Developing a City-Wide Strategic Plan to Reduce Teen Births: A Community Partnership

Background: Baltimore City has long had one of the highest teen birth rates in the US, with rates twice that of the State of Maryland. While many services exist to support teen pregnancy prevention in the city, they are often fragmented and even competitive. In 2008, Healthy Teen Network, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Prevention Research Center and Urban Health Institute and the Baltimore City Health Department, began an 18-month initiative to develop a city-wide strategic plan to reduce teen births in the city. The purpose of this workshop is to share the process and collaborative activities that supported development of the plan which currently guides the health department's teen pregnancy prevention efforts. Methods: An advisory group of public/private partners guided the process and was invaluable in ensuring a methodologically sound and relevant plan was developed. In addition, partnership with the Johns Hopkins departments increased capacity to collect and translate data and led to a more far reaching and in-depth plan than would have been created by Healthy Teen Network alone. Health department and funder involvement ensured uptake and on-going support for the plan. Results: A comprehensive, city-wide plan was developed, based on local data and current resources which delineated a multi-pronged approach to reducing teen birth rates in Baltimore City. The plan is currently guiding Baltimore City Health Department teen pregnancy prevention efforts, in large part because of the collaborative process. Conclusion: Community partnerships exponentially benefit development of community-wide initiatives.