National Campaign Actions

2008 Teen Birth Data

Conduct and commission additional research into the underlying reasons behind the recent fluctuations in the teen birth rate.

Launch a large scale digital effort to directly reach older teens with messages and information about improving contraceptive use and preventing too-early pregnancy and parenthood.
Continue to work with partners in the entertainment media to educate them about the causes and consequences of teen and unplanned pregnancy, and collaborate with them to keep this issue fresh and relevant to their audiences.

The National Campaign has made a limited number of grants to states with steep increases in the teen birth rates, where teen birth rates remain stubbornly high, and where innovative efforts can be supported. We plan to nationally disseminate what is learned from these efforts.
Recalibrate our annual online National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (3 million teens have participated over the past seven years) to focus on the increase in the teen birth rate and continue to enlist the help of teens and young adults in informing the work of The National Campaign.
Assist our state partners in crafting communication strategies that we hope will translate the increase in the teen birth rate into greater support for prevention efforts and provide ongoing technical assistance to states on science-based programs to reduce teen pregnancy, through our cooperative agreement with CDC.

Continue to work with the new Administration and Congress to invest in teen pregnancy prevention programs that have evidence of success and that provide states and communities ample flexibility to choose interventions that suit local values and cultures.
Continue to provide assistance to states, communities, programs, and individuals about the $185 million in new federal funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.
Emphasize the public costs of teen childbearing with policymakers at the federal and state level and encourage others concerned about teen childbearing to do the same— a particularly important angle given current economic constraints. Prevention is a good investment. Progress in reducing teen childbearing over the past decade has saved taxpayers billions ($6.7 billion in 2004 alone).

Focus efforts on populations with high rates of teen pregnancy and childbearing, including the Latino community and youth in and aging out of foster care.
Redouble our efforts to reach parents through new materials and partnerships with groups like the Dibble Institute.
Continue to partner with national organizations, such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America that have existing ways to reach teens directly.