
groups, Lamaze childbirth classes, child care, parent skills
training, adoption and adoption counseling, family and
group counseling, life skills training, case management,
and family preservation services.
FCHS is funded by foundations, corporations, private
donations, and client fees.
St. Elizabeth’s Regional Maternity Center,
Southern Indiana
621 E. Market Street
New Albany, IN 47150
(812) 949-7305
Joan Smith, founder and director
Established in 1989, St. Elizabeth’s consists of two homes:
a maternity home for pregnant teenage women and an
aftercare home for teen mothers and their babies. St.
Elizabeth’s is funded by donations from private individuals
and corporate donors, community development block
grants, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the
March of Dimes, and Health and Human Services (HHS).
In the past six years, 182 babies have been born at St.
Elizabeth’s. There are no age restrictions, although most
of the mothers are aged 15 to 20. They are referred from
schools, doctors, hospitals, and by word of mouth.
The cost per mother and child is $80 a day in the
maternity home. For those who can afford it, payment is
based on a sliding scale. The aftercare home costs $4,800
per year per mother and child, thanks to a $1.5 million
Homes for the Homeless
36 Cooper Square, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10003
(212) 529-5252
Page Bartels, director of development and external affairs
Founded in 1986, Homes for the Homeless is a
comprehensive, residential nonprofit organization that has
served 8,400 families including more than 18,300 children
in New York City. The cost of the program is $12,000 per
15
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
grant from HUD and a multitude of in-kind contributions
from community groups. While it depends heavily on
volunteer support, St. Elizabeth’s has 14 full-time staffers,
including three with MSW degrees and two part-time
employees.
The home offers parenting and child care classes, selfesteem classes, and counseling. One staff member is a
sex abuse therapist and provides individual counseling as
well as group sessions and family counseling.
ally active teens. And young men have a more
difficult time seeking and getting advice. Clinics, often staffed predominantly by women, are
not always hospitable to young men. They are
either subtly or explicitly discouraged from attending.
There are practical barriers to contraception
and
family planning services as well. Many teens
The Teen Parent Residence
1750 Indian School Road, N.E.
have difficulty negotiating the health care sysApartment 109
tem. Arranging an appointment, finding transAlbuquerque, NM 87104
portation, receiving and paying for contracep(505) 246-2497
tives are all barriers for adolescents. Finally, a
Barbara Calderon, center director,
Albuquerque Job Corps
basic inability to internalize knowledge is a
The Teen Parent Residence is a referral-only home for 14 major factor in teenage pregnancy. Many teens
young mothers, aged 14 to 22 and their babies. During actually believe they are immune to pregnancy
the four and a half years the program has been running,
and sexually transmitted diseases, and believe
117 participants have gone through the program.
Professionals provide counseling and training in health, they cannot die of AIDS. In the early teen years,
nutrition, parenting skills, independent living, family when their cognitive skills are still underdevelplanning, safety, child development, self-esteem building, oped, many teens are poorly equipped to link
and necessary life skills such as budgeting and shopping.
Each teen and her baby receive AFDC, Food Stamps, cause and effect.
For many families, the responsibility of faWIC, and Medicaid. Out of the AFDC money, the rent
and utilities are paid as well as other basic requirements. thers is defined only by their financial contriChild care is provided by the Children, Youth, and Families
butions; in welfare families, fathers have no reDepartment during the day to allow the mothers to attend
school. The program is maintained through state funding sponsibility at all. To reaffirm that fathers matwith community organizations providing furniture for the ter to children, a series of issues must be adapartments and supplies for the project.
dressed.
Child support is not all that a child loses
Step Four: Hold men
when paternity is not established. Without a
legal father, a child cannot receive Social Secuaccountable and value their
rity benefits when his or her father dies or becontributions to their children
comes disabled, and loses access to important
Most teen pregnancy prevention efforts focus genetic and medical information. In cases in
on young women. More attention must be paid towhich the father has a job or assets, a child canthe men who pressure young women to have sex
not be placed on his or her father’s health inand babies. And more attention must be paid to surance and may not legally be able to claim an
the importance of fathers in the lives of chil- inheritance.
dren. To accomplish the first goal, young men
We must reassert that fathers are important
as well as young women must have access to in the lives of children and that they have eshealth and contraceptive services and be encour- sential contributions to make—both monetary
aged to use those services. At the same time, and personal.
communities must renew efforts to ensure that
Unwed fathers must be educated about the
men who father children are held accountable— benefits of establishing their paternity, and more
both financially and emotionally—for the wel- importantly, to the other responsibilities and
fare of their children.
rewards of fatherhood. Programs must teach
The estimated 1.5 million teens who use unwed fathers their value to their children and
health clinics account for just one-third of sexu- how to parent. Fathers should be recognized for
16
nonfinancial contributions, such as spending
time with their children, tutoring them, and
taking them to sports and other entertainment
events.
We must approach this issue in a positive
manner, encouraging young fathers to accept
responsibility for their children, teaching them
parenting skills, linking them to their children
in a constructive way, and giving them a presumptive right to see their children.
tered on the record, and these fathers should
satisfy their support orders through in-kind
contributions on behalf of their children. Fathers who cannot pay could also satisfy these
requirements by staying in job training and
education programs. Zero-dollar orders could
also be used to establish a basis on which to
collect support from fathers’ later earnings,
based on ability to pay. The same standard
should apply to noncustodial mothers.
Recommendations:
• States should be required to establish paternity for the children of all unmarried women
at birth. Once paternity is established, both
the father’s and mother’s names and social
security numbers should be added to a child’s
birth certificate.
• Child welfare agency attorneys should be
trained in child support enforcement and attorney/caseworker teamwork.
What the states have done:
At least 19 states revoke drivers’ licenses of noncustodial
parents who fail to meet their child support obligations.
Wisconsin
• Paternity adjudication should be decriminalized, making it simpler for those who voluntarily acknowledge paternity to make it legal.
States should implement a simple,
nonadversarial administrative process to establish paternity outside the hospital setting
when a hospital-based attempt fails, and the
judicial process should be replaced with genetic testing. Because genetic tests yield such
a high degree of probability, most fathers are
convinced to acknowledge paternity without
a court hearing. Fathers should have six
months to challenge genetic test findings.
Wisconsin has implemented an innovative welfare proposal
placing uncompromising accountability on noncustodial
parents. The state’s Support Public Awareness Campaign,
seeks to collect the $910 million owed to children by
noncustodial parents. Child support is withheld from a
noncustodial parent’s wages immediately upon
establishment of a child support order. Parents unable to
meet their child support obligations are ordered into the
state’s “Children First” program, which provides them with
job training and case management.
Child support collections in the state increased 134
percent, from $159.1 million in 1987 to $371.9 million in
1994. AFDC case closures due to the receipt of child
support increased by 22 percent from 1989 to 1993. The
state also successfully established paternity for 79 percent
of nonmarital children referred to child support agencies.
Contact: Bill Reid, policy advisor, Office of Governor
Thompson, (608) 266-1212.
