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https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/e9edfca37c77be79e2ff1719506cf556.pdf
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FOIA Number:
2006-0458-F
FOIA
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Communications
Series/Staff Member:
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Folder Title:
Teen Pregnancy [1]
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90
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�. -
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 17, 1996
MEMORANDUM TO DON BAER
VICKI RADD
~t_
FROM:
Jeremy Ben-Ajir
SUBJECT:
Teen Pregnancy/State of Union Rollout
Attached is a memo on the current status of the National Campaign
to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy as well as the current draft of the
status report on the administration's record on the issue that we
would like to release.
We can put together an event for the President with the
Campaign's leaders with a little lead time, if it fits into the
rollout from the speech.
If we do not schedule something for the first week or two, we
will plan on rescheduling the release of Dr. Foster's position
and this report for the week of January 29th -- so that we can
get this over with.
Please let me know as soon as you know what you want us to do.
cc:
Carol Rasco
Mike McCurry
Rahm Emanuel
Bruce Reed
Michael Waldman
Janet Abrams
Debbie Fine
Deborah Both
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
�January 16, 1996
MEMORANDUM FOR CAROL RASCO AND JEREMY BEN-AMI
FROM:
Janet Abrams~
RE:
Teen Pregnancy Initiative
The leadership council for the national private-sector campaign is taking shape. As of today,
the following individuals have agreed to serve:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Whoopi Goldberg
Andrew Young
Hugh Price, Urban League
Charlotte Beers, Ogilvy & Mather
David Hamburg, Carnegie Corporation
Nancy Kassebaum
Kay Graham
Belle Sawhill
Others likely to sign on include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jane Fonda
C. Everett Koop
Tom Kean
Warren Rudman
Gloria Estefan
Judy McGrath, MTV
A meeting is being held on January 30 at the Carnegie Corporation in NYC to move forward
with planning the campaign. All individuals who attended the White House event in October
have been invited, plus a number of others.
I will update you as soon as we receive additional information. Thanks.
�. 'THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION· RECORD ON
REDUCING TEEN PREGNANCY
A Summary Report
President Clinton has called teen pregnancy one of the nation's most serious social problems,
and reducing its incidence has been a key goal of this administration's policy for young
people. All over the country Americans are beginning to address this and other issues by
reasserting responsibility for themselves, their families and their communities, and they are
starting to make a difference-- the teen pregnancy rate has come down two years in a row.
Although there has been progress, teenage pregnancy remains a profound problem, and we
need to do more. Real solutions lie at the grassroots level, with families, communities and
young people themselves. The federal government can help focus resources in support of
work at the local level, and most important, it can help ensure that our. policies support our
national values. The Clinton Administration's policy on teen pregnancy, and on youth
generally, have been built on two fundamental values:
Responsible Behavior: Personal responsibility has been a central part of the
President's message to young people, as he has urged them not to become parents
before they are adults, have finished school, and are ready to support their children.
He has supported policies that embody this principle, including abstinence-based
curricula, welfare reforms that discourage early parenting and require young mothers
to live at home and stay in school, and tough new child support enforcement
provisions that drive home the responsibility of parenthood to young men.
Opportunities for Youth: Teen pregnancy cannot be addressed in isolation from the
wide range of other problems confronting youth, their families, their communities and
their schools. Much of the Administration's social and economic agenda, ranging from
education to crime prevention to empowerment zones, is designed to provide increased
opportunities for young people and to give them something to say 'yes' to. If our youth
do not have access to education, health services, jobs, or safe places to go after school
and on weekends, they will not have a chance to make the right choices.
This summary report provides some facts about teen pregnancy i,n the United States and
highlights some of the key components of Administration's teen pregnancy and youth agenda,
including: (1) Research and Evaluation to learn more about the causes of teen pregnancy, (2)
Community demonstrations to help communities try different approaches to learn what works,
(3) Policies that promote responsible behavior among young people, and (4) Policies that
provide young people with greater opportunities.
Recognizing that government cannot solve this problem alone, the President has called for a
national private sector campaign to prevent teen pregnancy, and the administration has been ·
working to catalyze such an effort. This report is not intended to address the status of private
sector initiatives, nor does it provide a comprehensive description of all federal efforts
directed at teens.
�.
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The Facts About Teen· Pregnancy
A NATIONAL EPIDEMIC
•
Every year, about 1 million American teenagers become pregnant -- that's
approximately 11% of women ages 15-19.
•
From the 1950s through the early 1980s, the rate of births to teenS decreased steadily.
However, in 1986, that trend reversed, and over the period 1986-91, the rate grew by
24%. Recent news has been somewhat positive: From 1991 to 1993, the national rate
declined by 4%.
•
As the teenage population grows, teen .births are expected to increase. Even if the
teen birth rate remains constant, the nwnber of births is expected to jwnp 30% by the
year 2010.
TREND TOWARDS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK CHILDBEARING
•
In 1960, only 15% of teenage mothers were unmarried. As of 1993, 71% were
unmarried.
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
•
The rate of births to teens in the United States is now twice as high as in the United
Kingdom and six times as high as in France, Italy, and Denmark.
ROLE OF ADULT MALES
•
A recent survey indicates that at least half the babies born to teenage women ages 1517 are fathered by adult men ages 20 or older.
COSTS TO THE CHILDREN
•
Children born to teens are more likely to die in their first year of life, to have lower
cognitive achievement, to repeat a grade in school, to be victims of abuse and neglect,
and to become teen parents themselves.
•
80% of children born to unwed teenage mothers who have not completed high school
live in poverty. In contrast, of those children born to 20 year-old mmied parents who
are high school graduates, only 8% live in poverty.
COSTS TO SOCIETY
•
In 1990, slightly more than half of all mothers receiving Aid to Families and
Dependent Children (AFDC) first had children as teenagers. And 43% of the longterm welfare recipients are women who gave birth at or before age 17.
•
More than three-fourths of all unmarried teen mothers receive welfare (AFDC) at
some point during the 5 years following the birth of their child.
�.·:.
Research and Evaluation:
Learning What Works to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
The Clinton Administration supports comprehensive approaches to research and evaluation
with an emphasis on prevention of both first and repeat pregnancies. Working to understand
teen populations and the many forces that influence behavior both in and outside of the home,
monitoring and targeting new data, and evaluating old and new programs to learn more
about what approaches may be most effective in lowering teen pregnancy rates in the United
States are priority elements of our approach to research and evaluation. Following are some
examples:
•
Comprehensive Study: In June of 1995, the Department of Health and Human
Services issued, "Beginning Too Soon: Adolescent Sexuai.Behavior, Pregnancy,
and Parenthood," a two volume report containing a comprehensive and exhaustive
review of the most recent research literature on teenage sexual behavior, pregnancy
and parenthood and· on effectiveness of teenage pregnancy prevention programs. This
report was produced by Child Trends, Inc. with funding from the Dep~ent of
Health and Human Services, and is now available on the Internet at
http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/hsp/cyphome.htm.
•
State Data: In September 1995, lll!S reported state-level teenage pregnancy data for
1991 and 1992. This marks the first time that HHS is able to report state-level teen
pregnancy data. Updating trends on a state-by-state basis regularly provides more
information for making effective policy decisions and enables us to see where we need
to target our resources.
•
Family Planning and Adolescent Family Life : lll!S funds, as part of Family Planning
and Adolescent Family Life programs, research projects and studies that focus on
adolescent sexual behavior. Goals of these studies range from developing strategies
to improve services to sexually active adolescents who are at-risk for contraceptive
non-compliance and young women who visit family planning clinics, to learning more
about: precursors and results of pregnancy and birth among adolescent males, the
factors that influence teen attitudes toward sexual behavior, and the consequences for
teen mothers who decide to parent as compared to those who place their children for
adoption.
•
New Mothers' Study: lll!S funds The New Mothers' Study and has expanded its
original scope to provide support for a 5-year follow-up to look at longer term
outcomes, including employment and welfare dependency: The Study focuses on
research and analysis of a study in Memphis, Tennessee, where a sample offirst-time,
low-income, pregnant women received weekly visits from a nurse. Approximately 65%
of the research sample were 18 or younger at enrollment. Early findings indicate that
there were signifiCantly fewer repeat pregnancies within two years following the birth
of the child for those women who received home visits. It was originally started in
1988, and is also supported by other government agencies and private foundations.
.
.
�•
~ · Teenage Parent Demonstration: In order to gain further insight into the occurrence of
repeat pregnancies, in 1993, .Irn:S funded a 5-year follow-up evaluation of the Teenage
Parent Demonstration, initially conducted from 1986 to 1991. This program targeted
the high-risk population of teenage mothers on welfare, providing case management
and support services such as education, training and child care. The follow-up
evaluation continues to monitor these mothers and focuses on the occurrence of repeat
pregnancies.
Reaching Into Our Communities And Promoting
Partnerships to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
"I'm trying to do things that I believe will help our country meet the challenges
we face today so that young people will have a better future. And it's obvious
to me that.... unless young people have good, healthy, constructive lives at the
grass-roots level, the things that I do will not succeed in getting you the future
you deserve. " President Clinton; August 9, 1995
The Clinton Administration encourages local governments and communities to pilot new and
innovative demonstration efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy, and works with them to help
make these programs a reality. The Administration has sponsored a range of approaches
from abstinence-based education to service-oriented community collaborations. If a program
proves effective, one goal of collaboration is to foster sustainability so that it can eventually
operate without government assistance. Following are some examples ofprograms funded
under the Clinton Administration:
•
Adolescent Family Life Program: In September of 1995, Irn:S's Adolescent Family
Life Program awarded 15 grants totaling $4.2 million dollars for comprehensive
demonstration programs aimed at preventing early teenage sexual activity and reducing
teenage pregnancies. These programs feature innovative ways to emphasize
abstinence as the best way to prevent adolescent pregnancy and to encourage the
involvement of parents in these discussions with their children.
•
Community Coalition Partnership Programs for Prevention of Teen Pregnancy: In
September of 1995, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the new
Community Coalition Partnership Programs for Prevention of Teen Pregnancy by
awarding 13 grants totalling $6.5 million over two years. These grants enable
communities to develop plans for implementing and evaluating community-wide
interventions that are innovative, comprehensive and sustainable. In addition, these
demonstrations include an evaluation component.
