#7. Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Teen Parenting 2

Meredith Bellson 24 posts Aug 17, 2007 2:37 PM

#7. Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Teen Parenting 2004-2005 NOTE: POST A MESSAGE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS! WHEREAS, there are over one million teen pregnancies each year in the United States; and WHEREAS, 13 percent of all U.S. births are to teens, with 10 percent of the female population ages 15-19 becoming pregnant; and WHEREAS, teen pregnancy rates are much higher in the United States than in many other developed countries— twice as high as in England and Wales or Canada, and nine times as high as in the Netherlands or Japan; and WHEREAS, research shows that a significant number of today's teens are sexually active; and the 2003 “Youth Risk Behavior Survey" of Tennessee teens indicated 50.1 percent of these students reported having sexual intercourse, ranging from 40.3 percent of 9th graders, to 56.3 percent of 12th graders, with less than 60 percent using a condom and only 16.2 percent using birth control pills; and WHEREAS, even though the teen pregnancy rate has been dropping in Tennessee since 1991, 4,354 Tennessee girls ages 10-17 became pregnant in 2001, translating into a teenage pregnancy rate of 38.4 per 1,000 and the teen birth rate for females 15-17 was 39 per 1,000, the 13th highest in the nation; and WHEREAS, teen childbearing is associated with a greater incidence of low birth weight babies with severe and life-long health problems, a higher incidence of mental retardation, increased welfare dependency, higher incidence of child abuse and neglect, and is a major contributing factor to high school drop-out rates; and WHEREAS, the responsibilities of teen parenthood make economic success almost impossible because the effects of childbearing on educational attainment show that fewer than one-third of the teens who give birth before the age of 18 complete high school and teen parents are more likely to have low incomes and larger families; and WHEREAS, to enable the teen parent to stay in school, teen parents must have accessible, affordable, high-quality child care for their children from early infancy through school age; and WHEREAS, the solution to the teenage pregnancy problem is pregnancy prevention which means providing youth with information, opportunities, and options to help them become self-sufficient adults; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that TCSW support teens who choose to abstain from sexual activity by promoting programs and organizations that provide support and encouragement for this position; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW continue to support the implementation of the law requiring that an evaluated, effective Family Life Curriculum, formulated for specific grade levels, be taught in all Tennessee public schools in grades K-12; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW support the implementation of training requirements for instructors and school health personnel who teach the Family Life Curriculum; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW support the continued expansion of an appropriate school nurse program to cover all public school systems in Tennessee where the teen pregnancy rate is high; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW support prevention programs that recognize the need to develop marketable job skills, life planning skills, and to provide adequate health care for our young people; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that TCSW encourage the state legislature to support the development and funding of additional programs for infant day care to enable teen parents to stay in school and programs to prevent second pregnancies.

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