• Child support must be collected from
noncustodial parents who are able to pay. The
wages of working parents should be garnished
through paychecks in the same way that social security payments are collected. State
welfare agencies should offer financial incentive, or “pass-throughs,” for custodial parents
who help them locate noncustodial parents
who owe child support.
Iowa
Iowa’s 1995 welfare reform legislation requires teen
parents to attend parenting classes, complete high school
(subject to child care provisions), and participate in
PROMISE JOBS, Iowa’s state job training program. Contact:
Norma Hohlfeld, coordinator, PROMISE JOBS, (515) 2814607.
Iowa is attempting to increase the rate of voluntary
child support payments by threatening the withdrawal of
certain licenses for noncustodial parents falling at least 90
days behind. In addition to drivers’ licenses, parents who
fail to pay will also face the loss of professional licenses,
occupational licenses, and motor vehicle registrations.
Contact: Doris Taylor, policy specialist, Bureau of
Collections at the Department of Human Services, (515)
242-6098.
• Parents who fail to meet their child support
obligations should lose their eligibility for
drivers and professional licenses.
• For school-age fathers with no ability to pay,
“zero-dollar” orders of support should be en-
17
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
Maryland
fathers how to be responsible parents and links them to
an extended support network. Contact: Charles Ballard,
(216) 791-1468.
Maryland Delegate Samuel I. Rosenberg introduced
legislation in 1995 to place uncompromising responsibility
on both parents. Noncustodial parents unable to meet
financial obligations would be obligated to contribute to
their children’s welfare through community service and
to prepare themselves to support their children by
enrolling in educational or training programs. Fathers who
don’t pay support and don’t participate in public service
would be denied future public assistance and have future
wages garnished. Contact: Delegate Samuel I. Rosenberg,
(410) 358-2712.
The Families and Work Institute, based in New York,
has published a book that explores strategies that various
institutions, agencies, and religious or spiritual centers have
implemented to encourage men to become more involved
in their children’s lives. New Expectations: Community
Strategies for Responsible Fatherhood
, examines the history
and factors behind the social dilemma of fatherlessness,
emphasizes the importance of the father’s role, details
programs that have enjoyed particular success, and
provides a directory of programs across the country, as
well as supplemental reading resources on fathers and their
role in their children’s lives. To order, call the Families and
Work Institute: (212) 465-2044, x237.
Maine
In 1993, Maine began threatening the withdrawal of
driver’s and professional licenses of parents who fail to
pay child support. In 1993, the Department of Human
Services issued 17,400 notices informing “deadbeat”
parents of the new License Revocation Law. By 1995, twothirds of the individuals in the target group had paid $3.5
million in overdue child support payments. In 1994, the
Department began issuing formal notices of
noncompliance and intent to revoke license to individuals
who continued to be delinquent. Of those whose licenses
were revoked (including driver’s, electrician’s, lobster, and
crab catching licenses) over half came into compliance
with their child support responsibilities. Contact: Dave
Winslow, director, Public & Legislative Affairs, Department
of Human Services, (207) 287-1927; Colby Jackson,
director, Division of Support Enforcement & Recovery,
(207) 287-2886.
Also a part of the Families and Work Institute, The
Fatherhood Project produces Getting Men Involved—
Strategies for Early Childhood Programs
, a guide that
examines the significance of men’s role in early childhood
and provides strategies for developing male involvement
programs. The guide describes fourteen exemplary
programs that successfully involve fathers (and other
males) in children’s lives and includes other useful resources
on program development. Available for $12.95 through
Scholastic, Inc. Contact: (800) 724-6527.
The Child Support Enforcement Agency of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services has estimated
that children in the United States are owed an estimated
$34 billion in uncollected child support. If this money were
collected, an estimated 800,000 children could get off
public assistance, and thousands of others would have
higher standards of living. Paternity should be established
in all cases and child support orders enforced from men
who are able to pay. Contact: Naomi Goldstein, (202)
690-7858.
Virginia
With the help of the National Fatherhood Initiative, Virginia
has launched a statewide public service campaign to
promote fatherhood and educate the public about the
negative consequences of fatherlessness. Contact: Dr. Scott
Daniels, deputy commissioner for health policy, Virginia
Department of Health, (804) 786-6970.
The National Child Support Enforcement Association
promotes the enforcement of child support obligations,
encourages an exchange of ideas between child support
professionals, and monitors relevant legislation. Contact:
Eleanor Landstreet, 400 N. Capitol St., NW, #372,
Washington, D.C. 20001, (202) 624-8180.
Resources:
”The Males Place,” which was established by the
Mecklenburg County Health Department in North
Carolina, is a family planning program for young men 15
to 24. The program attracts large numbers of young men
by providing free health services and sponsoring
community events that are vehicles to successfully pass
on the message of abstinence and safe sex. Once in the
program, participants receive free medical counseling, lab
tests, a physical, and group education on prevention of
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Contact:
Reggie Singleton, director, (704) 336-6423.
Step Five: Crack down on sexual
predators
The Cleveland-based National Institute for Responsible
Fatherhood and Family Development was opened in 1982,
and since then it has helped thousands of young fathers
and their families. The program seeks to change the way
men perceive their value to their children and teaches them
how to solve problems. It offers role models to teach young
18
Most men who father children by teen mothers
are not adolescents. The Alan Guttmacher Institute reports that while teenage mothers account for 12 percent of all United States mothers, only 5 percent of fathers are teenagers. The
National Center for Health Statistics reports that
two-thirds of the births to teenage mothers are
fathered by men 20 and older.
establishes pilot Underage Sex Offense Units, designed to
prosecute adult males responsible for impregnating
minors, especially in instances where there is a great
disparity in age between offender and minor. Under certain
circumstances, prosecutors may be able to increase
established paternity and enforceable child support as an
alternative to prosecution or as a condition of probation.
Contact: Dan Reeves, senior consultant, Office of
Assemblyman Louis Caldera, (916) 445-4843.
Other evidence shows that many teen
mothers were victims of early sexual abuse. Several samples of teen mothers reveal that twothirds had histories of sexual and physical abuse,
primarily with adult men. While these men may
not father children, their abuse is nonetheless a
major factor in pregnancies that occur later in
these young women’s lives.
The literature on child abuse shows that
young women who have been victims of rape
and sexual abuse are at risk of earlier onset of
puberty, earlier initiation of voluntary sexual
activity, perpetuation of incestuous behavior,
and higher likelihood of adolescent pregnancy
and childbearing. Clinical literature reports
other long-term effects of childhood sexual
abuse: psychiatric illness, depression, suicidal
tendencies, drug addiction, alcoholism, and repeated victimization.
New York
In New York state, a man over the age of 18 who has
intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 is charged with
second-degree statutory rape, a felony, regardless of
whether or not the girl consented or wanted to have sex.
The district attorney’s office in Syracuse, New York includes
a special victims’ bureau for statutory rape cases. The
bureau, created in 1992, is a specialized unit of prosecutors
who focus on the special needs of the victims and try to
ensure the criminal justice system does not traumatize
them. Contact: Rick Trunfio, senior assistant district
attorney, (315) 435-2470.