�•
· "Healthy Schools/Healthy Communities: In 1994, the Administration started the new
Healthy Schools/Healthy Communities program- funding 27 new school-based
health centers in 20 states and the District of Columbia. These centers provide for
the health services and education needs of children and teenagers at high risk for poor
health, teenage pregnancy, and other problems. A comprehensive evaluation of this
program is currently being conducted.
•
The CoiPoration for National Service: Created under the Clinton Administration in
1993, the Corporation for National Service supports over 50 teen pregnancy programs
in 20 states across the country - working both to prevent teen pregnancy and to
assist teen parents. National service participants provide case management, mentor
pregnant teens, sponsor health fairs, teach parenting skills to teen parents, make
presentations on teen pregnancy prevention to school-age youth, help youth access
health care, provide refex:rals to health care providers, and develop social supports for
teen parents. National service programs are operated with members of AmeriCorps,
Learn and Serve America, and the National Senior Service Corps, who work
col/aboratively with school districts, universities, churches, health departments,
national non-profits, and community-based organizations.
•
Healthy Start Program: HHS continues to support the Healthy Start Program, which
has demonstration projects underway in 22 communities nationwide to reduce infant
mortality in the highest-risk areas and to improve the health and well-being of
women, infants and their families. Among a broad 81T8.Y of services provided,
thousands of teenagerS participate in prevention programs exclusively designed for
them that encourage healthy lifestyles, youth empowerment, sexual responsibility,
conflict resolution, goal setting, and the enhancement of self-esteem. A
comprehensive evaluation is ongoing and results are expected in 1997.
•
The Home Yisitini Services Demonstration: In September 1994, HHS launched this
new grant program that is currently operating in three sites. Under the demonstration,
paraprofessional home visitors provide first-time teenage parents on welfare with
instruction and supportive guidance related to family planning, parenting skills, health
care for themselves and their children, and child support. The visitors also facilitate
the teenagers' participation in the required education and employment-related activities.
�Promoting Personal Responsibility
Among Young People
President Clinton has made personal responsibility a central part of his message to young
people, striving to prevent both first and repeat pregnancies for young mothers and fathers.
Estimates indicate that over half the mothers who receive Aid to Families with Dependent
Children were teenagers when they had their first child To prevent welfare dependency,
teenagers must get the message that staying in school, postponing sexual activity, and
preparing to work are the right things to do.
By supporting welfare reform proposals that promote work, demand responsibility, and
toughen child support enforcement activities, President Clinton has sent a message that,
"Nobody should get pregnant or father a child who isn't prepared to raise the child, love the
child, and take responsibility for the child's future. "
Welfare Refonn: The President's welfare refonn proposals incorporate a clear message to
minor parents seeking assistance: to get help, you have to live with a responsible adult, you
have to stay in school, and you have to be committed to supporting yourself and your
children after high school. Welfare reform proposals passed by the House and the Senate
have adopted the President's proposal requiring unmarried teen mothers to live at home with
an adult family member in order to qualify for assistance. The pending legislation would also
allow states grants to establish "Second Chance" homes, or adult-supervised group homes, as
alternative living situations to help teen parents break the cycle of welfare dependency.
Strengthening Child SJ.UWOrt Enforcement: In 1995 the Administration collected a record of
$11 billion in child support from non-custodial parents, an increase of 40% since 1992.
From 1992 to 1995, paternity establishments have also risen by over 40% to an estimated
735,000. This increase includes, for the first time, paternities established as part of the
Clinton Administration's in-hospital paternity establishment program.
President Clinton proposed a comprehensive child support enforcement plan as part of his
welfare reform legislation. The plan would streamline paternity establishment; require new
hire reporting; make child support laws uniform across state lines; computerize state-wide
collections to speed up payments; and reqUire states to threaten denying drivers' and
professional licenses to parents who refuse to pay child support. Both House and Senate have
adopted these provisions--changes that should increase child support collections by $24 billion
over the next 10 years. In addition, in 1995 President Clinton signed an Executive Order to
crack down on Federal employees who owe child support.
State Welfare Refonn Demonstrations: The Administration has approved State Welfare
Reform Demonstrations that include various provisions affecting minor parents. 12 states have
authority to implement provisions linking AFDC benefits to the school attendance of minor
parents. Nine states have received waiver authority to require minor parents to live with their
parents or guardians or in an adult-supervised setting. A comprehensive evaluation will be
conducted for each of these demonstrations.
�.
·'.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention·_ ·As Part Of A
Comprehensive Approach to Youth Policy
The Clinton Administration has worked to address the high rate of teen pregnancy by
confronting the complex economic and social factors often behind these high rates. We have
stressed the importance of investing in young people and in the communities where they live
in order to offer them positive alternatives to early parenting and sexual behavior. Critical
to this effort are Administration initiatives to invest in early childhood and adolescent
development, to provide equal educational opportunities for our children and youth, to invest
in distressed urban and rural communities, and to create more jobs.
Researchers have documented correlations between poor academic skills and early
childbearing; high dropout rates, illiteracy, a history of physical and/or sexual abuse, and
poor employment prospects are all risk factors for early childbearing. Research has also
shown that the risk factors for teen pregnancy, violent behavior, delinquency, and drug use
are similar and that comprehensive programs focused on changing behaviors related to
· alcohol, drugs and teen pregnancy -- such as focusing on raising self-esteem -- have an
impact.
Following are examples ofprograms and initiatives in this area that the Administration
supports:
LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUTH AT-RISK
•
National Adolescent Health Survey: Teens have been a significantly understudied
sector of the population. In 1994, the National Institutes of Health began funding a
new 5-year study known as Add Health, the first comprehensive study of the
determinants of adolescent health. Using a national sample of 7th through 12th
graders, Add Health examines the personal, familial, peer-related and community
related influences on health behavior, taking a more comprehensive look at the
health of our nation's teenagers in order to provide a better understanding of the
complex forces that promote good health for our young people and those factors that
put youth at risk.
•
PreventinG Youth Violence in Public HousinG: This year, HUD and CDC have
awarded a $550,000 grant to collect and develop information on youth violence
prevention research. The intent is to disseminate existing information on successful
programs to Indian and Public Housing authorities so that they can make more
informed choices about prevention programs, which offer alternative services and
activities for youth that can play a major role in preventing teen pregnancy as well.
~-.
.
..
�•
· ·Comprehensive Strategy and. Guide for Implementation: In December of 1993, the
Department of Justice-published a Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and
Chronic Juvenile Offenders, following up with a Guide to implementing the
Comprehensive Strategy in June of 1995. Studies on the causes and correlates of
delinquency, which used large random samples of inner-city, high-risk youth in three
sites, provided the research underpinnings for these publications. All three studies
showed that chronic violent delinquent offenders have higher rates of dropping out
of school, gun ownership for protection, gun use, gang membership, teenage
sexual activity, teenage parenthood, and early independence from their family.
Comprehensive Strategy and its Guide for implementation provide an alternative to
increasing reliance on the criminal justice system by calling for the establishment of a
coordinated system of prevention and graduated sanctions programs that provide a
continuum of care for each child.
•
Review for Practitioners: Family Life, Delinquency, and Crime: A Policymaker 's
Guide--Research Summary, was completed in May of 1994 by the Department of
Justice. Its findings indicate that family is one of the most powerful socializing
forces for young people, and can therefore seriously impact children's behavior.
•
Parenting Initiative: The Department of Justice completed research work in 1993
under a grant to the University of Utah and the Pacific Institute for Research and
Evaluation. This four-year major parenting initiative resulted in a document entitled
Effective Parenting Strategies for Families of High-Risk Youth (December 1993),
which identified a representative group of 25 programs as potentially the most
promising. The research findings underscore the importance of a family-focused
approach to prevention and intervention of youthful problem behavior.
EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AT-RISK
•
SafeFutures: In September 1995, the Department of Justice created the SafeFutures
Program, a five-year program which will provide approximately $8 million per year to
six jurisdictions for a comprehensive and coordinated delinquency prevention and
intervention program for at-risk and delinquent youth. Several programmatic
components allow the four cities, one rural jurisdiction and one tribal government, to
address teen pregnancy and receive support for specific counseling and education
services. These include support for family strengthening activities, mentoring, specific
services to at-risk and delinquent females, and general delinquency prevention
activities.
•
High Risk Youth Demonstration: HHS supports the High Risk Youth Demonstration
program; which funds innovative and effective model programs for preventing
alcohol and drug use among high-risk youth. One component of the program targets
the specific needs of females from 12 to 20 whose use of substances often occurs with
special factors (e.g. sexual abuse and domestic violence) that underlie or contribute to
women's addictive problems. Every component of the program is evaluated.
�_.:.t·..• ·
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· ·school Health Programs: The CDC has established a national framework to support
school health programs that are locally determined and consistent with community
values. Programs in all 50 states and 18 major cities are designed to help young
people avoid those risk behaviors that result in 1flV infection, other sexually
transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies. CDC's Youth Risk Surveillance
System provides information about the prevalence of behaviors practiced by youth that
put their health at risk, and states, cities, and CDC use this information to more
effectively target and evaluate school health programs.
Youth Development Initiative: Started in 1994 under the Departments of Veterans
Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, the purpose of this initiative is to
address the problem of violence in low-income communities by providing young
people aged 13 to 25, with access to education and employment opportunities and
supportive services. Offering these positive alternatives and services to youth to
reduce violence are shown to be effective for affecting other teen behavior as well,
such as sexual behavior that could lead to teen pregnancy.
•
Youth Fair Chance: In July 1994, the Department of Labor implemented the Youth
Fair Chance. program, funding seventeen sites. Youth Fair Chance is a communitybased program that targets money directly into high poverty areas where youth
problems are greatest. Working in cooperation with local service providers, these
sites use in- and out-of-school components to provide a variety of services that focus
on youth problems, like teen pregnancy, unemployment, drug and gang involvement,
and dropping out of school. Some of the sites utilize AmeriCorps volunteers.
•
The Community Scbools Youth Services and Supervision Grant: Through this new
program established in 1994 under the Crime Bil., HHS provides matching grants to
communities wjth significant poverty and juvenile delinquency for after-school,
weekend and summer recreation and education programs. The program includes
an evaluation component.
•
Family Planning: In the face of strong opposition, the President has proposed budget
increases for the federal Family Planning Program each year and successfully
maintained the program. Among other reproductive health and education services, this
program makes family planning information and contraception available to millions of
women who might not otherwise get reproductive he,.alth care.
.
•
..
