(From the) Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
www.appcnc.org
For Immediate Release 11/1/2006
2005 Teen Pregnancy Statistics Fall; “This is no time to be complacent.”
CHAPEL HILL – The 2005 Teen Pregnancy Statistics were released today, showing that the teen pregnancy rate in North Carolina fell by 1.1% in 2005 to 61.7 pregnancies per 1,000 teens aged 15-19. While most counties across North Carolina fell, some counties did rise. The fall in rates is part of a 14 year downward trend, during which time rates fell by nearly a third, a trend echoed across the United States. Locally rates for Forsyth County rose by 4.7% to 66.5 per 1,000 teens.
This rate drop follows on 2004’s slight increase, which served as a wake-up call to remind parents that teen pregnancy is still a present risk for our children. “We must not become complacent,” Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina Executive Director Kay Phillips stated, “We cannot rest on our laurels. Everyone needs to remember that education is the best defense and that parents must be the first and best educators of their children concerning sexuality. However we must also remind our Legislature that teen pregnancy remains a costly problem in North Carolina. We cannot afford to ignore our children’s futures.”
Pregnancy rates among Hispanic teens aged 15-19 rose 0.9% in 2005 to 175.7 pregnancies per 1,000 teens, up from 174.2 in 2004. African American teens had a 2005 pregnancy rate of 85.3, compared to 86.9 in 2004. The number of pregnancies among American Indian teens and other minority groups was too low to calculate reliable rates.
The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition works in concert with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health to ensure that counties across North Carolina receive the support and resources they need in order to face the issue of teen pregnancy. Two examples of success include Beaufort and Cherokee counties; their stories are detailed below:
Beaufort County Beaufort County’s teen pregnancy rate decreased 17.5% from 2004 to 2005. With 86 teen pregnancies among 15-19 year olds in 2005 and a state rate of 68.9, Beaufort ranks 42 out of the 100 counties in North Carolina. DHHS through the DPH has funded an Adolescent Parenting Program in the county for the last four years. This program serves teens under 18 who have become pregnant or are parenting one child. The Beaufort County School System operates the project locally and has been able to institute several primary prevention efforts as well, including having teen parents speak with other students about the hardships of teen parenting.
Cherokee County The teen pregnancy rates in Cherokee and Graham Counties dropped dramatically between 2004 and 2005. In Graham County, the rate of teen pregnancy dropped significantly from 90 to 60.2, a 33.1 percent decrease. In Cherokee County the rate fell 28 percent from 75.7 in 2004 to 54.5 in 2005. The Cherokee County School Health Advisory Council has been particularly successful at reaching 8th and 9th grade students throughout Cherokee and Graham Counties with teen pregnancy prevention programming. Adolescent males in both counties are offered Wise Guys, a male responsibility curriculum. Girls in the two counties are offered the Teen Outreach Program, a teen pregnancy prevention program centered around service learning. These two projects receive funding from the Division of Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Services of North Carolina.
Since 1985, APPCNC has worked with individuals, agencies and communities across North Carolina to provide tools to help prevent teen pregnancy in North Carolina. APPCNC offers low- or no-cost trainings for health educators as well as a resource library for health workers to borrow from. APPCNC also brings educators together to discuss methods that work and to provide a support network for often overworked educators. In addition, APPCNC advocates at the state level for increased funding and attention for teen pregnancy prevention programs at the county level.
Information on statistics by county and county rankings can be found at www.appcnc.org More information on state and county teen pregnancy rates and numbers is on the State Center for Health Statistics website at http://www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/data/pregnancies/2005/
APPCNC is a non-profit organization that partners with individuals, agencies, and communities in North Carolina to prevent teen pregnancy, thereby improving the lives of young people. APPCNC has been recognized nationally for its innovative work in the area of teen pregnancy prevention and provides services in all 100 North Carolina counties through Advocacy,
Collaboration and Education. APPCNC can be contacted at (919) 932-9885.
Wow! Looks like Forsyth County needs to step up their efforts to prevent Teen Pregnancy. I know that when I was a teenager I did not believe that a few moments of pleasure were worth all of the problems that could come forth. But I think I was in the minority even then.
We can't give up on the young people today. We can't just assume that "they're going to do it anyway." Let's educate them. Let's mentor them. Let's be open about our own past mistakes and the consequences we reaped from them. Let's show them unconditional love at home (especially fathers loving daughters and mothers loving sons) so they will be less likely to fill that void with unhealthy relationships with boyfriends/girlfriends.
Let's teach them about God's unfailing love. And let's teach them the real reason that God created sex. Let's educate ourselves on that and read Pastor Tommy Nelson's book about The Bible's Song of Solomon called (I think--it's been a while since I read it) "The Book of Romance". It shows that God definitely created sex for enjoyment between a married couple as well as for procreation.
If you or someone you know are in Forsyth County and need some guidance regarding teen or other crisis/unplanned pregnancy, there is a great resource for you--The Salem Pregnancy Care Center.
The Salem Pregnancy Care Center
Empowering women Equipping parents Engaging teens
1342 Westgate Center Drive, Winston-Salem, NC, 27103.
336.760.3680
E-mail them at info@salempregnancy.org .
Office hours are Monday-Friday 9-5 with evening appointments available on Thursday.
www.salempregnancy.org Espanol: http://www.piensaloenlinea.com
If you've read all of this, you share my concern for the future of our young people. Thank you!
