Building a national consensus on Latino teen pregnancy prevention

Teen pregnancy is a critical issue in the Latino community. One out of every two Latina teens will become pregnant at least once before the age of 20. Teen pregnancy not only makes it far more difficult for male and female youth to reach their educational, career, financial, and relationship goals, but it also has consequences for the advancement of Latino youth, families, and the Latino community as a whole. With the purpose of developing a national consensus on how to best address teen pregnancy in Latino communities, NCLR partnered with The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. A series of activities were carried out, including in-depth interviews with key informants and a consensus-building meeting with representatives of organizations serving or interested in serving Latino communities nationwide. This project established a national consensus that provides broad guidance, identifying priorities for addressing the issue of teen pregnancy in the Latino community through policy, programs, and research. This presentation will summarize the activities, processes, and findings from the project and it will provide conclusions and recommendations, including a national consensus statement that addresses Latino teen pregnancy prevention. Learning Objectives: 1. Discuss the social, economic, cultural, and political factors that contribute to Latino teen pregnancy. 2. Define programmatic, research, and policy strategies to prevent Latino teen pregnancy. 3. Identify priorities for addressing the issue of teen pregnancy in the Latino community.