4-H Youth Development Program and Children. Youth and Families at Risk Initiative:
The Department of Agriculture, through the Cooperative Extension System, funds
these important initiatives serving young people. These programs work with
communities to implement effective research-based programs which address a broad
range of issues and needs, including teen pregnancy, child abuse, infant mortality,
community crime and violence, and child care.
�•
•
·' -Safe and Drug-Free School Act: Passed in 1994, this act responds to the continuing
crisis of violence and drugs in our schools by supporting comprehensive school-and
community-based drug abuse and violence prevention programs. Local school
districts in high need areas are coordinating violence and drug prevention programs
with comprehensive school health education programs.
Comprehensive Services for Teenage Parents on Welfare: In 1994, HHS funded these
grants, which supported development of programs providing comprehensive services
to meet the personal, physical and social needs of teenage parents, as well as
aiding the cognitive, physical and emotional development of their children. They were
implemented in conjunction with mandatory participation requirements for education
and employment-related activities.
LIFELONG LEARNING: INVESTING IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ·
"We can do all these things -- put our economic house in order, expand world
trade, target the jobs of the future, guarantee equal opportunity -- but if we're
honest, we'll admit that this strategy still cannot work unless we also give our
people the education, training, and skills they need to seize the opportunities of
tomo"ow. " President Clinton; January 25, 1994
Under the Clinton Administration, the Department of Education has launched a number of
initiatives that address teen pregnancy prevention through improved schooling for
disadvantaged students, coordination of health and social services, and school-to-work
opportunities to increase economic self-sufficiency. Drop-out prevention and drug-free
schools and communities programs address risk factors that are the same or related to those
leading to teen pregnancy.
Specific initiatives started or expanded include: The Goals 2000: Educate America Act,
Improving America's Schools Act, Title I Program; 1994 School-To-Work Opportunities
Act; and Head Start.
EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
The Clinton Administration has worked hard to encourage investment in distressed
communities, to create jobs and to help these communities rebuild themselves by desi~g
initiatives like the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities· and The Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act.
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Promoting Personal Responsibility
Among Young People
[NOTE:SECTION TO BE UPDATED AS WELFARE REFORM DEBATE EVOLVES)
President Clinton has made personal responsibility a central part of his message to young
people, striving to prevent both first and repeat pregnancies for young mothers and fathers.
Estimates indicate that over half the mothers who receive Aid to Families with Dependent
Children were teenagers when they had their first child To prevent welfare dependency,
teenagers must get the message that staying in school, postponing sexual activity, and
preparing to work are the right things to do.
By supporting welfare reform proposals that promote work, demand responsibility, and
toughen child support enforcement activities, President Clinton has sent a message that,
"Nobody should get pregnant or father a child who isn't prepared to raise the child, love the
child, and take responsibility for the child's future. "
Welfare Reform: The President's welfare reform proposals incorporate a clear message to
minor parents seeking assistance: to get help, you have to live with a responsible adult, you
have to stay in school, and you have to be committed to supporting yourself and your
children after high school. Welfare reform proposals passed by the House and the Senate
have adopted the President's proposal requiring unmarried teen mothers to live at home with
an adult family member in order to qualify for assistance. The pending legislation would also
allow states grants to establish "Second Chance" homes, or adult-supervised group homes, as
alternative living situations to help teen parents break the cycle of welfare dependency.
Stren&thenin~
Child SU£lport Enforcement: In 1995 the Administration collected a record of
$11 billion in child support from non-custodial parents, an increase of 40% since 1992.
From 1992 to 1995, paternity establishments have also risen by over 40% to an estimated
735,000. This increase includes, for the first time, paternities established as part of the
Clinton Administration's in-hospital paternity establishment program.
President Clinton proposed a comprehensive child support enforcement plan as part of his
welfare reform legislation. The plan would streamline paternity establishment; require new
hire reporting; make child support laws uniform across state lines; computerize state-wide
collections to speed up payments; and require states to threaten denying drivers' and
professional licenses to parents who refuse· to pay child support. Both House and Senate have
adopted these provisions--changes that should increase child support collections by $24 billion
over the next 10 years. In addition, in 1995 President Clinton signed an Executive Order to
crack down on Federal employees who owe child support.
State Welfare Reform Demonstrations: The Administration has approved State Welfare
Reform Demonstrations that include various provisions affecting minor parents. 12 states have
authority to implement provisions linking AFDC benefits to the school attendance of minor
parents. Nine states have received waiver authority to require minor parents to live with their
parents or guardians or in an adult-supervised setting. A comprehensive evaluation will be
conducted for each of these demonstrations.
�.....
Promoting Personal Responsibility
Among Young People
[NOTE:SECTION NEEDS TO BE UPDATED AS RE: WELFARE REFORM )
President Clinton has made personal responsibility a central part of his message to young
people, striving to prevent both first and repeat pregnancies for young mothers and fathers.
Estimates indicate that over half the mothers who receive Aid to Families with Dependent
Children were teenagers when they had their first child To prevent welfare dependency,
teenagers must get the message that staying in school, postponing sexual activity, and
preparing to work are the right things to do.
By supporting welfare reform proposals that promote work, demand responsibility, and
toughen child support enforcement activities, President Clinton has sent a message that,
"Nobody should get pregnant or father a child who isn't prepared to raise the child, love the
child, and take responsibility for the child's future. "
Welfare Reform: The President's welfare reform proposals incorporate a clear message to
minor parents seeking assistance: to get help, you have to live with a responsible adult, you
have to stay in school, and you have to be committed to supporting yourself and your
children after high school. Welfare reform proposals passed by the House and the Senate
have adopted the President's proposal requiring unmarried teen mothers to live at home with
an adult family member in order to qualify for assistance. The pending legislation would also
allow states grants to establish "Second Chance" homes, or adult-supervised group homes, as
alternative living situations to help teen parents break the cycle of welfare dependency.
Strengthenin~ Child SJ.U!port Enforcement: In 1995 the Administration collected a record of
$11 billion in child support from non-custodial parents, an increase of 40% since 1992.
From 1992 to 1995, paternity establishments have also risen by over 40% to an estimated
735,000. This increase includes, for the first time, paternities established as part of the
Clinton Administration's in-hospital paternity establishment program.
President Clinton proposed a comprehensive child support enforcement plan as part of his
welfare reform legislation. The plan would streamline paternity establishment; require new
hire.reporting; make child support laws uniform across state lines; computerize state-wide
collections to speed up payments; and require states to threaten denying drivers' and
professional licenses to parents who refuse to pay child support. Both House and Senate have
adopted these provisions--changes that should increase child support collections by $24 billion
over the next 10 years. In addition, in 1995 President Clinton signed an Executive Order to
crack down on Federal employees who owe child support.
State Welfare Reform Demonstrations: The Administration has approved State Welfare
Reform Demonstrations that include various provisions affecting minor parents. 12 states have
authority to implement provisions linking AFDC benefits to the school attendance of minor
parents. Nine states have received waiver authority to require minor parents to live with their
parents or guardians· or in an adult-supervised setting. A comprehensive evaluation will be
conducted for each of these demonstrations.
�._.·:.
•
Safe and Drug-Free School Act: Passed in ·1994, this act responds to the continuing
crisis of violence and drugs in our schools by supporting comprehensive school-and
community-based drug abuse and violence prevention programs. Local school
districts in high need areas are coordinating violence and drug prevention programs
with comprehensive school health education programs.
•
Comprehensive Services for Teenage Parents on Welfare: In 1994, HHS funded these
grants, which supported development of programs providing comprehensive services
to meet the personal, physical and social needs of teenage parents, as well as
aiding the cognitive, physical and emotional development of their children. They were
implemented in conjunction with mandatory participation requirements for education
and employment-related activities.
LIFELONG LEARNING: INVESTING IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
"We can do all these things --put our economic house in order, expand world
trade, target the jobs of the future, guarantee equal opportunity -- but if we're
honest, we'll admit that this strategy still cannot work unless we also give our
people the education, training, and skills they need to seize the opportunities of
tomorrow. " President Clinton; January 25, 1994
Under the Clinton Administration, the Department of Education has launched a number of
initiatives that address teen pregnancy prevention through improved schooling for
disadvantaged students, coordination of health and social services, and school-to-work
opportunities to increase economic self-sufficiency. Drop-out prevention and drug-free
schools and communities programs address risk factors that are the same or related to those
leading to teen pregnancy.
Specific initiatives started or expanded include: The Goals 2000: Educate America Act,
Improving America's Schools Act, Title I Program; 1994 School-To-Work Opportunities
Act; and Head Start.
EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
The Clinton Administration has worked hard to encoUrage investment in distressed
communities, to create jobs and to help these communities rebuild themselves by designing
initiatives like the Empower~ent Zones and Enterprise Communities and The Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act.
January 16, 1996
�-
f
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 4, 1996
MEMORANDUM FOR DON BAER
Rasco~
FROM:
Carol
Jeremy Ben-Ami
Janet Abrams
RE:
Teen Pregnancy Rollout
We want to update you on our progress in pulling together the national private-sector
campaign on teen pregnancy and to get your guidance on timing for announcements to be
made on this initiative and on other Administration achievements in the area of teen
pregnancy prevention.
Within the next two weeks, we will be ready to announce that a core group of high-profile
individuals have agreed to form a major new national organization to address teen pregnancy.
We are hopeful that this organization will have the impact on this issue that the Partnership
for a Drug Free America has had on the problem of drug abuse. Key initial members of the
group are Katherine Graham of the Post, Charlotee Beers of Oglivy and Mather, David
Hamburg of the Carnegie Corporation, Jane Fonda, Nancy Kassebaum and Belle Sawhill of
the Urban Institute. Among other likely people for the announcement are Whoopi Goldberg,
Tom Kean, Oprah Winfrey and C. Everett Koop.
In addition, as you know, we are ready to make public the new job for Dr. Foster and to
release a report on the Administration's efforts in the area of teen pregnancy prevention.
We would like to propose two events:
•
First, the President would take part in the announcement of the formation of the
national campaign and personally congratulate the prominent Americans who have
agreed to serve on the leadership council. This event could be at the White House or
at a local school. It could be before the State of the Union or just after.
�•
The following day, a statement about Dr. Henry Foster's appointment as a Special
Advisor to the President on Teen Pregnancy and as the Administration's liaison to the
new private-sector organization would be released. As previously planned, Dr. Foster
would meet at the White House with representatives of relevant advocacy groups. A
summary of Administration efforts in teen pregnancy prevention would also be
distributed. We believe it is important to hold the activities highlighting Foster's new
role the day after the Presidential event so that the media will focus fully on the
launching of the national private-sector campaign.
