DC Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy
Founded in 1999, DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy leads a growing local movement with the ambitious mission of cutting the city’s teen pregnancy rate in half by 2015.
DC Campaign identifies problems and promotes research-based investments to improve the lives of adolescents in measurable ways. The only organization entirely devoted to preventing teen pregnancy in the nation’s capital, DC Campaign works collaboratively with a vast network of partners to build consensus that teen pregnancy is in no one’s best interest.
DC Campaign is a strong voice within the public policy arena and a trusted source for information on what it really takes to make teen pregnancy a thing of the past.
Technical Assistance
Whether you'’re writing testimony for an oversight hearing or need ideas on how to promote your May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month activity, DC Campaign is here to help.Technical assistance includes connecting local programs with national experts, guidance on developing highly effective primary and secondary teen pregnancy prevention programs, advice on best practices in youth work, and information about the rights of teens and the laws that protect them. DC Campaign is your one-stop resource for sample protocols, research-based models and local data.For more information, please contact Jennifer Bissell, Deputy Director, at 202.789.4666 ext.19 or jbissell_dccampaign.org.
Staff Training
How to Talk to Teens about Love, Sex and Relationships is a workshop that has been developed for the staff of organizations working with teens.
The goal of the workshop is to increase the comfort level of adults when talking with teens about values, love, sex and relationships improve communication skills provide accurate information about preventing teen pregnancy prepare staff to answer questions accurately and address concerns raised by teens in a way that keeps the conversation going.
DC Campaign requires the host organization to recruit a minimum of 12 staff, provide a comfortable space for the training to take place and adequate, uninterrupted time for DC Campaign to conduct the workshop. The training is tailored to the specific needs of the host site and its staff. DC Campaign highly recommends at least three 90 minute sessions. For more information, contact jbissell_dccampaign.org or call 202.789.4666 ext.19.
Spreading the Word
Each week, more than 1,700 subscribers receive the latest edition of Spreading the Word, DC Campaign’s free e-newsletter devoted to networking and information sharing.For the latest on teen pregnancy data and research, funding opportunities, conferences, events, publications and job announcements, youth serving professionals have turned to Spreading the Word, since 1999. You can too, by signing up here for your own subscription. View our archive here.
Best Practices Coalition
DC Campaign’s Best Practices Coalition is made up of advocates, youth serving organizations, researchers, funders, legal experts and direct service providers who share the goal of making rigorously evaluated and research-based programs the foundation of all youth work in DC.
DC State Center for Health Statistics
Located within the District of Columbia Department of Health, the State Center for Health Statistics collects, preserves, and analyzes information on births, deaths, and other vital events in the District of Columbia. The State Center for Health Statistics also produces the Statistical Note: Reported Pregnancies and Pregnancy Rates in the District of Columbia and provides official health data to other local, state, and federal agencies.
Find Statistical Notes going back to 1998 here .
Youth Risk Behavior Survey
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) measures six factors that put high school students at risk for disease, injury and death.
• Tobacco use
• Unhealthy dietary behaviors
• Inadequate physical activity
• Alcohol and other drug use
• Sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection
• Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence
The survey is conducted in selected communities every two years and was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with federal, state and private sector partners including state and local departments of education.
The District of Columbia Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) for High School Students can be viewed here and for trends over time, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here.
Maps
N eighborhood instability, high unemployment and high poverty rates, truancy and teen pregnancy tend to cluster in the same areas. DC Campaign uses maps to visually demonstrate the overlap between teen pregnancy and other social problems.
To see where high numbers of teen births and high number of juvenile arrests appear in DC neighborhoods, Click Here.
What’s the Big Deal?
Teen pregnancy is at the root of many problems facing the District of Columbia.
Children born to teen parents generally fare badly and are much more likely than other children to suffer abuse and neglect. Often, they’re not prepared to enter school. Many have learning disabilities and serious attention and vocabulary deficits. The sons of teen parents often wind up in the juvenile justice system.
The majority of teen mothers typically do not graduate from high school and child support is a responsibility most teen fathers cannot meet. Even more troubling is that the children of teen parents very often go on to become teen parents themselves, continuing the cycle of poverty.
Research Says
Research says that teen pregnancy is less likely when boys and girls, regardless of income or race:
• Connect to their families, schools and neighborhoods in positive
and meaningful ways
• Spend time learning interesting things in situations that are safe
and supervised by adults
• Get comprehensive, teen-friendly health care
• Make a clear plan that postpones pregnancy until they are adults
• Experience school success from an early age
• Have a sense of belonging.
When Minors Need Health Care
There are many options to choose from, including family practice doctors, pediatricians, adolescent medicine specialists, nurse practitioners and the clinics and health centers described in this link:
http://www.dcpca.org/health-centers
Counseling_Teens_after_a_Negative_Pregnancy_Test_Factsheet.pdf
Teen_Pregnancy_and_RunawayHomeless_Youth_Factsheet.pdf
Teen_Pregnancy_and_Foster_Care.pdf
2005_2006_and_2007_Births_by_Wards.pdf
Make Teen Pregnancy a Thing of The Past
Do you wish there was something you could do about child abuse, infant mortality, school failure, neighborhood instability and juvenile crime in the District of Columbia? Well, there is. You can help put a stop to teen pregnancy.
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