A school-community collaborative approach to reducing teen pregnancies in an urban high school

Although teen pregnancy rates are declining nationally, inner city minority teen pregnancy rates continue to rise affecting three generations. In a large Houston high school serving primarily immigrant and refugee students, a community collaborative came together to develop a comprehensive approach to address this challenge. Welcomed by a school administration beleaguered by students' social and medical concerns that compete with academic tasks, the collaborative utilized findings from focus groups, survey and community-based participatory research (CBPR) gathered from over 90 students. Intending to make a lasting contribution, we implemented a five-pronged program aimed at reducing pregnancy and increasing graduation rates. Collaborative members administer: A pregnancy prevention curriculum; case management and counseling; prenatal education support throughout pregnancy; young father's support group; onsite infant-toddler care; and onsite adolescent clinic offering primary health and reproductive health care. Incremental growth over 3 years resulted in over 500 students who completed the prevention curriculum, over 400 students who benefited from health services in 2006, fewer problem births, and a growing number of fathers who are ready to participate in their child's life. A complete analysis of cost-benefit ratio is due this year, but trends suggest decreased pregnancy rates among students who completed the programs. While challenging, collaborative partnerships with schools may offer the most comprehensive solution to the problems of teen pregnancy. Additional need has been identified in neighboring middle schools with increasing pregnancy rates. The partners' shared commitment, dedicated leadership, open communication, and clear funding plans are credited with sustainability of the collaborative.