Family Health Outcomes Project



Why Preventing Teen Pregnancy Matters

• Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school. [i]

Only 40% of teens who have children before age 18 graduate from high school.

• Teen mothers and their children are at greater risk of violence, abuse and neglect.1,2

45% of teens who become pregnant have a history of childhood sexual or physical abuse.[ii] Children of teen moms are two times more likely to experience abuse and neglect.1

• Children of teen mothers have more birth problems.[iii]

Because they are more likely to be premature and at low birthweight, these babies have a higher risk of infant death, blindness, deafness, chronic respiratory problems, mental retardation, mental illness, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, and hyperactivity.

• Children of teen mothers are more likely to perform poorly in school.[iv]

These kids are 50% more likely to repeat a grade, have lower scores on standardized tests, and are less likely to complete high school.

• Children of teen mothers are at increased risk during their own adolescence. [v],[vi],[vii]

Sons of teen mothers are more likely to end up in prison5 and daughters of teen mothers are more likely to become teen mothers themselves.5, 6, 7

Success in preventing teen pregnancy means there will be less poverty, more opportunities for young men and women to complete their education or achieve other life goals, fewer abortions, a reduced burden on taxpayers, and a stronger California.

How is California Doing?

California is a national leader in developing policies and programs to reduce teen pregnancy. This leadership spans the administration of the last three governors across both political parties and has led to California’s teen birth rate decreasing steadily between 1997 and 2008.10

• In 2008, 51,704 babies were born to teen mothers in California, at a rate of 32.5 births per 1,000 teen girls. 10

• There are regional disparities in teen birth rates by county, with Marin reporting the lowest rate (12.4) and Kern the highest (64.9).10

• There are also race/ethnic disparities in teen birth rates, with Hispanic teens having the highest rate (56.9), followed by African Americans teen (39.9).[viii]

• In 1997, California was above the national rate for teen pregnancies. By 2008, it was below.

• California can do better. Teen births in the US and California are still much higher than most other developed nations.

Teen Birth Rate Comparisons for California, US, and Selected Countries – 2007[ix]

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What is the California Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Program doing about this problem?

The State MCAH Program uses epidemiologic surveillance techniques and teen birth data to pinpoint local communities and groups within communities that have the highest teen birth rates and works to reduce those rates. (See )

• The Adolescent Family Life Program (AFLP) provides case management and support services to pregnant and parenting teens to link them to health and social services, delay future pregnancies, and finish their education.

What is [COUNTY MCAH] doing about this?

Teen Pregnancy Costs Money

• In 2008, teen childbearing (teens 19 and younger) in California cost taxpayers (federal, state, and local) at least $1.1 billion annually and cost society $4.4 billion annually. [x]

• Most costs of teen childbearing are associated with negative consequences for the children of teen mothers. In California in 2004, annual taxpayer costs associated with children born to teen mothers included: $227 million for public health care (Medi-Cal and Healthy Families); $428 million for child welfare; $294 million for incarceration; and, $342 million in lost tax revenue due to decreased earnings and spending.8

• The societal costs of teen birth include estimated losses in earnings of the teen mothers, fathers, and children when they reached young adulthood, as well as privately paid medical costs.

• Teen mothers are more likely to end up on welfare. Half of all teen mothers and over three quarters of unmarried teen mothers receive welfare within five years of the birth of their first child. [xi]

Programs to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Save Money!

• Had California continued to experience its 1991 teen birth rate of 71 births per 1,000, we would have had an additional 52,685 births in 2008.9

• In 2008, California had 2,859 fewer teen births than in 2007, saving over $98 million.10

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Investments Versus Taxpayer and Societal Cost Savings in California, 2008

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(Source: Public Health Institute, 2010)10

• Preventing 120,000 teen births in California saved about $507 billion dollars since 1996.

• In 2008-2009, California’s investment $206 million programs to prevent teen pregnancy (Family PACT, Cal-SAFE, Cal-Learn, Adolescent Family Life Program, Community Challenge Grants, and Information and Education) saved taxpayers over $1 billion dollars. 10

The Bottom Line

• MCAH programs prevent teen pregnancies, reduce health care costs, and improve the health and wellbeing of children and families in our state. Loss of these programs will raise costs.

REFERENCES

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[i] Why it Matters: Teen Pregnancy. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Last accessed 02-Dec-2009 at:

[ii] Noll JG, Shenk CE, Putnam KT. (2009) Childhood sexual abuse and adolescent pregnancy: a meta-analytic update. J Pediatr Psychol;34(4):366-78.

[iii] Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Sutton, P. D., Ventura, S. J., Menacker, F., Kirmeyer, S., et al. (2007). Births: Final data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Reports 56 (6). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

[iv] Levine, J. A., Emery, C. R., & Pollack, H. (2007). The wellbeing of children born to teen mothers. Journal of Marriage & Family, 69(1), 105-122.

[v] Scher, L. S., and Hoffman, S.D. (2008). Incarceration-Related Costs of Early Childbearing: Updated Estimates. In R.A.Maynard and S.D.Hoffman (Eds) Kids Having Kids: Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.

[vi] Hoffman, S.D. and Scher, L.S. (2008). Children of Early Childbearers as Young Adults-Updated Estimates. In R. A.Maynard and S.Hoffman (Eds.) Kids Having Kids: Revised Edition, Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.

[vii] Pogarsky G, Thornberry T, Lizotte A. Developmental outcomes for children of young mothers. J Marriage Fam 2006;68:332-44.

[viii] Data prepared by the California Department of Public Health, Center for Family Health, Office of Family Planning, July 2009. See 3

[ix] Data prepared by the California Department of Public Health, Center for Family Health, Office of Family Planning, July 2009. See 9

[x] Constantine NA, Jerman P and Nevarez CR. No Time for Complacency: Teen Births in California. 2010 Spring Update. Berkeley, CA: Public Health Institute, 2010. See (2008data).pdf

[xi] By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing in California, Nov 2006. See:

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Teen Pregnancy in California:

What’s the problem and what are the California and COUNTY Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Program Responses about it

Prepared by the Family Health Outcomes Project, University of California, San Francisco and the California Department of Public Health, MCAH Program, with assistance by California MCAH Action.

Visit FHOP at and CDPH MCAH Program at

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