Florida
In Florida, pending legislation would charge a man over
the age of 18 who has intercourse with a girl under the
age of 15 with second-degree statutory rape, a felony.
The offender would be responsible for child support and
medical costs relating to pregnancy or sexually transmitted
diseases that result. In addition, a statewide council would
coordinate initiatives on teen pregnancy prevention and
inform the Governor and Legislature about the status of
such programs in the state. Contact: Rep. Shirley Brown,
District 69, Florida House of Representatives, (941) 3616180.
Recommendations:
• Reform statutory rape laws to include defining the degree of assault based on the age of
the victim, the ages of the victim and perpetrator, or the relationship between the victim and perpetrator.
• Train child welfare agency professionals to
better recognize and refer child sexual abuse
and statutory rape cases.
Connecticut
Connecticut has appropriated $300,000 to the Chief State
Attorney’s office to create prosecutorial units to increase
the criminal prosecution for statutory rape. Units consisting
of one special prosecutor and one special investigator will
investigate and prosecute persons accused of sexual assault
against children under the age of 16. Contact: Rep. Robert
Farr, (860) 240-8700.
• Mount a campaign to halt predatory sexual
practices. This includes public acknowledgment of the scope of the problem and funding to ensure appropriate counseling for rape
and incest victims.
• Pass mandatory minimum sentences for sex
crimes against children to end the lenient
treatment of those who commit such crimes.
Resources
National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse
99 Canal Center Plaza
Suite 510
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 739-0321
What the states have done:
California
National Children’s Advocacy Center
2204 Whitesburg Drive
Suite 200
Huntsville, AL 35801
(205) 533-0531
The California Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 1996,
proposes aggressive action against adult males who
impregnate minors. The act creates civil and criminal
penalties for statutory rape that results in pregnancy and
19
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
Step Six: Reform foster care and
adoption laws
Recommendations:
• Create a state commission composed of lawyers, judges, social workers, and concerned
citizens to explore the problems of the foster
care system and the barriers to adoption.
Second-chance homes would help ensure that
the welfare system meets one of its most important responsibilities: removing vulnerable
children from dangerous environments. Many
teen mothers were themselves left too long in
dysfunctional homes. They were abused and
neglected; many were shuffled from foster home
to foster home. Most have grown up poor and
poorly nurtured.
The sad legacy of such childhoods is that
many of these young mothers have great difficulty developing parenting skills; some are emotionally incapable of bonding with their own
children. Others are so damaged by abuse and
neglect that they are dangerous to their children because they repeat these patterns. And a
small percentage of these mothers are so damaged that they will never be able to learn to put
the needs of their children ahead of their own.
Thus an essential part of preventing teen pregnancy is the goal of making sure that all children
grow up well nurtured in permanent homes.
On any given day in this country, nearly a
half million children are in foster care or other
temporary care because their biological parents
are unable to care for them properly. Federal law
specifies that foster care should last no longer
than 18 months, with a decision about parental competence to be made within that period
so that a child is available for adoption. The reality, however, is that courts postpone final decisions about parents’ rights and leave children
to languish in temporary care. In Illinois, for
example, the median time spent in first foster
care placement is approximately 13 months for
white children, 18 months for Latino children,
and 51 months for African-American children.
Social welfare systems and courts are often
much too slow in deciding to terminate parental rights and place children in new—and permanent—adoptive homes. There are both financial and social barriers to adoption. This issue
must be addressed.
What the states have done:
Oklahoma
In 1995, Oklahoma created the Adoption Law Reform
Committee made up of two judges, two professors of law,
the director of the Department of Human Services, three
adoption law attorneys, three appointees of the Speaker
of the House of Representatives, and three appointees of
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Contact: Jane
Morgan, program supervisor for adoptions, Department
of Human Services, (405) 521-2475.
Resources:
The American Bar Association’s Center on Children and
the Law conducts statewide child welfare policy studies
to help states update child welfare laws and procedures.
After performing a study, the Center can help design and
implement changes by drafting legislation, court rules,
and protocols as well as preparing attorney and caseworker
training based on new laws and practices. In 1996, the
Center will sponsor the ABA National Conference on
Children and the Law. Finally, the Center offers an intensive
one-day continuing legal education course at the state
and local level entitled “Advanced Trial Skills for Child
Welfare Agency Attorneys.” Contact: ABA Center on
Children and the Law, 740 15th Street, NW, Washington,
D.C. 20005-1009, (202) 662-1720.
Child Welfare League of America
440 First St., NW, Suite 310
Washington, D.C. 20001-2085
(202) 638-2952
National Council for Adoption
1930 17th St., NW,
Washington, D.C. 20004
(202) 328-1200
Step Seven: Create opportunities
and incentives for young people
We must stop rewarding the wrong behavior and
instead offer rewards for disadvantaged young
women and men who finish school and delay
parenting. To help them, we must offer the support of caring adults, the chance to do well in
school and go on to good jobs, and the reinforcement along the way of tangible and mean-
20
What the states have done:
ingful incentives, such as Individual Development Accounts.
Oregon
Recommendations:
Oregon provides grants to train high school students as
peer educators to encourage other junior high students
to delay sexual involvement and consequently, postpone
parenthood. Contact: Donna Noonan, adolescent
pregnancy prevention coordinator, Oregon Health
Division, (503) 731-4427.
• Communities should create “neighborhood opportunity centers”—modeled after the settlement houses that helped new immigrants integrate into communities—to expand informal
networks of social support and promote community-based problem solving. Schools, or centers attached to schools, could be used as the
focal point for offering families opportunities
to connect with one another and with resources
in their own communities.
These centers can strengthen supports
that help families deal with stress, reduce isolation, and have a positive effect on families
by recognizing that they have “assets” to offer their communities. Such positive experiences are known to improve mothers’ perceptions of themselves and their children, fathers’ involvement in child rearing, children’s
self-esteem, and children’s school success.
North Carolina and Colorado
“Dollar-a-Day” programs have been implemented in North
Carolina and Colorado, in which small groups of girls meet
once a week in community centers or schools throughout
high school. They receive $7 per week as long as they are
not pregnant. In addition to providing a financial incentive,
the groups provide peer support and build self-esteem.
Contact: Christa Anderson, Planned Parenthood of the
Rocky Mountains, (303) 832-5991.
Resources:
In 1992, a group of concerned business women created
An Income of Her Own(AIOHO) to serve as a business
resource for teen women. AIOHO sponsors conferences
nationwide and an entrepreneurial summer camp in order
to make success an achievable goal for young women.
AIOHO also sponsors an annual National Teen Business
Plan Competition to give teen women experience in
thinking through creating businesses. AIOHO encourages
local women business owners to sponsor local
competitions and offer special workshops on library
research and accounting. Finally, AIOHO publishes TurnedOn Business,an interactive business newsletter that carries
profiles of adult and teen entrepreneurs, resource
information, and question and answer sections. Contact:
An Income of Her Own, P.O. Box 987, Santa Barbara, CA
93102, (800) 350-2978.
