Goal
Reduce first and subsequent teen pregnancy among youth in foster care by improving, developing and disseminating prevention materials and program models.
Rationale
Teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States has declined by approximately one-third over the past decade. Despite this dramatic progress, the U.S. continues to have the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates in the fully industrialized world. One in three girls in the U.S. still become pregnant before age 20, totaling more than 750,000 girls per year. In order to sustain the progress of the past decade, special attention must be given to populations with high rates. Foster youth are one such population. With more than a half million children in foster care, these youth are a group at significant risk for pregnancy. In fact, one study found that almost half of girls in foster care became pregnant at least once by age 19 and 71 percent became pregnant at least once by age 21. This has serious consequences for teens and their families, as well as financial costs to the child welfare system. However, teens in foster care have been largely overlooked in terms of teen pregnancy prevention.
Project Objectives & Activities
The National Campaign’s foster care project builds upon a partnership with ucan (Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network) captured in the publication, Fostering Hope: Preventing Teen Pregnancy Among Youth in Foster Care, which provides:
- A summary of research on the high rates of teen pregnancy among foster care youth.
- Qualitative research from Chicago-area focus groups in which foster care youth (some who are already teen parents) and foster parents were asked about their perspective on teen pregnancy.
- Results of an online survey of child welfare service providers in the Chicago area.
- Ideas and recommendations based on the above research as well as on input from advisory groups of older youth and professional experts.
The National Campaign also created two brochures for youth in foster care, Our Story, Our Words: Youth Speak Out on Sex, Love, and Teen Pregnancy, and foster parents, Ten Tips for Foster Parents to Help Their Foster Youth Avoid Teen Pregnancy. The messages in these brochures were focus group tested with youth and foster parents in Chicago, Washington DC, and Virginia. Several other fact sheets and materials can be found under the Resources section.
States and communities across the country are just starting to focus on the pregnancy prevention needs for foster teens. We provide technical assistance to organizations and individuals that are interested in learning more about the issue and taking action.