We've all seen the headlines: the United States has seen nationwide declines in teen pregnancy rates. Teen birth rates have dropped by nearly one third since 1990 - achieving a record low of 41.6 births per 1,000 women aged 15 - 19 years in 2003.1 Teen pregnancy rates in the United States, however, are still too high. By comparison, the birth rate in France was 10 per 1,000 women ages 15 - 19; in Canada, it was 25;
and in Britain, 28.2
While the decline is a great achievement and something to celebrate, the reality is that today's headlines about declining teen pregnancy rates won't mean much to the girls becoming teens in the next year and each year after. The number of girls aged 15-19 was projected to increase by 2.2 million between 1995 and 2010 alone. AMCHP seeks to raise the visibility of teen pregnancy efforts among adolescent health coordinators, increase state capacity to address teen pregnancy and develop sustained and effective prevention efforts to make sure that future generations of teens benefit from the successes that their older sisters have seen. Our goal is to guard against complacency, maintain reductions and see further declines, and to keep teen pregnancy prevention a front-burner issue. The health and well being of our country's teens have a major impact on the overall economic and social health of our nation. Today's teens are tomorrow's workforce, parents and leaders; and their future is shaped by the opportunities we create for them today.
The Federal Block Grant requires State MCH programs to report on 18 national performance measures, one of which directly address teen pregnancy prevention:
National Performance Measure #08: The rate of birth (per 1,000) for teenagers aged 15 through 17 years.
Project Areas
- National Stakeholders Meeting - a collaborative project of AMCHP, the National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), and the Society of State Directors of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (the Society). The meetings bring together state teams with the goal of strengthening collaboration between state health agencies and state education agencies to support and improve HIV, STD, and unintended and teen pregnancy prevention in schools.
As of April 2007, 29 states have participated in a National Stakeholders Meeting. The most recent NSM was held in April 2007, with teams from Florida, Illinois, New York, South Carolina and Texas. These teams will now be working with the four national partners as part of a year-long follow-up process to help further collaboration in their states.
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