• Every welfare family should receive a “passport” out of welfare. With welfare reform’s
strong emphasis on reciprocity and entry into
the workplace, it is only sensible to link those
two ideas together. Every member of the family could earn credit toward satisfying requirements for the monthly welfare check. Welfare recipients would earn credits for a variety of activities: doing things that benefit their
children, volunteer work, part-time work,
education and training, and participation in
civic or community organizations. Such a system would be based on the idea that everyone on welfare can and should be actively
engaged in a productive lifestyle.
The Ford Foundation sponsors the
Quantum
Opportunities Programin five communities nationwide.
Youth in welfare families are paid $1.33 for each hour of
participation, and for each dollar they receive, a dollar is
placed in an account for education or job training. For
every 100 hours of participation, a $100 bonus is added
to the account. The program includes counseling, remedial
school work, community service, and field trips for the
four years of high school. Contact for program evaluation:
Gayle Simmons, Opportunities Industrialization Center of
America, (215) 236-4500. Brief on the Quantum Pilot
Program, is a document that summarizes the impact of
the pilot program’s accomplishments. To order, contact:
Debbie Scott, national literacy programs manager, (215)
236-4500, x261.
• Communities should survey their young
people and look at programs and opportunities for serving them. Find out what kinds of
resources they need, such as tutoring,
mentoring, volunteer experiences, internships, and summer and after-school jobs.
Then try to match every young person at risk
with an opportunity.
The Texas-based Hispanic Male Outreach Program,
known as Realidades, an initiative of the Boys and Girls
Clubs of Greater Fort Worth, is designed to prevent teen
fatherhood by openly discussing male responsibility in the
context of sexuality, drugs, and gangs. Contact: Felix
Gonzales, (817) 625-6461.
21
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
The Urban League of Milwaukee runs a Male Adolescent
Responsibility Programthat applies “positive peer pressure”
and a hopeful vision of adult life in the African-American
cultural tradition. The program encourages male teenagers
to make responsible everyday decisions on matters from
drinking to having sex. Contact: Tolokum Omokunde,
(414) 374-5850.
them grapple with societal issues, understand their value
and potential, and guide them towards leading successful,
independent, and complete lives. Offering education on
such topics as personal communication, self-esteem,
contraception, career planning, and HIV/AIDS awareness,
Girls, Inc. has affected the lives of millions of girls in their
50 years of service. Contact: (212) 689-3700.
The Colorado-based Christian evangelical organization,
Focus on the Family, publishes a magazine that targets
teen boys with the message of abstinence before marriage.
The magazine, Breakaway, aims to tailor its message in a
medium that appeals to contemporary male teens.
Contact: Dr. James Dobson, (719) 531-3400.
Best Friends is a school-based, peer support group that
operates programs throughout schools in 10 different
states. Beginning in fifth or sixth grade and continuing
through ninth grade, adolescent girls gain greater selfrespect and learn responsible behavior through the Best
Friends curriculum and its message: “You will succeed in
life if you set your goals and maintain your self-respect.”
Best Friendspromotes abstinence through a lifestyle free
from drugs, alcohol, and the complications of sexual
activity. Without religious or political messages, the
curriculum offers group discussions, one-on-one
mentorship, presentations from women in the community,
fitness and nutrition classes, special cultural events and
community service projects, as well as an annual
recognition ceremony that includes every participant.
The Best Friends Foundation licenses school systems
and nonprofit community organizations to establish Best
Friends Programsin their communities. The Foundation
serves as a national training and technical assistance center
for the curriculum. Contact: Best Friends Foundation, (202)
822-9266.
The Girl Scouts of the USA, founded in 1912, promotes
qualities and standards in young women to prepare them
for future responsibility and for service to the community.
Through nonsectarian, nonpolitical means, the Girl Scouts
provide informal, spiritually-based education for girls age
5 through 18 in an environment that encourages young
women to develop self-esteem, learn positive values, and
build relationships. With some 300 councils across the
country, the Girl Scouts of the USA provides resources for
young girls about maturing and growing up female, as
well as other additional resources. Contact: Local council,
available in your local directory.
Girls, Incorporated offers educational programs to girls
that are generally from at risk, underserved areas to help
22
IV. Reading List
Anderson, Elijah. 1990. Streetwise: Race, Class and Change in an Urban Community
. Chicago: University of Chicago.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute. 1994. Sex and America’s Teenagers
. New York: The Alan Guttmacher Institute.
Carnegie Corporation of New York. December 1992. A Matter of Time: Risk and Opportunity in the Non School Hours
.
Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Dash, Leon. 1989. When Children Want Children: An Inside Look at the Crisis of Teenage Parenthood
. New York: Penguin.
Dryfoos, Joy G. 1990. Adolescents at Risk: Prevalence and Prevention.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Garfinkel, Irwin. “Bringing Father Back In: The Child Support Assurance Strategy,” The American Prospect
, No. 9
(Spring 1992) pp. 74-83.
Hardy, Janet B., and Laurie Schwab Zabin. 1991. Adolescent Pregnancy in an Urban Environment: Issues, Programs and
Evaluation. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Kamarck, Elaine Ciulla, and William A. Galston. 1993. “A Progressive Family Policy for the 1990s.” Mandate for Change.
Edited by Will Marshall and Martin Schram. New York: Berkley Books.
Lerman, Robert I., and Theodora J. Ooms, eds. 1993. Young Unwed Fathers: Changing Roles and Emerging Policies.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Moore, K.A., B.W. Sugland, C.S. Blumenthal, D.A. Glei, and N.O. Snyder. 1995. Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
Programs: Interventions and Evaluations.Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc.
Moore, K.A., B.C. Miller, D.R. Morrison, and D.A. Glei. 1995. Adolescent Sex, Contraception and Childbearing: A Review
of Recent Research.Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc.
Moore, Kristin A., Ph.D., and Nancy O. Snyder. January 1994. Facts at a Glance. Washington, DC: Child Trends, Inc.
Musick, Judith S. 1993. Young, Poor, and Pregnant: The Psychology of Teenage Motherhood.
New Haven, Connecticut:
Yale University Press.
Philliber, Susan, and Pearila Namerow. 1995. “Trying to Maximize the Odds: Using What We Know to Prevent Teen
Pregnancy.” New York: Philliber Research Associates.
Philliber, Susan. 1994. “Strategies for Preventing Teen Pregnancy: Their Range and Success.” New York: Philliber
Research Associates.
Rosenheim, Margaret K., and Mark F. Testa, eds. 1992. Early Parenthood and Coming of Age in the 1990s
. New Brunswick,
New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Sullivan, Mercer L. 1990. The Male Role in Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting: New Directions for Public Policy
. New York:
Vera Institute of Justice, Inc.
Zabin, Laurie Schwab, and Sarah Hayward. 1993. Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Childbearing
. Newbury Park: Sage
Publications.
23
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
V. Additional Resources
American Academy of Pediatrics
141 Northwest Point Blvd.
P.O. Box 927
Elk Grove Village, IL 60009-0927
(708) 228-5005
American School Health Association
7263 State Route 43
P.O. Box 708
Kent, OH 44240
(216) 678-1601
Child Trends Inc.