Rejoicing in God's graciousness,
Jenn
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
www.appcnc.org
For Immediate Release 11/1/2006
2005 Teen Pregnancy Statistics Fall; “This is no time to be complacent.”
CHAPEL HILL – The 2005 Teen Pregnancy Statistics were released today, showing that the teen pregnancy rate in North Carolina fell by 1.1% in 2005 to 61.7 pregnancies per 1,000 teens aged 15-19. While most counties across North Carolina fell, some counties did rise. The fall in rates is part of a 14 year downward trend, during which time rates fell by nearly a third, a trend echoed across the United States. Locally rates for Forsyth County rose by 4.7% to 66.5 per 1,000 teens.
This rate drop follows on 2004’s slight increase, which served as a wake-up call to remind parents that teen pregnancy is still a present risk for our children. “We must not become complacent,” Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina Executive Director Kay Phillips stated, “We cannot rest on our laurels. Everyone needs to remember that education is the best defense and that parents must be the first and best educators of their children concerning sexuality. However we must also remind our Legislature that teen pregnancy remains a costly problem in North Carolina. We cannot afford to ignore our children’s futures.”
Pregnancy rates among Hispanic teens aged 15-19 rose 0.9% in 2005 to 175.7 pregnancies per 1,000 teens, up from 174.2 in 2004. African American teens had a 2005 pregnancy rate of 85.3, compared to 86.9 in 2004. The number of pregnancies among American Indian teens and other minority groups was too low to calculate reliable rates.
The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition works in concert with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health to ensure that counties across North Carolina receive the support and resources they need in order to face the issue of teen pregnancy. Two examples of success include Beaufort and Cherokee counties; their stories are detailed below:
Beaufort County Beaufort County’s teen pregnancy rate decreased 17.5% from 2004 to 2005. With 86 teen pregnancies among 15-19 year olds in 2005 and a state rate of 68.9, Beaufort ranks 42 out of the 100 counties in North Carolina. DHHS through the DPH has funded an Adolescent Parenting Program in the county for the last four years. This program serves teens under 18 who have become pregnant or are parenting one child. The Beaufort County School System operates the project locally and has been able to institute several primary prevention efforts as well, including having teen parents speak with other students about the hardships of teen parenting.
Cherokee County The teen pregnancy rates in Cherokee and Graham Counties dropped dramatically between 2004 and 2005. In Graham County, the rate of teen pregnancy dropped significantly from 90 to 60.2, a 33.1 percent decrease. In Cherokee County the rate fell 28 percent from 75.7 in 2004 to 54.5 in 2005. The Cherokee County School Health Advisory Council has been particularly successful at reaching 8th and 9th grade students throughout Cherokee and Graham Counties with teen pregnancy prevention programming. Adolescent males in both counties are offered Wise Guys, a male responsibility curriculum. Girls in the two counties are offered the Teen Outreach Program, a teen pregnancy prevention program centered around service learning. These two projects receive funding from the Division of Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Services of North Carolina.
Since 1985, APPCNC has worked with individuals, agencies and communities across North Carolina to provide tools to help prevent teen pregnancy in North Carolina. APPCNC offers low- or no-cost trainings for health educators as well as a resource library for health workers to borrow from. APPCNC also brings educators together to discuss methods that work and to provide a support network for often overworked educators. In addition, APPCNC advocates at the state level for increased funding and attention for teen pregnancy prevention programs at the county level.
Information on statistics by county and county rankings can be found at www.appcnc.org More information on state and county teen pregnancy rates and numbers is on the State Center for Health Statistics website at http://www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/data/pregnancies/2005/
APPCNC is a non-profit organization that partners with individuals, agencies, and communities in North Carolina to prevent teen pregnancy, thereby improving the lives of young people. APPCNC has been recognized nationally for its innovative work in the area of teen pregnancy prevention and provides services in all 100 North Carolina counties through Advocacy,
Collaboration and Education. APPCNC can be contacted at (919) 932-9885.
Wow! Looks like Forsyth County needs to step up their efforts to prevent Teen Pregnancy. I know that when I was a teenager I did not believe that a few moments of pleasure were worth all of the problems that could come forth. But I think I was in the minority even then.
We can't give up on the young people today. We can't just assume that "they're going to do it anyway." Let's educate them. Let's mentor them. Let's be open about our own past mistakes and the consequences we reaped from them. Let's show them unconditional love at home (especially fathers loving daughters and mothers loving sons) so they will be less likely to fill that void with unhealthy relationships with boyfriends/girlfriends.
Let's teach them about God's unfailing love. And let's teach them the real reason that God created sex. Let's educate ourselves on that and read Pastor Tommy Nelson's book about The Bible's Song of Solomon called (I think--it's been a while since I read it) "The Book of Romance". It shows that God definitely created sex for enjoyment between a married couple as well as for procreation.
If you or someone you know are in Forsyth County and need some guidance regarding teen or other crisis/unplanned pregnancy, there is a great resource for you--The Salem Pregnancy Care Center.
The Salem Pregnancy Care Center
Empowering women Equipping parents Engaging teens
1342 Westgate Center Drive, Winston-Salem, NC, 27103.
336.760.3680
E-mail them at info@salempregnancy.org .
Office hours are Monday-Friday 9-5 with evening appointments available on Thursday.
www.salempregnancy.org Espanol: http://www.piensaloenlinea.com
If you've read all of this, you share my concern for the future of our young people. Thank you!
Rejoicing in God's graciousness,
Jenn
posted by JennB @ 5:13 AM
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