Please let us know what you think of these ideas and whether you need any additional
information. Thanks.
�THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
.
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A Guide for Communities
June l2a 1996
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PRINCIPLES OF PROMISING STRATEGIES
TO PREVENT TEEN P~GNANCY __
Teenage pregnancy remains a profound problem, and President Bill Clinton has called for a
national campaign to reduce it. Real solutions lie at the grassroots level, with families,
commw1ities,ap~ young people themselves. Con1muni.ties must develop tailored approaches
to meet theirmm needs, resources, and values.
Since 1993, the Department of Health and Human Service~ ha.c; been working on a number of
eftbrts to help communities develop their own comprehensive strategies. The Department
supports a variety of approaches that include 5 key principles shown by research and
experience to be most likely to work.
Parent and Adult
Involvement
Parents and other adult mentors mu~t play key
roles in encouraging young people to avoid early
pregnancy and to stay in school.
Abstinence
Abstinence and personal responsibility must be primary
messages of prevention programs.
Clear Pathways to the Future
Young people must be given clear connections
and pathways to college or jobs that give them hope
and a rea~on to stay in school and avoid pregnancy.
Community Involvement
Public and private sector partners throughout communities,
including parent~, schools, businesses, n1edia, health and
human services providers. and religious organizations~
must work together to develop comprehensive strategies.
Sustained Commitment
Real success requires n sustained commitment to the young
person over a long period of time.
�·-·-.--
TEENAGE PREGNANCY PREVENTION:
SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITIES
President Clinton is seeking an additional $30 million in his FY 1997 budget to help
communities prevent teenage pregnancy.
Ry providing $1 million in new resources to each of approximately 25 commwrities with high
teenage pregnancy rates, HI-IS anticipates being able to expand significantly the knowledge
about what wor¥s,.nnd what. does not work.
The new resources will be used to build on the Department of Health and Hum.Dll Service's on-
--going partnership with local communities, focusing especially on those that have a solid
infrastrucmre to launch new strategies. While other Departmental programs are making
significant contributions in the area ofteen.age pregnancy prevention, these additional dollars
will be concentrated on comprehensive pregnancy prevention interventions and on evaluation.
The funds will help communities with their plans to provide opportunities for young people to
take responsibility, increase their life skills, an.d become conlributin.g members of adult society.
The funding will support a wide variety of community-initiated approaches to preventing
teenage pregnancy that incorporate the principles of promising strategies. These approach e.~
include abstinence-ba~ed activities, school health, family planning, alcohol and drug usc
prevention and referral for treatment, academic tutoring, literacy n·aining, drop-out prevention
programs, career and college counseling, mentoring, job skills training, apprenticeships, parttime paid work, community service programs, and local media campaigns. The funding can .
also be used to ensure coordination of services and fill gaps in. services.
Funded communities will involve many sectors of the community, including parents, schools,
businesses, voluntary organizations, media, law enforcement, and religious organizations, as
well as the health and social services sectors .
.Because assessment and learning are key goals for the additional dollars, $5 million will be sel
ac;ide for evall.lation and technica.l assistance. This will allow further rctin.cment of the
principles of promising strategies so that comnuuuties can make decisions based on as much
knowledge as possible.
�PROMISING STRATEGIES·
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CHILDREN'S Am SOCIETY'S
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY PREVENTION PROGRAMS
Approach:
Comprehensive, Multi-Faceted
Short Description: This program looks beyond sex education to the whole chlld. offering
youngsters a variety of opportunities and a broad-spectrum Of-services as weiras positive role
models. The seven major components of the program include: car~er awareness; family and sex
education; medical and health services; mental health services; academic assessment and
homework help; self-esteem through the perfonning arts; and tbstering lifetime participation in
individual spo~ Jctivities. The Children's Aid Society hac; another program in Harlem which,
in addition to
above, guarantees youth in the program who graduate from high school or get
_____ a General Equivalency Diploma admission to New York City,s Hunter College.
the
Goals of the Program: The primary goal of the program is to assist youth in avoiding
unintended pregnancy and making responsible sexual decisions.
Location: 10 New York communities and 17 cities across the country
Population Served: Youth ages 10 through 20
Early Findings: For the six New York City sites employing this model, early data show-•
t
Participams have educational aspirations that are higher than those reported in national .
samples of high school students.
Participants have better outcomes four years after entering high school when compared
to the New York City public school Class of 1994.
Participants have substantially lower rates of alcohol use when compare.d to national
samples of adolescents in the same age group.
Participants are less likely to be sexually active, and those who are sexually active are
more likely to have used contraception when compared to national samples.
For Further Information Contact:
�.·
. 0.6/111,9
TEEN OUTREACH PROGRAM
Approach: Life Options
Short Description: The Teen Outreach Program, sponsored by the Association of Junior
Lea.gues and the American Association of School Administrators. combines cw-riculum-~ased,
facilitator-guided, small group discussions with volunteer se~j~e in th~ co~ity. Issues
addressed in the small group discussions include: self-understanding, communication skills,
human growth and development, parenting issues, and family interaction. Some sex education
is included. Facilitators serve as mentors and link youth to volunteer activities.
Goals of the Pf.'dkram: The program seeks to prevent early pregnancy and encourage school
achievement.
Location: Nationwide and in Canada, mostly located in schools
Population Served: Youth ages 11 through 19
Early Findings: Early data show a reduction in teenage pregna11cy as well as in school
suspension and drop-out rates. 1'ne volunteering and classroom cwriculum appear to be
working although greater site volunteer hours and o1der students were associated with more
positive outcomes.
For Fu1·ther Information Contact:
�..
POSTPONING SEXUAL INVOLVEMENT
Approach: Abstinence and Delayed Sexual Initiation
Short Description: The Postponing Sexualln.volvement Curriculum, developed by the Emory
University School of Medicine and Grady Memorial Hospital Teen Services Program, provides
teens with the skills they need to resist peer pressure and eaFly~exual invo~~cnt. The ..
curriculum offers a clear message that favors abstinence and postponing sexual involvement,
but also provides information about contraception. Skill-building·exercises conducted by
slightly older peer educators are key elements of the program.
Goals of the Pr'Ogram: The program provides youth with basic factual information and
decision-making skills related to reproductive health. Teenagers in the program gain skills to
- deal with social and peer pressures that lead them into early sexilal i11volvement. ·
Location: Atlanta, GA and other sites nation-wide.
Population Served: Youth ages 13 to 14
Early Findings: Compared to non-participants, a significantly smaller prop011.i.on of youth
participating in the program reported being sexually active by both the 12 and 18 month
tallow-up periods, even though a slightly higher propo.ttion of the participants had been
sexually active before receiving the program's curriculum. The effect on delayed first sexual
activity was tnle for both male and female participants. The impact on delayed sc?rual activity
among females was particularly strong. In addition, the evaluation also found higher
contraceptive use among those program participants who were sexually active.
For Further Information Contact:
�...
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I HAVE A FUTIJRE
Approach:
Life Options 'md Opportunity Development
Short Description: "1 Have A Future" is a: community-based intervention that uses a
compreht:nsive set of activities lo expand life options tbr high-risk youth living in public.
housing projects. The focus of the program is on ab!\tine11ce, community, l:!nd self-esteem. The
three parts of the program include: equipping adolescents with ·the basic i1ifonnation they need
about health, human sexuality, and drug and alcohol use; providing a comprehensive anay of
adolescent health services. with a focus on abstint:nce and a very strong emphasis on parental
and community involvement; and assisting young people to enhance their life-options through
activities that hlJ:.t'tove their job skills, ·self-reliance, values, and self-esteem.
-·---------Goals of the Program:
...
developing a replicable community-based, life-enhancement program that promotes a
significant reduction in the incidence of early pregnancy and child bearing among highdsk adolescents;
...
improving knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to personal health and human
sexuality; and,
..
enhancing the ability of high-risk adolescents to overcome environmental barriers to
attaining the skills necessary to pursue meaningful employment and educational
opportunities with the promise of upward mobility.
.Location: Public housing projects in Nac:;hville, TN
Population Served: Youth ages 10 through 17
Early Findings: Preliminary analyses ofthc I Have A Future Program have found positive
effects on inlennediate outcomes such as pro-social attitudes, sexual and contraceptive
knowledge, sclt':..csteem, perceived life options, and p!i:ychosocial maturity, when comparing the
active participants to the comparison group of youth from two other public housing project(,j.
Those who participated in the program had fewer pregnancies, higher self esteem, fewer selfreports of delinquent behaviors, and a greater sense of a promising fun1re.
For Further Information Contact:
�..
.
·oa/11/96
12:49
QUANTUM OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM
Approach: Life Options and Opportunity Development
Short Description: The Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP)~ a four-year demonstration
program launched in 1989 was designed to test the ability of
community-based organizations to improve the lives of low-in~ome high ~ch_p.ol students. The
project used Opportunities Industrial Centers in five communities to deliver an intensive
package of services to youth during the four years of high school. ·Services included
educational activities, community service activities, and development activities to help youth
learn more about health issues, arts, careers and college planning.
'>,.
QOP was a relalively small national demonstration program. At each site, there were 50
--- ---~-- ----students--25 randomly assigned to the project and 25 to a control group. The young people
received small stipends for participating in and completing approved aclivities. The program
also established accrual accounts to collect matching funds that youth could use for additional
training or education after they graduated from high school. Staff members were also given
financial incentives to meet the program's patticipation goals.
The ford Foundation and lhe Department of Labor are currently fun4.ing replications of the
program.
Goals of the Program: To tesl the ability of communi.ty-based organizations to "foster
achievement of academics and social competence among high school students from families
receiving public assistance."
·
Location: Philadelphia, PA; Oklahoma City, OK; San Antonio, TX; SagillaW, 1\.11; and
Milwaukee, WL (Milwaukee was later dropped from th~ study)
Population Served: Students entering the 9th grade
Early Findings: QOP made significant improvements in the lives of participating youth over a
two-year period. Results compiled one year after the program was cornplcted show !;igniftcant
differences between QOP panicipants and control group members. Specifically, QOP
·
members were more likely to be high school graduates, more likely to be enrolled in secondary
schools, less likely to be high school dropouts, and less likely to have children. They were also
more likely to be involved in community ~ervice, to be more hopeiul abopt the future, and
more likely to consider their 11vcs a success.