4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 362-5580
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
810 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019
(212) 261-4601
(212) 247-6453 (fax)
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS)
130 West 42nd Street
Suite 350
New York, NY 10036-7802
(212) 819-9770
24
Appendix: Data Factsheet
Data as of January 1996. Courtesy Child Trends, Inc.
TEEN BIRTH RATE . Between 1986 and 1991, the teen birth rate rose by one-fourth. In 1992 and
again in 1993, tiny declines occurred. Although the decline in the teen birth rate was small, it
occurred in nearly every state. It is too soon to know whether this slight decline represents the
beginning of a sustained downturn.
Teen Birth Rate (Births per 1,000 Females Aged 15-19)
All Females
15-19
15-17
18-19
1960
89.1
..
..
1970
68.3
38.8
114.7
1980
53.0
32.5
82.1
1985
51.0
31.0
79.6
1986
50.2
30.5
79.6
1987
50.6
31.7
78.5
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
53.0 57.3 59.9
62.1 60.7
59.6
33.6 36.4 37.5
38.7 37.8
37.8
79.9 84.2 88.6
94.4 94.5
92.1
NUMBER OF BIRTHS TO TEENS . The number of births to teens also declined slightly in 1993.
However, this decline was concentrated among older teens. The number of births to adolescents
17 and younger rose slightly, reflecting an increase in the population of younger teens.
Number of Births to Females Under Age 20
Ages
Under 15
15-17
1960
1970
1980
6,780
11,752
10,169
182,408
223,590
198,222
1985
1986
10,220
10,176
167,789 168,572
1987
10,311
1988
10,588
1989
11,486
172,591 176,624 181,044
1990
11,657
1991
1992
12,014
1993
12,220
12,554
183,327 188,226 187,549 190,535
18-19
404,558
421,118
353,939
299,696 293,333
289,721 301,729 325,459
338,499 331,351 317,866 310,558
Under 20
593,746
656,460
562,330
477,705 472,081
472,623 488,941 517,989
533,483 531,591 517,635 513,647
NONMARITAL BIRTHS . In 1993, the percent of teen births that occurred outside of marriage
continued to increase, rising to 72%.
Percent of Births that
Were Nonmarital :
to Mothers Under Age 20
to Mothers Aged 20-24
1960
15
5
1970
30
9
1980
48
19
1985
59
26
1986
61
29
25
1987
64
31
1988
66
33
1989
67
35
1990
68
37
1991
69
39
1992
71
41
1993
72%
42%
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
FATHERS. Among teens 15-17 who have
babies, half of the fathers of the babies are
age 20 or older.
100
80
Birth Rate (births per 1,000 females 15-19)
60
TRENDS IN THE TEEN BIRTH RATE AND
THE NONMARITAL TEEN BIRTH RATE,
40
1950-1993 . Despite the rise in the teen birth
Nonmarital Birth Rate (births outside of marriage per
1,000 unmarried females 15-19)
rate that occurred in the late 1980s, the teen
20
birth rate is nevertheless lower now than it
0
was in the 1950s and 1960s.
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1993
On the other hand, the nonmarital teen
birth rate has risen steadily.
In 1993, the teen birth rate dropped
slightly among non-Hispanic whites and blacks, but stayed the same among Hispanic teens. The
birth rate for Hispanic teens and black teens is now quite similar.
Birth Rate: Births Per 1,000 Females Aged 15-19, by Race/Ethnicity
Note: 1980 data on Hispanic ethnicity are reported for 22 states, accounting for 90% of Hispanic
births; 1986 data are for 23 states and DC; 1989 data are for 47 states and DC; 1990 data are for 48
states and DC; 1991 and 1992 data are for 49 states and DC; 1993 data are for all states and DC.
Race/Ethnicity
Hispanics
Non-Hispanic Blacks
Non-Hispanic Whites
1980
82
105
41
1986
80
104
36
1989
91
112
40
1990
100
116
43
1991
107
118
43
1992
107
116
42
1993
107
111
40
ABORTION AMONG U.S. TEENS . In 1991, the most recent year for which abortion data are
available, U.S. teens had 858,000 pregnancies (not counting miscarriages), of which 326,000
ended in abortion, and 532,000 ended in a live birth. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the
number of abortions, the abortion rate, and the proportion of pregnancies ending in abortion all
declined among teens. Comparable declines in abortion did not occur among older women.
1973
Age < 15
Age 15-19
1975
11,630
231,900
15,260
326,780
1980
1985
Number of Abortions
15,340
16,970
444,780
399,200
1990
1991
12,580
350,970
12,000
314,000
40.3
37.6
Abortion Rate (Abortions per 1,000 females 15-19)
Age 15-19
22.8
31.2
42.8
43.5
Abortion Ratio (Percent of births plus abortions, ending in abortion)
Age < 15
Age 15-19
47%
28%
55%
36%
60%
45%
26
62%
46%
52%
40%
50%
38%
59.6
44.5
TRENDS IN AGE OF FIRST SEX . Data from several surveys confirm a trend toward earlier sex. For
example, data from the National Health and Social Life Survey indicate that the proportion of teens
having sex by age 18 has risen (see chart). The gap
between male and female teens has narrowed.
Among youth who turned 18 between 1981 and
1992, 58% of females and 61% of males had sex
by age 18.
70%
60%
Male
Female
61%
58%
57%
48%
50%
48%
43%
40%
32%
30%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Born 1933-42
Born 1943-52
Born 1953-62
Born 1963-74
Adolescents with well-educated parents are more
likely to delay having sex. For example, analyses
of the National Health Interview Survey 1992 Supplement indicate that a quarter of girls whose
parent had not completed high school had sex by age 15, compared to 11% of girls with a
college-educated parent.
INTERVENTIONS . Appropriate interventions to prevent adolescent childbearing will vary depending on the characteristics, needs and values of the community and/or of the family. For
example, advantaged teens from effective families may require little or no formal program intervention. Disadvantaged adolescents from multiple-problem families may require early and comprehensive intervention efforts.
Intervention programs need to be based on research findings. Researchers consistently find four
broad factors that predict early sex, adolescent pregnancy, and nonmarital childbearing among
teens:
• early school failure,
• early behavior problems,
• poverty, and
• family problems and family dysfunction
Addressing these factors with comprehensive programs for disadvantaged children in their preschool and elementary school years represents a promising direction for intervention efforts.
27
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
TABLE 1: BIRTHS TO MOTHERS UNDER AGE 20 IN 1993
Number of births to mothers aged:
Births to mothers
Total
under age 20
Under 15 15-17
18-19 Under 20 White Black
ALABAMA
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
D.C.
