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All Connecticut Children Grow Up Prepared to Lead Successful Lives. and 1 more... less...

Data Development Agenda

Teen Motherhood

Current Value

10.00

2015

Definition

Line Bar Comparison

Story Behind the Curve

The CT Kid’s Report Card reports the annual rate of births per 1,000 to young women 15 to 19 year of age, as collected through the CDCs National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. The trend has seen a significant and consistent decline over the past decade, from a rate of 23 per 1,000 in 2005 to 12 per 1,000 in 2014. The rate has also gone down across all ethnic/racial lines, however, significant disparities remain.

Hispanic teens are over six times more likely to birth a child than white teens. Black teens are four times more likely than white teens to birth a child. In sum, the burdens of teenage motherhood disproportionately affect Hispanic and black women. These disparities have also been highlighted as being geographic in nature. Several cities, including Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury have had some of the highest rates of teen births, whereas suburbs and rural regions have the lowest. The rate of teen pregnancy has a strong correlation with the future success of young women in terms of education and personal income. Nationally, teen mothers are significantly less likely to receive a diploma or earn their GED, and fewer complete a college program than their peers, stunting their ability to financially support themselves and their child. In turn, this greatly impacts the likelihood of success for their own child, as studies have noted children born to teen mothers have lower levels of achievement and preparation for school, increased emotional or behavior problems, and an increased likelihood of becoming teen mothers or fathers themselves.

Current policies initiatives have been undertaken to reduce teen pregnancy and provide positive education to teen mothers in major cities as well as statewide. The Hartford Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative was established through a CDC grant and is managed by the city’s Department of Health and Human Services to reduce teen births 10% by 2015. The State Department of Education also provides a school-based grant program to school districts with the highest rates of teen pregnancy to assist teen mothers and improve their graduation rates. These initiatives, while recent, are a part of the positive direction the state is moving in regarding the reduction of teen pregnancy. However, the 2015 biennial budget did enact cuts to teen pregnancy programs.

Partners

  • Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission
  • Department of Public Health

Strategy

  • Increase access to contraception for low-income teens.
  • Provide sufficient and consistent funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs.
  • Implement comprehensive and developmentally appropriate school-based sexual health education starting in elementary school for girls as well as boys.
  • Increase the availability of licensed maternity group homes with comprehensive resources for homeless teen mothers to graduate from high school and become economically self-sufficient.

Strategies collected from the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission (LPRAC)

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