For F'urther Information Contact:
�.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
RECR.NTLY &"LEASED REPORTS
B..egintting Too Soon: Adolescent Sexual Behayior. Pregnancy. and Parenthood.
A
1995 two volume report reviewing recent research and describing interventions and evaluations
written by Kristin Moore, Brent Miller, Barbara Sugland, DoiUla Ruan.ne Morrison, Connie
Blumenthal, Dana Glei~ and Nancy Snyder of Child Trends, ·Inc. for the Offi-ee-ofthe Assistant
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) i.n the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Copies available from Child Trends at 202-362-5533 or from ASPE at 202-6906461 . Also available at the Internet address http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov
.
.
Great Transition,. The 1995 concluding report of the Carnegie CoWicil on Adolescent
Development funded by the Carnegie Corporation ofNew York. Copies available from the
----·--·---carnegie Council on Adolescent Development at 202-429-7979.
The Best Intentions: Unintended Pregnancy nnd the Well.. Being of Children and Fantilies.
A 1995 report by the Institute ofMedicine. Copies available from the National Academy Press
at 800-624-6242.
Sex and A mericn 's Teenagers. A 1994 report by Lhe A tan Guttmacher Institute. Contact the
Alan Guttmacher Institute at 202-296-4012.
Trends in the Well-Being of America's Children and Youth. A 1996 report written by
Child Trends, Inc. for the Otlice of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evah1ation (ASPF.)
in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Copies available from Child Trends at
202-362-5533 or from ASPE at 202-690-6461. Also available at the Internet address:
http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is a private, nonpartisan organization
newly established to support and stimulate actions to reduce teen pregnancy.
·
To contact the Campaign, write to
TI1e National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
2100 M St., N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20037
�Clinton Presidential .Records
Digital Records Marker
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This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
This marker identifies the place of a publication.
·,:
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Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose
of digitization. To see the full publication please search online or
visit ·the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
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MEMORANDUM
RoBINSON
LERF.R
SAWYER
eommunlc:atloria
Mti.l.ER
Mllnllgcanc:nt
May 23. 1996
To:
From:
Subject:
DonBaer
....~
Lance Morg~<.
Robin Hood Foundation
Thanks again for your efforts to get in touch yesterday. And please thank Kevin for cheerily
putting up with my repeated calls.
Here is the letter that Paul Tudor Jones sent to Peter Knight laSt week. It briefly describes the
highlight8 of the "When Kids Have Kids" report. Also included is a draft two-pager that adds
some additional info1'11lation. Please treat it confidentially. As I mentioned, the report is
sohed.uled. for release at a June 11 Capitol Hill press conference. Should the president be
available to participate in any event to coincide with the release of the report, we would certainly
consider moving the date to accommodate his schedule. Moving the date forward could prove
problematic because of schedules and the technical requirements of producing the report. But we
would certainly want to disew~s any and all possibilities if the president could be available.
There are a number of ways the president might participate. One that we have internally
discussed is a briefing for him by the key scholars who prepare the report and Mt. Jones. Should
he wish, this might be followed by an availability with the White House press corps. There are
other possibilities- building one of his Saturday radio addresses around the report, for
example .... and, of course, I'm sure you can think of a number of other alternatives.
We would be eager to discuss any and all activities with you, and we would be happy to have the
opportunity to brief appropriate White House staff on the report whenever you would want such
a briefing.
I recognize that we are dealing with a very tight time frame. and you certainly have other matters
on your plate, Don. But we would greatly appreciate getting a sense of your thinldng, and the
possibility of the:: president's participation, as soon as possible. June 11 is only a matter of days
away, and I'm sure you recognize our need to move forward with planning the rollout.
I am out of the office tomorrow. Should you have any questions or thoushts, please contact
Jennifer Swint at 739..0236. If we don't hear.ftom you. I will take the liberty oftrying to reach
you at home over the weekend. I know that's an imposition. but since it's a three-day weekend.
perhaps you will have forgotten the intrusion-- and forgiven me for it-- by Tuesday. Thanks for
your time and consideration.
-
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PAUL TUDOI. JON2S II
May 16. 1996
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Mr. Peter KDtaht
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campaign MaD&gor
Clio.top/Gore 96'
2100 11 M11 Street. N
washinaton.
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D.C. 20037
Dear Peter:
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I am sony tbat we bavo been pla)'inl telephone tag over the put
c::ouple of dql. I ltill await your phoae caU to ~ me as to how I
should proceed with my Jntendr<l support•
I . ,... '
'
More imporram1y, 1 l\Wld like
your advice with rcgant to
an opporamlty tor the Prestclent, tlul Pint Lad.y, aJ.Jdlor the Vice Preat4cm
With rr:prd. co helpiq pubUCb:e a at\14y that was COIDIXIill1cmcd by the
Robm Hoocl POUJ2dation in New York City on teen PI'CIJWl'iY• Wo iDteDd
tO
solicit
to bo14 a preu briefiDg ODor about 1UDe 11th iD Wul11Dpn, D.C. ami are
currently in the praceas of selectiD& tlJc appropda~et publi.e fipua to ..b!llL... .
Ul brlDa attention to this VeiJ lmportaDt study and aubject.
A diaff .- . .
summary of our smdy 1t attached.
I
'
'
Wlm my colleapJa on the board of the RobiD Hood Pmmdation.
I d.ccldecl to commission a natioDal stud.y to caJCUI&to u p=iaol)' u science
permits tba cosu aGd effects Of adDleac:eDt child'bcariDa 11ot onl1 on me
babies bom to teen mothers, bu' ou dw mothers llDd fatbcrs and the
nation as a Whole. We uscmbled a team of the ccnmtty •a kading
cconomiats who have worked mJahtily for 18 momba on their reseat'Ch.
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ParticipatiDg in the: ro1eue of this stUdy pracms tile llesldem. witb
an Qpport:u!lity to again demonstrate bia "om:em for chi1dr= and his
leackrship in the area of family valuel. Jn the put two State of the Union
ad.dtesaea, he cliecuued tile importance of rednc•us r.eea pregnancy. This
study is a nm Step. By dcfJDixlc the seope of the problctn mo.re concretely
tnan any pn;vl01.11 wodc, it demonstraW just how important an issue
tcenaae prcpancy is.
·
The ec::onomic costs ate staaprtng.
For iDstaDCo. the cost in
increased. welfare and Med1calc1 paymcms, incarceration, fostEr car and lOSt
~ revenue causecl by children 17 years..old and younaer beariug • children
w at leaat $6.g bilUon per year. The com to society in lOll national
productivity is u much as S29 billion each year.· Recolll)Ze mose &re
extremelY conservative numbers by eminently cautious sc;hoJ.ara.
�- -P-04
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Mr. Peter Knilht
May 16, 1996
Pase Two
The complete study is more tbu 1,000 paps loq, Here are just
a few of me lmDdredt of ftudinp about cbikkoD bom to ceen motbcra;
•
'lbey
ire
moze 1tke1y ' to
be
bam low birchweight aDd so
parcem more likely to be bom. prematurely than if thotr
waited four yean m bear them.
mother~ had
.:I
t
'•
• •
•
..
suffer more acriO\&I health problems, but see
•
They
•
Tiley grow up in homes that
half u oftcm.
IR
much less
~ly ~tbD'JJJatlnl.
tbe dOctor
-nurturina
and
•'
•
•
The)'
are two
to
three timel more libly to run away frOm
!Ucely to .be abUsecl or ueglc:Ctecl,
home and twice as
• .
are SO percent more Hkcly to tluak a. Fade m school
and much more Ukdy to ckop aut .!topth« before
They
• graduation.
.
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In dlelt YOUDI ululthaaci, thfw are 71 percent more likelY
be unemployed or ·otherwise UDIDI&Sed. produCtively·
•
The boys born to adoleaceut moms arc 2. 7 timet more likely
•
The girls bom to adol~etrt moms arc 83 percent more Wccly
to become teen moms tbemllol"'es, tlma reprod.w:iDs me cyele
of poverty and disadvantap for yet another pnoraclon.
to
to land. in ptlSoD.
Teen mothers allo pay the priCe for bccomiDs xnom• wha they are
stillldds themselves. Ac1olescc:m c;h114bearing, on averqa. forces mot:hers
to drop out of sdlool early a:od makes r.hom much more likely to be alngle
pareau dcpeud.cmt
upon welfare.
Peter, despite my passion for the EverJlades, there is no mcne
important issue facing the future of our coumry lhc:D . attackh21 chis
problem. The Prcaic1cnt recop.lzeci this when ho jum.p-•tartccl tho NatioDal
Campal111 to Prewm Teen Prcgna.DCy earlier this year with Isabel Sawhill
as Prcaldcnt. I b.ow b~bel well and am working with her on the Natioual
Campaisn. If you look at the scholars who completed. our report, you Will
sea they constitute the bUlk of till: scientific advisory Wk fotce that will be .
loolcing for solutions for the National campaign.
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May 16, 1P96
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Peter, I em DDt uldns for the Pmsicle$ or Vice Preaktalt'a help u
a pc:rsonal favor. I am askiJ11 for their involvement becauso· it II the ~
thing to do for tho fUture of the comdrY. If their sdw"Jles ue roo busy,
I fully underscan4 lid iD DO way does tbia ret1cct upon their commitment
to thiS very tmportam Issue. Please . let me kDow as 10011 u poulble.
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ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION
Talkins Pmnts
What is the Robin Hood Foundation?
•
The Robin Hood Foundation, created in 1988 by Paul Tudor Jones, is a public charity
dedicated to funding and providing management help to the best and most innovative
programs serving poor people in New York City. The Foundation has provided more
than $30 million in money, volunteer services and material goods to these progr~s.
1
Examples of the types of' poverty-fighting projects supported by Robin Hood include
innovative schools and after.school programs for children and teens. housing and job
training for the homeless. medical help for the sick, hospice care for people with AIDS,
· and soup kitchens for the hungry.
Why did Robin H22d.,sponsor this study?
Throughout its very direct, community"level work, Robin Hood has increasingly
explored the larger dimensions ofadolescem childbearing in New York City and the
nation. Each year, nearly 1 million teenagers in the United Stat.,s beaome pregnant
More than 175,000 of these new mothers are 17 years old or younger. More than 80
percent of' these young mothers end up in poverty and reliant on welfare.
1
I'
Why is this study sianificant?