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
HAWAII
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
OREGON
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
UTAH
VERMONT
VIRGINIA
WASHINGTON
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
WYOMING
U.S. TOTAL
379
13
186
181
1,579
129
102
43
81
772
583
27
25
629
188
63
77
222
426
17
241
137
371
98
376
237
15
42
63
6
274
95
642
437
9
470
145
83
393
23
257
10
317
1,324
45
8
279
163
87
175
10
4,278
416
3,868
2,388
26,352
2,431
1,478
496
784
9,729
6,880
633
809
9,445
4,073
1,376
1,615
3,222
5,176
488
2,945
2,361
6,369
1,861
3,611
3,855
499
768
1,082
302
3,572
1,958
9,953
5,743
242
7,739
2,772
1,843
6,303
572
3,279
406
4,419
19,812
1,400
186
3,621
2,997
1,341
2,483
304
12,554
190,535
6,367
767
6,384
4,098
42,291
3,893
2,177
781
982
15,308
10,350
1,327
1,500
14,331
7,617
2,627
3,152
5,470
7,375
1,017
4,308
4,112
10,857
3,355
5,157
6,576
903
1,537
1,840
744
5,427
2,915
15,586
9,370
580
13,434
5,035
3,249
10,205
865
5,169
779
7,573
30,613
2,551
455
6,483
5,486
2,397
4,577
606
11,024
1,196
10,438
6,667
70,222
6,453
3,757
1,320
1,847
25,809
17,813
1,987
2,334
24,405
11,878
4,066
4,844
8,914
12,977
1,522
7,494
6,610
17,597
5,314
9,144
10,668
1,417
2,347
2,985
1,052
9,273
4,968
26,181
15,550
831
21,643
7,952
5,175
16,901
1,460
8,705
1,195
12,309
51,749
3,996
649
10,383
8,646
3,825
7,235
920
5,440
652
8,716
4,266
58,110
5,622
2,656
712
66
15,105
8,374
335
2,232
13,244
9,258
3,655
3,880
7,574
4,938
1,474
2,916
5,136
10,310
3,982
3,114
7,222
1,073
1,900
2,371
1,028
4,817
4,105
16,274
8,032
637
15,018
5,554
4,707
11,196
1,122
3,963
782
7,796
41,433
3,754
633
5,878
7,335
3,621
4,700
854
Hispanic
ethnicity, number of
births to hispanic
females under
age 20
% of teen
Of all first
births to births in state,
unmarried
% to teen
Mothers
Mothers
5,531
98
582
2,346
8,138
616
1,032
597
1,734
10,488
9,332
61
10
11,007
2,581
332
815
1,310
7,926
14
4,427
1,274
7,023
706
5,961
3,370
9
317
469
17
4,366
153
9,602
7,083
8
6,520
1,275
249
5,547
245
4,688
12
4,458
9,897
53
5
4,384
598
198
2,094
12
76
54
4,790
80
42,254
2,359
1,248
102
133
3,739
506
393
402
4,737
397
165
471
55
122
13
280
1,808
914
310
16
188
36
238
776
28
2,638
3,066
7,823
399
21
604
454
741
1,578
310
94
18
98
26,056
539
2
438
1,480
9
471
116
69%
69%
78%
63%
70%
71%
88%
88%
96%
77%
74%
77%
54%
83%
77%
79%
72%
58%
81%
79%
85%
89%
67%
84%
78%
75%
75%
77%
71%
82%
88%
78%
86%
74%
77%
81%
62%
73%
87%
89%
76%
77%
68%
36%
57%
77%
74%
73%
60%
83%
66%
31%
23%
30%
35%
24%
23%
14%
23%
31%
24%
28%
19%
29%
24%
27%
22%
26%
30%
35%
19%
19%
14%
24%
17%
39%
27%
27%
21%
26%
14%
14%
35%
17%
27%
21%
26%
32%
25%
20%
20%
29%
24%
29%
30%
24%
17%
20%
22%
31%
20%
30%
310,558 513,647 347,572 149,570
113,645
72%
24%
*Hispanic persons may be of any race.
Source/Notes: Unpublished and specially tabulated data from the National Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health and Human
Services; forthcoming in Vital Statistics of the United States, 1993, Vol. 1, Natality. The proportion of births to unmarried women in Texas
appears to be too low. Nonmarital births are inferred for California, Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and Texas from information on
the birth certificate.
28
TABLE 2: BIRTH RATES FOR TEENS 15-19 IN 1970, 1980, 1985, AND 1990-1993 AND
FOR TEENS 15-17 AND 18-19 IN 1993 AND GONORRHEA RATES FOR FEMALES AGED 15-19 IN 1992
Birth Rates
(Births per 1,000)
Age 15-17 Age 18-19
Birth Rates (Births per 1,000)
to Teen Mothers Aged 15-19
ALABAMA
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
D.C.
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
HAWAII
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
OREGON
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
UTAH
VERMONT
VIRGINIA
WASHINGTON
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
WYOMING
U.S. TOTAL
1993
1993
Percent of
Teen Births
That are 2nd
or Later Births
Gonorrhea Rates
(Cases per 1,000
Females 15-19)
1992
1970
1980
1985
1990
1991
1992
1993
1993
89
87
77
91
65
64
43
72
110
85
98
60
65
66
73
52
61
86
85
65
68
38
66
42
102
71
58
52
90
55
48
77
49
86
43
63
81
56
52
45
89
50
87
84
54
53
72
58
72
44
69
68
64
66
75
53
50
31
51
62
59
72
51
60
56
58
43
57
72
76
47
43
28
45
35
84
58
49
45
59
34
35
72
35
58
42
53
75
51
41
33
65
53
64
74
65
40
48
47
68
40
79
64
56
67
73
53
48
31
51
72
58
68
48
47
51
52
35
52
63
72
42
46
29
43
31
76
54
44
40
55
32
34
73
36
57
36
50
69
43
40
36
63
46
61
72
50
36
46
45
54
39
59
71
65
76
80
71
55
39
55
93
69
76
61
51
63
59
41
56
68
74
43
53
35
59
36
81
63
48
42
73
33
41
78
44
68
35
58
67
55
45
44
71
47
72
75
49
34
53
53
57
43
56
74
65
80
80
74
58
40
61
116
68
76
59
54
65
61
43
55
69
76
44
54
38
59
37
86
65
47
42
75
33
41
80
46
70
36
61
72
55
47
45
73
48
75
79
48
39
53
54
58
44
54
73
63
81
76
74
58
39
60
117
66
75
54
52
64
59
41
56
65
76
40
51
38
57
36
84
63
46
41
71
31
39
80
45
70
37
58
70
53
45
48
71
48
72
78
46
36
52
51
56
42
49
71
57
80
74
73
55
39
60
129
65
73
53
51
63
59
41
56
64
76
37
50
38
53
35
83
60
46
41
73
31
38
81
46
67
37
57
69
51
44
50
66
44
70
78
44
35
50
50
56
41
50
48
33
50
46
46
35
26
39
102
42
49
30
29
41
34
23
31
40
53
20
34
24
33
20
58
37
27
23
45
15
25
54
30
43
18
35
40
30
28
34
44
25
43
51
26
17
31
29
33
24
27
102
92
126
115
112
87
58
89
163
99
108
85
83
96
94
69
94
100
111
63
75
58
84
58
121
95
76
67
117
55
58
124
69
101
67
89
111
84
68
73
98
75
110
118
74
63
77
82
88
67
86
24%
21%
24%
23%
23%
20%
23%
23%
35%
25%
27%
22%
20%
27%
23%
18%
22%
22%
25%
18%
23%
21%
24%
20%
27%
24%
16%
20%
22%
17%
22%
22%
22%
23%
14%
23%
23%
20%
24%
23%
24%
19%
24%
24%
18%
18%
21%
19%
18%
25%
16%
16
6.7
5.2
10.7
5
8
7.8
12.8
36.9
9.6
20.6
2.4
0.8
12.1
8.4
4.3
10.1
5.8
11.2
0.3
15.4
2.1
11.9
4.2
21.8
13.8
0.8
6.0
7.2
0.4
4.2
3.6
7.3
17.5
0.4
12.8
11.9
3.8
7.4
2.7
8.6
1.5
15.4
9.3
0.9
0.1
10.4
4.9
2.0
4.0
0.8
66
53
51
60
62
61
60
38
92
23%
9.4
Sources/Notes: The 1985-1993 rates are calculated by Child Trends. Denominators use the latest revised data from the U.S. Bureau of the
Census, Population Estimates Branch. These revisions affect birth rates in some states. Birth data and rates for 1970, 1980, and 1990 are
published by the National Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health and Human Services. The 1970 rate represents the average for
1969-1971. Numbers of births for 1993 are provided by special tabulations made by Stephanie Ventura of NCHS. These data will be available
in the forthcoming volume Vital Statistics of the United States, 1993, Vol. 1, Natality. Gonorrhea rates represent reported cases of gonorrhea
from the division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Population denominators for D.C. and less
populated states are small and therefore some instability in rates can occur.
