Teen Pregnancy: Why it matters

  Governor Phil Bryant  Honorary Chair First Lady Deborah Bryant  MDHS Executive Director Rickey Berry  MSDH State Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier  Blue Ribbon Task Force  State Coordinator  Ten Subcommittees  Research and Evaluation Team

  In January 2012, Governor Phil Bryant issued a directive to the Mississippi Department of Human Services and the Mississippi State Department of Health to develop a plan within 30 days for preventing and reducing teen pregnancy in Mississippi.  On February 1, 2012, a meeting was held that included leaders from all sectors of society: business, faith-based, government, education, legal, service providers, community, private foundations and the media.  The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Blue Ribbon Task Force was established with ten subcommittees to assist in planning and implementation.  Strategies to prevent and reduce teen pregnancy will include sex education, youth development programs and coalition building.

 The mission of the Task Force is to improve the lives of Mississippi families and ensure a better future for our youth by collaborating to create a comprehensive campaign to reduce and prevent teen pregnancy. Mission Statement

  Engage local communities.  Provide culturally competent education.  Propose legislation when necessary.  Ensure access to teen-friendly healthcare services.  Increase job opportunities for teens.  Engage teen parents in making healthy choices for themselves and their children.  Educate and promote social wellness.  Assist organizations seeking funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs.  Conduct focus groups to determine what interventions would be useful in preventing teen pregnancies. Strategies

  Most are unmarried.  Increased risk of low birth weight babies.  Increased infant mortality.  Lower educational achievement (only 50% graduate from high school, compared to 90% of non-pregnant teens).  Two-thirds of families begun by young unmarried mothers are poor.  Almost a fourth of teen moms have a 2 nd child within 24 months of the first baby. Information from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

  Eight out of 10 teen fathers don’t marry the mothers of their children.  Teen fathers, on average, pay less than $800 annually in child support.  The children from fatherless homes:  5 times more likely to live in poverty  63% more likely to commit suicide  90% of all homeless and runaway children  85% of all children who show behavior disorders  71% of all high school dropouts Information from: The Fatherless Generation; U.S. Dept. of Health/Census; Center for Disease Control; Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p ; and the National Principals Association Report

 Children of Teens  Lower educational achievement  Increased health problems  More likely to grow up poor  More likely to live in single parent households  More likely to experience abuse/neglect  More likely to enter the child welfare system  Daughters of teen moms are three times more likely to become teenage mothers themselves Ms. State Dept. of Health; National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

  Nationally, teen childbearing costs taxpayers at least $9 billion each year, including increased costs to public health care, child welfare costs, increased incarceration rates and lost tax revenue.  Between 1991 and 2004 there were over 6 million births to teens in the U.S. with an estimated cumulative public cost of $161 billion dollars.  Approximately one-quarter of teen moms go on welfare within three years of the child’s birth. The Cost The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

What is happening in Mississippi?

 Teen Birth Rates per 1000, year old females, by year Mississippi / National MS State Dept. of Health

 Teen Birth Rates per 1000, year old females, by year Mississippi / National MS State Dept. of Health

 Mississippi Teen Pregnancy Rates, per 1000 females < 20 years of age, by year and race MS State Dept. of Health

 Mississippi Teen Pregnancy Rates, per 1000 females < 20 years of age, by year and race MS State Dept. of Health

  Of the 6,185 births to teen mothers:  2,579 births were to white teens  3,606 births were to non-white teens  1,305 of all teen mothers had a previous live birth  374 teens had inadequate prenatal care A Closer Look at Mississippi’s Birth 2010 Data MS State Dept. of Health

  Mississippi ranks 50 th out of 50 regarding overall child well-being.  In 2010, 46% of children in Mississippi are in single-parent households, the highest percentage in the nation.  23% of persons age 18 to 24 do not attend school, do not work and have no degree beyond high school, the 2 nd highest rate in the nation. KIDSCOUNT

  31% of Mississippi children live in poverty, the highest in the U.S.  39% of children live in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment, the highest in the U.S.  15% of children in the state have no health insurance. KIDSCOUNT

 From October 2011 to March 2012, births to girls age 12-17, Medicaid was billed for:  679 Vaginal births, including ten births to girls age  211 C-Section births, including four births to girls age  Over $3.27 million in Medicaid costs were billed to the state for births to girls age during this six month period. Mississippi Medicaid Information Systems, revised April 4, 2012

  In 2008, teen childbearing cost taxpayers at least $159M. (49% federal; 51% state and local)  $28M for public health (Medicaid and CHIP)  $9M for child welfare  $16M for increased rates of incarceration  $60M lost tax revenue due to decreased earnings/spending.  Between , there were approximately 146,379 teen births in the state, costing taxpayers $3.7B. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

What can we do?

  $8.4 billion: Estimated national costs saved by taxpayers in 2008 alone due to the approximately one-third decline in the teen birth rate between 1991 and  Teen pregnancy prevention reduces poverty and improves overall child and family wellbeing. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

  Abstinence Curriculum  Focuses on abstaining from sex until marriage because that it is the best means of avoiding pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.  Abstinence–Plus Curriculum  Abstinence-based approach to teaching sex education but includes information about contraception and condoms in the context of strong abstinence messages.

 Services that support teen mothers. Health Care for the Mother Community Services Paternity Testing & Child Support Enforcement Child Care Economic Assistance Health Care for the Baby Tuition Assistance

 Comments/Questions