•
"Kids Having Kids" is significant in that it provides the most comprehensive look to date
at the devastating costs and consequences of teen pregnancy to the offspring of teen
moms ... the "kids of kids .. -- as well as to adolescent mothers age 17 and younger, to the
fathers, and to society.
Hiahlights gf 11Kids Having Kids. 11
,I
•
Early parenting wreaka havoc socially -- &om the completion of education of the mother
and father to their job prospects. But the devastation to the lives of their children is.
prevalent and wide-ranging. A f'ew examples:
V
./-
Trouble in school - They are SO percent more likely to repeat a grade and
perform significantly-worse on cognitive development tests. They are also far
more likely to drop out of high school than are the children born to the
comparison group .
More likely to Run Away From Homes -- They are two to three .times more likely
�. •
•oitu/el
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m u:u r.u
TUDOR: PTJ
2oaaeaaso1
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Paul
Tudor Jaa. D
PaUl Tuclor Joaea, n il fcnmdar ad Cba1rman of tbl 1\Kior Group of Comp~Dlest
a money ma.uagement cqudzation baaed in New York Clcy. Mr. 1onc:a ia rcaporasibll::
for the investmDDt of propriltuy and customer · fonda iD global financial marJmta,
primirUy
~ and GU~MDDY markDtB. Mr. J01a'1 orpninticm hal tradJDa office&
In LDDdOD, Chicago and BoatDD aD4 an eccmomie RICINh officO in WllhiDgtoA, D.C ..
"*•
After paduaciDI flom die Ulllvenlty of VirgiDia 1u 1976, Mr. 101111 Cltablillled
a c;arcar u a oommaditia& broker in Now York. ~ on ~ ~ 1'Litulll
mutet. He developed a liplflcult hue of euatomm from 1P76 to 1982 aat also
traded stively for his own accm.mt in various commodity fa1mes IIWbtl.
Mr. I ones wu m.tnuneDtl1 iD the oreadon of PINBX, the ftUDCill t\llures division
of tbe New York Cotton BxcJvmae (NYCE), and iD tha developmect of the U.S. Dollar
IDdex tuuna ~ wbi1:b uades dime. He scrvecl aa CbairmaD of tbe NYCB from
1992 to 1995 ad preae=iy len'e8 OD the Board of DiL'ecton. In 1989, Mr. 101111
deaiped and implem.esued the ftm ethics 1:rBiJ1iua eo\&1'10 tbat bOGIIIDD tto ltaDdud for
exdlanae membenbJp on an ftduru ex.ebaQsel ill the UDited. stares.
Mr. Jcmea rqularly COIDD1its hll pencmal tima ml enav to charitable,
pbilamhropie, and Dltural l'CS(riU'gC: CODBeMtioD otf'ortl. Be preaemly sorvea OD tha
Board of Dllecton ot d1e NatioDil Pilh aDd WildUfe PO\IIIdatiou.
SiDae 1986, Mr. JODINI hu bea. a apoasor of au "I Have A Dream• Glass of ldJool
chlldftm from tbe Bedfo!d.Stuyveaot aeipborhood of ~ New York ad bu
pledpcl to tunher. tllelt ecmcatloDI With fi•ncill aud otbar aupport. A number of the
members of the ftnt
hD spouored iD 1P86 emolled ill COlleges 8Dd UDivmitiu in
tbe fall of 1992.
da••
In 1987, Mr. JOJa cmblilhed tbl Robin Hoocl POIUidatloD. wJW:h he c:uaemly
cbabl, to provideD cllrect uaistala to iDdlviduall Uvbla below tho POYClV 1illc in Now
York City, ami he is adive ill ndllq 8Dd COidri"bUiiq 1\mda on an amPI8l buta. Sbloe
ita Inception. tl'l8 Robin Hood Fauncladon hu CODtn'buted almost S40 mlllioll towuda tbe
fi&ht against poverty.
Since 1g90 Mf. JOIIf:l bas workld actively with
orpnJzatiOIII to uve the Bvcq1aclcl 8DCl florida Bay.
numerous OllViroDmalta1
and hia wife Sonia CU!'l'emly reside lD Couectieut with their tbree
�· February 1, 1996
MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION
FROM:
Jeremy Ben-Ami
Debbie Fine
SUBJECT:
Administration Activity in the Area of Teen Pregnancy Prevention
In conjunction with the President's announcement on Monday of Dr. Foster as a Senior.
Advisor to the President for Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Youth Development, we released
the attached document that summarizes administration activity to date in this area. We will
be distributing to interested groups coming in for a briefing with Dr. Foster next week.
DISTRIBUTION:
Don Baer
Michael Waldman
Greg Simon
Elaine Kamarck
Skila Harris
Melanne Verveer
Alexis Herman
Lee Satterfield
Betsy Myers
·Judy Gold
Mary Dixon
Ben Johnson
Flo McAfee
Marilyn Yager
Suzanna Valdez
Holly Carver
cc:
Evelyn. Lieberman
Doug Sosnik
Harold Ickes
Susan Brophy
Bruce Reed
Rahm Emanuel
Karen Hancox
DPC staff
Gene Sperling
Ann Lewis
Maureen Shea/Kathy Ann Cohen
John Hart
Theresa Loar
Carol Rasco
--
"--
---------------
----------
-----~---------------------
�THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION RECORD ON
REDUCING TEEN PREGNANCY
A Summary Report
President Clinton has called teen pregnancy one of the nation's most serious social problems, and
reducing its incidence has been a key goal of this administration's policy for young people. All ov~r
the country Americans are beginning to address this and other issues by reasserting responsibility for
themselves, their families and their communities, and they are starting to make a difference -- the
teen pregnancy rate has come down two years in a row. ·
Although there has been progress, teenage pregnancy remains a profound problem, and we need to
do more. Real solutions lie at the grassroots level, with families, communities and young people
themselves. The federal government can help focus resources in support of work at the local level,
and most important, it can help ensure that our policies support our national values. The Clinton
Administration's policy on teen pregnancy, and on youth generally, have been built on two
fundamental values:
Responsible Behavior: Personal responsibility has been a central part of the President's
message to young people, as he has urged them not to become parents before they are adults,
have finished school, and are ready to support their children. He has supported policies that
embody this principle, including abstinence-based curricula, welfare reforms that discourage
early parenting and require young mothers to live at home and stay in school, and tough new
child support enforcement provisions that drive home the responsibility of parenthood to
young men.
Opportunities for Youth: Teen pregn~cy cannot be addressed in isolation from the wide
range of other problems confronting youth, their families, their communities and their schools.
Much of the Administration's social and economic agenda, ranging from education to crime
prevention to empowerment zones, is designed to provide increased opportunities for young
people and to give them something to say 'yes' to. If our youth do not have access to
education, health services, jobs, or safe places to go after school and on weekends, they will
not have a chance to make the right choices. ·
This summary report provides some facts about teen pregnancy in the United States and highlights
some of the key components of Administration's teen pregnancy and youth agenda, including: (1)
Research and Evaluation to learn more about the caus~s of teen pregnancy, (2) Community
demonstrations to help communities try different approaches to learn what works, (3) Policies that
promote responsible behavior among young people, and (4) Policies that provide young people with
greater opportunities.
Recognizing that government cannot solve this problem alone, the President has called for a national
private sector campaign to prevent teen pregnancy, and the administration has been working to
catalyze such an effort. This report is not intended to address the status of private sector initiatives,
nor does it provide a comprehensive description of all federal efforts directed at teens.
January 2 7, 1996
�The Facts About Teen Pregnancy
A NATIONAL EPIDEMIC
•
Every year, about 1 million American teenagers become pregnant -- that's
approximately 11% of women ages 15-19.
•
From the 1950s through the early 1980s, the rate of births to teens decreased steadily .
However, in 1986, that trend reversed, and over the period 1986-91, the rate grew by
24%. Recent news has been somewhat positive: From 1991 to 1993, the national rate
declined by 4%.
•
As the teenage population grows, teen births are expected. to increase. Even if the
teen birth rate remains constant, the number of births is expected to jump 30% by the
year 2010.
TREND TOWARDS ·ouT-OF-WEDLOCK CHILDBEARING
•
In 1960, only 15% of teenage mothers were unmarried. As of 1993, 71% were
unmarried.
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
•
The rate of births to teens in the United States is now twice as high as in the United
Kingdom and six times as high as in France, Italy, and Denmark.
ROLE OF ADULT MALES
•
A recent survey indicates that at least half the babies born to teenage women ages 1517 are fathered by adult men ages 20 or older.
COSTS TO THE CHILDREN
•
Children born to teens are more likely to die in their first year of life, to have lower
· cognitive achievement, to repeat a grade in school, to be victims of abuse and neglect,
and to become teen parents themselves.
•
80% of children born to unwed teenage mothers who have not completed high school
live in poverty. In contrast, of those children born to 20 year-old married parents who
are high school graduates, only 8% live in poverty.
COSTS TO SOCIETY
•
In 1990, slightly more than half of all mothers receiving Aid to Families and
Dependent Children (AFDC) first had children as teenagers. And 43% of the longterm welfare recipients are women who gave birth at or before age 17.
•
More than three-fourths of all unmarried teen mothers receive welfare (AFDC) at
some point during the 5 years following the birth of their child.
�Research and Evaluation:
Learning What Works to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
The Clinton Administration supports comprehensive approaches to research and evaluation
with an emphasis on prevention of both first and repeat pregnancies. Working to understand
teen populations and the many forces that influence behavior both in and outside of the home,
monitoring and targeting new data, and evaluating old and new programs to learn more
about what approaches may be most effective in lowering teen pregnancy rates in the United
States are priority elements of our approach to research and evaluation. Following are some
examples:
•
Comprehensive Study: In June of 1995, the Department of Health and Human
Services issued, "Beginning Too Soon: Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Pregnancy,
and Parenthood," a two volume report containing a comprehensive and exhaustive
review of the most recent research literature on teenage sexual behavior, pregnancy
and parenthood and on effectiveness of teenage pregnancy prevention programs. This
report was produced by Child Trends, Inc. with funding from the Department of
Health and Human Services, and is now available on the Internet at
http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/hsp/cyphome.htm.
•
State Data: In September 1995, HHS reported state-level teenage pregnancy data for
1991 and 1992. This marks the first time that HHS is able to report state-level teen
pregnancy data. Updating trends on a state-by-state basis regularly provides more
information for making effective policy decisions and enables us to see where we need
to target our resources.
