Minority Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs Get Support In Congress
Washington, - Citing statistics that show 53 percent of Latina and 51 percent of African American teenage girls will become pregnant at least once before they turn 20, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) introduced H.R. 5033 Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2010 to provide needed resources and educational programs to reduce teen pregnancies in minority communities. Contact: Helen Machado 202-225-1766
“Teenage mothers are less likely to finish high school, face higher rates of unemployment, and have a greater dependence on public assistance,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said. “The Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2010 would support health education programs to help young women understand the long-term consequences of childbearing at a young age,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said. “While addressing teen sexual behavior is complex, we know that an effective strategy to reduce teen pregnancy in minority communities involves sexual health education that takes into consideration cultural and linguistic differences. With the right balance of education and support, we can, as a nation, do a much better job of reducing unintended teen pregnancies in minority communities in our country.”
H.R. 5033, The Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2010 would make additional federal competitive grants available for existing and new school-based and community-based teenage pregnancy intervention programs in minority communities. The legislation would also authorize a national multimedia educational campaign to provide public education and increase public awareness about teenage pregnancy prevention and the importance of promoting and building healthy relationships to prevent teenage pregnancies. Finally, the legislation would offer competitive grants to conduct research into the prevalence and underlying social causes of teen pregnancy and births in minority communities as well as to evaluate the most effective approaches to address and reduce teen pregnancies and promote healthy relationships.
The legislation also provides grants and public educational outreach to reduce teenage dating violence and abuse, and risky sexual behavior such as early initiation of sex and multiple partners.