29
Teen Pregnancy: Blueprint for Change
TABLE 3. BIRTHS TO TEENAGE MOTHERS IN LARGE U.S. CITIES IN 1993
BIRTHS TO TEENS
City
Total
Under 20
AKRON, OH
674
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
1,182
AMARILLO, TX
546
ANAHEIM, CA
869
ANCHORAGE, AK
495
ARLINGTON, TX
480
ATLANTA, GA
1,800
AURORA, CO
453
AUSTIN, TX
1,311
BAKERSFIELD, CA
1,257
BALTIMORE, MD
2,645
BATON ROUGE, LA
822
BIRMINGHAM, AL
969
BOSTON, MA
1,026
BRIDGEPORT, CT
502
BUFFALO, NY
1,005
CHARLOTTE, NC
900
CHATTANOOGA, TN
530
CHESAPEAKE, VA
317
CHICAGO, IL
10,973
CINCINNATI, OH
1,368
CLEVELAND, OH
2,187
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 692
COLUMBUS, GA
626
COLUMBUS, OH
1,709
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX
881
DALLAS, TX
3,887
DAYTON, OH
632
DENVER, CO
1,424
DES MOINES, IA
509
DETROIT, MI
4,548
EL PASO, TX
2,426
FLINT, MI
768
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
622
FORT WAYNE, IN
565
FORT WORTH, TX
1,568
FREMONT, CA
169
FRESNO, CA
1,892
GARDEN GROVE, CA
330
GARLAND, TX
430
GARY, IN
621
GLENDALE, CA
176
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
591
GREENSBORO, NC
404
HARTFORD, CT
648
HIALEAH, FL
295
HONOLULU, HI
396
HOUSTON, TX
6,399
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 179
HUNTSVILLE, AL
366
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
2,201
IRVING, TX
400
JACKSON, MS
720
JACKSONVILLE, FL
1,761
JERSEY CITY, NJ
593
KANSAS CITY, KS
579
KANSAS CITY, MO
1,171
KNOXVILLE, TN
416
LAS VEGAS, NV
1,256
LEXINGTON-FAYETTE, KY
437
LINCOLN, NE
225
LITTLE ROCK, AR
482
LONG BEACH, CA
1,339
LOS ANGELES, CA
10,813
LOUISVILLE, KY
1,223
LUBBOCK, TX
591
MADISON, WI
202
17 and
Younger
260
528
230
311
177
164
868
183
570
533
1,297
366
456
408
234
451
391
222
128
4,922
619
981
246
278
692
411
1,701
287
610
204
1,929
927
341
283
223
693
71
847
127
178
279
55
253
152
315
106
132
2,673
75
148
882
145
315
711
278
274
507
158
493
192
78
209
565
4,368
535
240
68
Of all births for
NUMBER OF
City, % to
BIRTHS TO
Mothers
TEENS
Ages
Under
18-19
Age 20
White
Black
414
654
316
558
318
316
932
270
741
724
1,348
456
513
618
268
554
509
308
189
6,051
749
1,206
446
348
1,017
470
2,186
345
814
305
2,619
1,499
427
339
342
875
98
1,045
203
252
342
121
338
252
333
189
264
3,726
104
218
1,319
255
405
1,050
315
305
664
258
763
245
147
273
774
6,445
688
351
134
18%
15%
20%
12%
10%
9%
21%
11%
14%
17%
22%
16%
22%
12%
20%
17%
13%
22%
11%
19%
21%
21%
12%
21%
16%
19%
18%
19%
16%
14%
22%
17%
22%
15%
16%
17%
5%
18%
10%
13%
27%
7%
15%
15%
23%
11%
7%
16%
6%
15%
16%
13%
21%
16%
14%
22%
16%
16%
14%
12%
8%
16%
13%
13%
20%
18%
7%
30
298
1,039
467
821
295
389
145
287
990
1,061
383
186
102
410
308
401
255
197
146
3,622
412
682
559
210
866
816
2,177
219
1,084
403
462
2,345
246
142
324
985
137
1,291
286
329
75
164
277
113
375
280
60
3,931
169
136
1,205
357
81
823
218
296
419
262
941
274
180
101
854
9,013
610
492
115
375
62
71
23
70
77
1,647
142
306
177
2,249
631
867
589
187
594
634
332
170
7,279
953
1,497
109
410
816
54
1,669
410
293
91
4,055
69
519
480
233
562
16
243
7
95
545
2
301
281
257
15
20
2,384
3
226
989
38
638
923
353
271
735
153
264
163
20
380
364
1,662
605
96
66
BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED
TEEN MOTHERS
Total
Under 20
606
980
193
550
337
169
1,692
339
481
1,008
2,419
724
884
965
449
940
801
463
259
9,805
1,282
2,050
459
509
1,498
290
1,983
585
1,098
438
4,262
965
459
561
495
572
108
1,286
195
172
598
138
369
359
605
187
330
3,181
116
295
1,933
150
667
1,386
545
513
1,053
304
944
332
182
424
961
8,431
1,072
222
163
17 and
Younger
245
484
102
213
148
72
836
164
259
466
1,205
349
438
400
219
439
370
205
116
4,664
599
954
209
253
641
148
993
275
548
187
1,864
434
238
273
214
306
56
594
74
85
275
47
168
143
296
74
121
1,513
52
139
826
66
306
627
268
252
481
130
407
166
75
190
436
3,616
499
108
58
Of allbirths
to mothers
Ages under age 20,
18-19 % Nonmarital
361
496
91
337
189
97
856
175
222
542
1,214
375
446
565
230
501
431
258
143
5,141
683
1,096
250
256
857
142
990
310
550
251
2,398
531
221
288
281
266
52
692
121
87
323
91
201
216
309
113
209
1,668
64
156
1,107
84
361
759
277
261
572
174
537
166
107
234
525
4,815
573
114
105
90%
83%
35%
63%
68%
35%
94%
75%
37%
80%
91%
88%
91%
94%
89%
94%
89%
87%
82%
89%
94%
94%
66%
81%
88%
33%
51%
93%
77%
86%
94%
40%
60%
90%
88%
36%
64%
68%
59%
40%
96%
78%
62%
89%
93%
63%
83%
50%
65%
81%
88%
38%
93%
79%
92%
89%
90%
73%
75%
76%
81%
88%
72%
78%
88%
38%
81%
TABLE 3. BIRTHS TO TEENAGE MOTHERS IN LARGE U.S. CITIES IN 1993, CONTINUED
