|
Topics:
Youth & Health
Lee
County's Concern of Teen Pregnancy Addressed in Public Forums
Lee County
Extension Agents in Alabama have used the citizen politics model
to bring a wide array of citizens—including teenagers—together
to address the causes of teen pregnancy, with a focus on possible
solutions. Story.
Story:
Teen Pregnancy Addressed
National
data from the Alan Gutmacher Institute, an independent nonprofit
research group in New York shows that 40% of all teens will get
pregnant before they are 20 (1991). In 1994, Department of Health
statistics for Lee County show nearly 15% of all births were to
unwed teens. This does not reflect the number of abortions and
miscarraiges to teen girls.
To get a
better handle on key issues in their county, a questionnaire was
disseminated by Lee County Extension staff to residents of Lee
County. Overwhelmingly, results showed teen pregnancy to be a
growing concern for residents. In order to address this concern,
Lee County Extension staff with the assistance of county residents
have actively pursued input through holding several public forums.
Attending these forums were a diversity of stakeholders to include:
an Advisory Council made up of community leaders in health, education,
media, and the public sector; church leaders; parents, and teens.
The purpose
of the forums has been to address causes of teen pregnancy and
possible solutions. Several steering committees were developed.
One committee, responsible for determining church and school involvement,
met recently to share resources of what is currently being done
in the state to effectively reach teens, as these programs could
be applied to Lee County.
Once this
information is brought before the entire forum, the agreed upon
curriculum will be presented to the superintendents of each of
the three school systems in the area as an addition to educational
programming for teens and teens-to-be.
At present,
Lee County residents plan to go ahead with another program that
has already been agreed upon by the county forum: "Call First"—a
teen-to-teen crisis hotline. Start-up of this program is planned
for the Fall of 1995.
More Information
Laura Adams
Lee County Extension
334-749-3353.
Back
to Youth Index
Back to Health Index
| 