BIRTHS TO TEENS
City
Total
Under 20
MEMPHIS, TN
2,523
MESA, AZ
714
MIAMI, FL
2,408
MILWAUKEE, WI
2,500
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
856
MOBILE, AL
678
MODESTO, CA
610
MONTGOMERY, AL
593
NASHV’L.-DAVIDSON, TN 1,259
NEWARK, NJ
1,002
NEW ORLEANS, LA
2,126
NEWPORT NEWS, VA
523
NEW YORK, NY
13,833
NORFOLK, VA
841
OAKLAND, CA
1,087
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
1,293
OMAHA, NE
673
ORLANDO, FL
1,028
OXNARD, CA
590
PATERSON, NJ
576
PHILADELPHIA, PA
4,737
PHOENIX, AZ
3,353
PITTSBURGH, PA
804
PORTLAND, OR
875
PROVIDENCE, RI
554
RALEIGH, NC
283
RICHMOND, VA
619
RIVERSIDE, CA
902
ROCHESTER, NY
980
SACRAMENTO, CA
1,888
ST LOUIS, MO
1,760
ST PAUL, MN
696
ST PETERSBURG, FL
620
SALT LAKE CITY, UT
607
SAN ANTONIO, TX
3,691
SAN BERNARDINO, CA
916
SAN DIEGO, CA
2,327
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
672
SAN JOSE, CA
1,733
SANTA ANA, CA
1,380
SAVANNAH, GA
608
SEATTLE, WA
516
SHREVEPORT, LA
667
SPOKANE, WA
483
SPRINGFIELD, MA
587
SPRINGFIELD, MO
303
STOCKTON, CA
1,007
SYRACUSE, NY
588
TACOMA, WA
478
TAMPA, FL
1,243
TEMPE, AZ
206
TOLEDO, OH
1,101
TUCSON, AZ
1,347
TULSA, OK
1,002
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA
608
WARREN, MI
154
WASHINGTON, DC
1,847
WICHITA, KS
944
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
407
WORCESTER, MA
407
YONKERS, NY
308
17 and
Younger
1,107
260
1,069
1,085
402
314
255
263
548
446
961
196
5,813
319
478
540
264
436
208
278
2,210
1,336
357
363
246
122
294
346
461
815
853
301
244
232
1,553
395
938
289
745
536
275
209
303
164
261
111
433
274
202
506
84
431
503
385
197
55
865
353
190
154
145
Of all births for
NUMBER OF
City, % to
BIRTHS TO
Mothers
TEENS
Ages
Under
18-19
Age 20
White
Black
1,416
454
1,339
1,415
454
364
355
330
711
556
1,165
327
8,020
522
609
753
409
592
382
298
2,527
2,017
447
512
308
161
325
556
519
1,073
907
395
376
375
2,138
521
1,389
383
988
844
333
307
364
319
326
192
574
314
276
737
122
670
844
617
411
99
982
591
217
253
163
21%
12%
14%
21%
14%
18%
15%
18%
15%
19%
23%
15%
11%
16%
15%
18%
13%
16%
14%
17%
18%
16%
16%
13%
18%
8%
18%
14%
18%
15%
23%
14%
18%
10%
18%
17%
11%
7%
10%
13%
21%
7%
21%
13%
22%
15%
17%
20%
15%
17%
11%
18%
15%
16%
8%
9%
17%
15%
16%
15%
11%
336
660
962
678
255
171
537
126
583
312
92
220
7,447
279
325
812
371
507
548
316
1,460
2,882
213
594
341
69
62
781
372
1,079
254
328
242
550
3,366
684
1,688
332
1,445
1,331
131
244
145
426
428
283
587
242
324
560
172
621
1,231
563
400
148
66
669
101
341
206
2,179
23
1,441
1,720
421
501
21
466
666
686
2,021
295
6,216
552
670
397
280
509
29
259
3,190
340
583
210
148
213
556
79
599
489
1,500
168
366
17
296
203
415
247
107
10
476
163
520
20
151
17
171
332
94
674
18
471
73
343
192
2
1,734
233
304
52
95
BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED
TEEN MOTHERS
Total
Under 20
2,312
543
2,072
2,318
786
584
407
512
1,086
929
2,035
377
12,195
632
840
967
603
848
300
500
4,534
2,784
764
748
493
250
590
663
921
1,269
1,708
569
532
384
1,412
755
1,571
495
1,300
861
527
438
578
333
540
184
708
545
401
1,039
164
1,002
1,045
762
393
82
1,775
728
364
368
254
17 and
Younger
1,071
227
987
1,041
388
291
186
247
511
425
950
176
5,449
293
376
460
255
405
120
258
2,178
1,230
348
335
237
115
287
286
452
578
843
268
228
180
663
349
692
225
611
385
257
199
290
135
254
88
323
269
193
461
69
416
443
326
164
34
851
315
180
144
125
Of allbirths
to mothers
Ages under age 20,
18-19 % Nonmarital
1,241
316
1,085
1,277
398
293
221
265
575
504
1,085
201
6,746
339
464
507
348
443
180
242
2,356
1,554
416
413
256
135
303
377
469
691
865
301
304
204
749
406
879
270
689
476
270
239
288
198
286
96
385
276
208
578
95
586
602
436
229
48
924
413
184
224
129
92%
76%
86%
93%
92%
86%
67%
86%
86%
93%
96%
72%
88%
75%
77%
75%
90%
82%
51%
87%
96%
83%
95%
85%
89%
88%
95%
74%
94%
67%
97%
82%
86%
63%
38%
82%
68%
74%
75%
62%
87%
85%
87%
69%
92%
61%
70%
93%
84%
84%
80%
91%
78%
76%
65%
53%
96%
77%
89%
90%
82%
Source/Notes: Unpublished data from the National Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health and Human Services; forthcoming in Vital
Statistics of the United States, 1993, Vol. 1, Natality. The proportion of births to unmarried women in Texas appears to be too low. Nonmarital
births are inferred for California, Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and Texas from information on the birth certificate. Sponsored by:
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Flint, Michigan
31
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