•
Family Planning and Adolescent Family Life : HHS funds, as part of Family Planning
and Adolescent Family Life programs, research projects and studies that focus on
. adolescent sexual behavior. Goals of these studies range from developing strategies
to improve services to sexually active adolescents who are at-risk for contraceptive
non-compliance and young women who visit family planning clinics, to learning more
about: precursors and results of pregnancy and birth among adolescent males, the
factors that influence teen attitudes toward sexual behavior, and the consequences for
teen mothers who decide to parent as compared to those who place their children for
adoption.
•
New Mothers' Study: HHS funds The New Mothers' Study and has expanded its
original scope to provide support for a 5-year follow-up to look at longer term
outcomes, including employment and welfare dependency. The Study focuses on
research and analysis of a study in Memphis, Tennessee, where a sample offirst-time,
low-income, pregnant women received weekly visits from a nurse. Approximately 65%
of the research sample were I 8 or younger at enrollment. Early findings indicate that
there were significantly fewer repeat pregnancies within two years following the birth
of the child for those women who received home visits. It was orig{nally started in
I 988, and is also supported by other government agencies and private foundations.
�•
Teenage Parent Demonstration: In order to gain further insight into the occurrence of
repeat pregnancies, in 1993, HHS funded a 5-year follow-up evaluation of the Teenage
Parent Demonstration, initially conducted from 1986 to 1991. This program targeted
the high-risk population of teenage mothers on welfare, providing case management
and support services such as education, training and child care. The follow-up
evaluation continues to monitor these mothers and focuses on the occurrence of repeat
pregnancies.
Reaching Into Our Communities And Promoting
Partnerships to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
"I'm trying to do things that I believe will help our country meet the challenges
we face today so that young people will have a better future. And it's obvious
to me that.... unless young people have good, healthy, constructive lives at the
grass-roots level, the things that I do will not succeed in getting you the future
you deserve." President Clinton; August 9, 1995
The Clinton Administration encourages local governments and communities to pilot new and
innovative demonstration efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy, and works with them to help
make these programs a reality. The Administration has sponsored a range of approaches
from abstinence-based education to service-oriented community collaborations. If a program
proves effective, one goal of collaboration is to foster sustainability so that it can eventually
operate without government assistance. Following are some examples of programs funded
· under the Clinton Administration:
. Adolescent Family Life Program: In September of 1995, HHS's Adolescent Family
Life Program awarded 15 grants totaling $4.2 million dollars for comprehensive
demonstration programs aimed at preventing early teenage sexual activity and reducing
teenage pregnancies. These programs feature innovative ways to emphasize
abstinence as the best way to prevent adolescent pregnancy and to encourage the
involvement of parents in these discussions with their children.
•
Community Coalition Partnership Programs for Prevention of Teen Pregnancy: In
September of 1995, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the new
Community Coalition Partnership Programs for Prevention of Teen Pregnancy by
awarding 13 grants totalling $6.5 million over two years. These grants enable
communities to develop plans for implementing and evaluating community-wide
interventions that are innovative, comprehensive and sustainable. In addition, these
demonstrations include an evaluation component.
�•
Healthy Schools/Healthy Communities: In 1994, the Administration started the new
Healthy Schools/Healthy Communities program -- funding 27 new school-based
health centers in 20 states and the District of Columbia. These centers provide for
the health services and education needs of children and teenagers at high risk for poor
health, teenage pregnancy, and other problems. A comprehensive evaluation of this
program is currently being conducted.
•
The Corporation for National Service: Created under the Clinton Administration in
1993, the Corporation for National Service supports over 50 teen pregnancy programs
in 20 states across the country -- working both to prevent teen pregnancy and to
assist teen parents. National service participants provide case management, mentor
pregnant teens, sponsor health fairs, teach parenting skills to teen parents, make
presentations on teen pregnancy prevention to school-age youth, help youth access
health care, provide referrals to health care providers, and develop social supports for
teen parents. National service programs are operated with members of AmeriCorps,
Learn and Serve America, and the National Senior Service Corps, who work
col/aboratively with school districts, universities, churches, health departments,
national non-profits, and community-based organizations.
•
Healthy Start Program: HHS continues to support the Healthy Start Program, which
has demonstration projects underway in 22 communities nationwide to reduce infant
mortality in the highest-risk areas and to improve the health and well-being of
women, infants and their families. Among a broad array of services provided,
thousands of teenagers participate in prevention programs exclusively designed for
them that encourage healthy lifestyles, youth empowerment, sexual responsibility,
conflict resolution, goal setting, and the enhancement of self-esteem. A
comprehensive evaluation is ongoing and results are expected in 1997.
•
The Home Visiting Services Demonstration: In September 1994, HHS launched this
·new grant program that is currently operating in three sites. Under the demonstration,
paraprofessional home visitors provide first-time teenage parents on welfare with
instruction and supportive guidance related to family planning, parenting skills, health
care for themselves and their children, and child support. The visitors also facilitate
the teenagers' participation in the required education and employment-related activities.
�Promoting Personal Responsibility
Among Young People
President Clinton has made personal responsibility a central part of his message to young people,
urging young people not to get pregnant or father a child. Estimates indicate that over half the
mothers who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children were teenagers when they had their
first child. To prevent welfare dependency in the first place, teenagers must get the message that
staying in school, postponing sexual activity, and preparing to work are the right things to do.
By supporting welfare reform that promotes work, demands responsibility, and toughens child
support enforcement activities, President Clinton has sent a message that, "Nobody should get
pregnant or father a child who isn't prepared to raise the child, love the child, and take
responsibility for the child's future. "
Welfare Reform: The President supports welfare reform that sends a clear message to minor parents
seeking assistance: to get help, you have to live with a responsible adult, you have to stay in school,
and you have to prepare for work. Congress has endorsed the President's proposal requiring
unmarried teen mothers to live at home and stay in school in order to qualify for assistance.
Congress also supports the Administration's efforts to establish "Second Chance" homes, or adultsupervised group homes, as alternative living situations to help teen parents break the cycle of
welfare dependency.
Strengthening Child Support Enforcement: In 1995, the Administration collected a record $11 billion
in child support from non-custodial parents, an increase of 40% since 1992. From 1992 to 1995,
paternity establishments have also risen by over 40%, to an estimated 735,000. This increase
includes, for the first time, paternities established as part of the Clinton Administration's in-hospital
paternity establishment program.
President Clinton proposed a comprehensive child support enforcement plan as part of his welfare
reform legislation. The plan would streamline paternity establishment; require new hire reporting;
make child support laws uniform across state lines; computerize state-wide collections to speed up
payments; and require states to revoke drivers' and professional licenses to parents who refuse to pay
child support. Both House and Senate have adopted these provisions--changes that should increase
child support collections by $24 billion over the next 10 years. In addition, in 1995 President Clinton
signed an Executive Order to crack down on Federal employees who owe child support.
State Welfare Reform Demonstrations: The Administration has approved state welfare reform
demonstrations to a record 35 states that include various provisions affecting minor parents. Nineteen
states have authority to implement provisions linking AFDC benefits to the school attendance of
minor parents. Seven states have received waiver authority to require minor parents to live with their
parents or guardians or in an adult-supervised setting. A comprehensive evaluation will be
conducted for each of these demonstrations.
�I
.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention As Part Of A
Comprehensive Approach to Youth Policy
The Clinton Administration has worked to address the high rate of teen pregnancy by
confronting the complex economic and social factors often behind these high rates. We have
stressed the importance of investing in young people and in the communities where they live
in order to offer them positive alternatives to early parenting and sexual behavior. Critical
to this effort are Administration initiatives to invest in early childhood and adolescent
development, to provide equal educational opportunities for our children and youth, to invest
in distressed urban and rural communities, and to create n:zore jobs.
Researchers have documented correlations between poor academic skills and early
childbearing; high dropout rates, illiteracy, a history of physical and/or sexual abuse, and
poor employment prospects are all risk factors for early childbearing. Research has also
shown that the risk factors for teen pregnancy, violent behavior, delinquency, and drug use
are similar and that comprehensive programs focused on changing behaviors related to
alcohol, drugs and teen pregnancy -- such as focusing on raising self-esteem -- have an
impact.
Following are examples of programs and initiatives in this area that the Administration
supports:
LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUTH AT-RISK
•
National Adolescent Health Survey: Teens have been a significantly understudied
sector of the population. In 1994, the National Institutes of Health began funding a
· new 5-year study known as Add Health, the first comprehensive study of the
determinants of adolescent health. Using a national samgle of 7th through 12th
graders, Add Health examines the personal, familial, peer-related and community
related influences on health behavior, taking a more comprehensive look at the
health of our nation's teenagers in order to provide a better understanding of the
complex forces that promote good health for our young people and those factors that
put youth at risk.
•
Preventing Youth Violence in Public Housing: This year, HUD and CDC have
awarded a $550,000 grant to collect and develop information on youth violence
prevention research. The intent is to disseminate existing information on successful
programs to Indian and Public Housing authorities so that they can make more
informed choices about prevention programs, which offer alternative services and
activities for youth that can play a major role in preventing teen pregnancy as well.
�•
Comprehensive Strategy and Guide for Implementation: In December of 1993, the
Department of Justice published a Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and
Chronic Juvenile Offenders, following up with a Guide to implementing the
Comprehensive Strategy in June of 1995. Studies on the causes and correlates of
.delinquency, which used large random samples of inner-city, high-risk youth ·in three
sites, provided the research underpinnings for these publications. All three studies
showed that chronic violent delinquent offenders have higher rates of dropping out
of school, gun ownership for protection, gun use, gang membership, teenage
sexual activity, teenage parenthood, and early independence from their family.
Comprehensive Strategy and its Guide for implementation provide an alternative to
increasing reliance on the criminal justice system by calling for the establishment of a
coordinated system of prevention and graduated sanctions programs that provide a
continuum of care for each child.
•
Review for Practitioners: Family Life, Delinquency, and Crime: A Policymaker 's
Guide--Research Summary, was completed in May of 1994 by the Department of
Justice. Its findings indicate that family is one of the most powerful socializing
forces for young people, and can therefore seriously impact children's behavior. ·
•
Parenting Initiative: The Department of Justice completed research work in 1993
under a grant to the University of Utah and the Pacific Institute for Research and
Evaluation. This four-year major parenting initiative resulted in a document entitled
Effective Parenting Strategies for Families of High-Risk Youth (December 1993),
which identified a representative group of 25 programs as potentially the most
promising. The research findings underscore the importance of a family-focused
approach to prevention and intervention of youthful problem behavior.
EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AT-RISK
•
SafeFutures: In September 1995, the Department of Justice created the SafeFutures
Program, a five-year program which will provide approximately $8 million per year to .
six jurisdictions for a comprehensive and coordinated delinquency prevention and
intervention program for at-risk and delinquent youth. Several programmatic
components allow the four cities, one rural jurisdiction and one tribal government, to
address teen pregnancy and receive support for specific counseling and education
services. These include support for family strengthening activities, mentoring, specific
services to at-risk and delinquent females, and general delinquency prevention
activities.
•
High Risk Youth Demonstration: HHS supports the High Risk Youth Demonstration
program, which funds innovative and effective model programs for preventing
alcohol and drug use among high-risk youth. One component of the program targets
the specific needs of females from 12 to 20 whose use of substances often occurs with
special factors (e:g. sexual abuse and domestic violence) that underlie or contribute to
women's addictive problems. Every component of the program is evaluated.
�•
School Health Programs: The CDC has established a national framework to support
school health programs that are locally determined and consistent with community
values. Programs in all 50 states and 18 major cities are designed to help young
people avoid those risk behaviors that result in HIV infection, other sexually
transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies. CDC's Youth Risk Surveillance
System provides information about the prevalence of behaviors practiced by youth that
put their health at risk, and states, cities, and CDC use this information to more
effectively target and evaluate school health programs.
•
Youth Development Initiative: Started in 1994 under the Departments of Veterans
Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, the purpose of this initiative is to
address the problem of violence in low-income communities by providing young
people aged 13 to 25, with access to education and employment opportunities and
supportive services. Offering these positive alternatives and services to youth to
reduce violence are shown to be effective for affecting other teen behavior as well,
such as sexual behavior that could lead to teen pregnancy.
•
Youth Fair Chance: In July 1994, the Department of Labor implemented the Youth
Fair Chance program, funding seventeen sites. Youth Fair Chance is a communitybased program that targets money directly into high poverty areas where youth
problems are greatest. Working in cooperation with local service providers, these
sites use in- and out-of-school components to provide a variety of services that focus
on youth problems, like teen pregnancy, unemployment, drug and gang involvement,
and dropping out of school. Some of the sites utilize AmeriCorps volunteers.
•
The Community Schools Youth Services and Supervision Grant: Through this new
program established in 1994 under the Crime Bill, HHS provides matchirig grants to
communities with significant poverty and juvenile delinquency for after-school,
weekend and su~mer recreation and education programs. The program includes
. an evaluation component.
•
Family Planning: In the face of strong opposition, the President has proposed budget
increases for the federal Family Planning Program each year and successfully
maintained the program. Among other reproductive health and education services, this
program makes family planning information and contraception available to millions of
women who might not otherwise get reproductive health care.
•
4-H Youth Development Program and Children. Youth and Families at Risk Initiative:
The Department of Agriculture, through the Cooperative Extension System, funds
these important initiatives serving young people. These programs work with
communities to implement effective research-based programs which address a broad
range of issues and needs, including teen pregnancy, child abuse, infant mortality,
community crime and violence, and child care.
�•
Safe and Drug-Free School Act: Passed in 1994, this act responds to the continuing
crisis of violence and drugs in our schools by supporting comprehensive school-and
community-based drug abuse and violence prevention programs. Local school
districts in high need areas are coordinating violence and drug prevention programs
with comprehensive school health education programs.
•
Comprehensive Services for Teenage Parents on Welfare: In 1994, HHS funded these
grants, which supported development of programs providing comprehensive services
to meet the personal, physical and social needs of teenage parents, as well as
aiding the cognitive, physical and emotional development of their children. They were
implemented in conjunction with mandatory participation requirements for education
and employment-related activities.
LIFELONG LEARNING: INVESTING IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
"We can do all these things-- put our economic house in order, expand world
trade, target the jobs of the future, guarantee equal opportunity -- but if we're
honest, we'// admit that this strategy still cannot work unless we also give our
people the education, training, and skills they need to seize the opportunities of
tomorrow. " President Clinton; January 25, 1994
Under the Clinton Administration, the Department of Education has launched a number of
initiatives that address teen pregnancy prevention through improved schooling for
disadvantaged students, coordination of health and social services, and school-to-work
opportunities to increase economic self-sufficiency. Drop-out prevention and drug-free
schools and communities programs address risk factors that are the same or related to those
leading to teen pregnancy.
Specific initiatives started or expanded include: The Goals 2000: Educate America Act,
Improving America's Schools Act, Title I Program; 1994 School-To-Work Opportunities
Act; and Head Start.
EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
The Clinton Administration has worked hard to encourage investment in distressed
communities, to create jobs and to help these communities rebuild themselves by designing
initiatives like the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities and The Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act.
�THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 25, 1996
MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION
FROM:
Jeremy Ben-Ami
Debbie Fine
SUBJECT:
Meeting with the President on Teen Pregnancy Prevention
On Monday, the President will be meeting with a small group of people who work in the area
of teen pregnancy prevention to follow-up on his challenge in the State of the Union. At that
time, we will announce Dr. Foster as a liaison to the private sector on behalf of the President.
Participating in the meeting will be Dr. Foster and several prevention program coordinators.
Attached are draft materials that we had prepared for the December announcement that was
postponed: a press release announcing Dr. Foster's appointment and questions and answers for
internal use. They have been revised to incorporate your comments at that time. (We are not
recirculating the summary of Administration activity in this area, which will be released on
Monday as well. Please call Debbie, 456-5572, if you have questions about this document.)
Please review these documents and send any comments or edits to Jeremy Ben-Ami by 2pm
at fax: 456-7028.
We wifi:' be in touch with details on a briefing for outside organizations with Dr. Foster that
we hope to schedule at a later date. Thank you for your help.
DISTRIBUTION:
Carol Rasco
Bruce Reed
Rahm Emanuel
Mary Beth Donahue
Melissa Skolfield
Dan Porterfield
Peter Edelman
Don Baer
Lorrie McHugh
Marilyn Yager
Flo McAfee
Virginia Terzano
�DRAFT
PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF
DR. HENRY FOSTER AS SENIOR ADVISOR ON TEEN PREGNANCY
The President today announced the appointment of Dr. Henry Foster as Senior Advisor
to the President on Teen Pregnancy and Youth Issues. Dr. Foster will also be serving as an
Expert Advisor to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The announcement follows the President's State of the Union address in which he
challenged Americans to strengthen families and do everything possible to reduce the rate of
teenage pregnancy. While pregnancy rates are beginning to come down among teenagers,
much remains to be done. In the State of the Union, the President announced that a group of
prominent Americans is about to form a National Campaign to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy,
designed to support grass roots community efforts in this area.
Today, he met with people working at the state and local level to reduce. teen
pregnancy and asked Dr. Foster to serve as his liaison to the National Campaign. Dr. Foster
will also be working to bring national attention to the issue, to galvanize activity at the local
level and will be advising the Administration on policies related to teen pregnancy. He will
be meeting with leaders in business, media and other fields to mobilize and intensify their
interest and efforts in this area.
"I am pleased that Dr. Foster has agreed to this position," the President said. "I was
very disappointed last year when the Senate denied the country the opportunity to be served
by this outstanding and dedicated public health leader. I am pleased that he has agreed to
work \W.th us in our efforts to reduce teen pregnancy and promote hope and opportunity for
our youth."
"Teen pregnancy is one of our most pressing social problems. All of us must work
together to send a clear message to our young people that staying in school, postponing
sexual activity, and preparing. to work are the right things to do. Nobody should get pregnant
or father a child who is not prepared to be a parent."
Dr. Foster is presently a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Meharry Medical
College in Nashville, Tennessee. He has in the past been the Dean of the School of Medicine
at Meharry and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The appointment of Dr. Foster is effective immediately.
�I •
FOSTER Question and Answers
What will Dr. Foster really be doing!
He will be the President's ambassador to the private sector and to community organizations to
stimulate their involvement in the prevention of teen pregnancy and other related problems.
[The President has consistently said that teen pregnancy and other problems cannot
be solved by government alone. The country as whole, and all the sectors of society
such as business, religious institutions, schools, and communities will have to work
together in a true partnership to address these issues. Dr. Foster will be reaching out
on the President's behalf outside of government to help stimulate this partnership.]
a
Dr. Foster will also be the President's liaison to efforts to establish a national campaign on
teen pregnancy in the private sector.
Dr. Foster will be travelling and speaking throughout the country to national and local groups,
working to bring attention to the issue and to galvanize activity at the local level.
He will be advising the Administration on issues related to teen pregnancy.
Why has it taken so long to make this announcement regarding Dr. Foster?
We began discussing possible roles with Dr. Foster right after the Senate vote. He has had an
active speaking schedule and has been involved in some of the planning discussions for the
private sector campaign. His announcement now is related to the impending launch of the
National Campaign .
...
What will be done about the Surgeon General position?
There is an acting Surgeon General, Audrey Manley, and she has been serving in that
capacity now for over a year. She will continue to act in that capacity, and we have no
announcement to make at this time regarding another nominee for the position.
�. · NATIONAL CAMPAIGN Question and Answers
What is the National Campaign the President talked about in the State of the Union!
In this year's State of the Union Address, the President called on leaders of all sectors of
society to join in a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy.
This year, the President announced that that call has been answered: a diverse and bipartisan
group of prominent Americans are about to form a new national organization: A National
Campaign to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy.
The organization will be completely independent of government, funded by private entities
such as foundations and businesses. It is modelled on efforts such as the Partnership for a
Drug Free America which marshalls private sector resources to address another pressing social
problem: drug use.
The organization will be formalized this coming month, and the President is looking forward
to meeting with its Board of Directors around the time of their first meeting.
What was the Administration's role in the creation of this organization?
This is truly a private sector organization. Administration officials and the President himself
provided assistance to the group's organizers when it was helpful, but the groundwork has
been laid by experts in the field who will be staffing and managing the effort once it is fully
underway.
'
The President has felt strongly that the best way to catalyze and support a sustained effort to
reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy in the U.S. , the effort must be non-partisan and nonideological.
,.
What will this new private-sector organization do?
The specific agenda of the organization will, of course, be determined by its leadership.
Activities of the new group are likely to include:
•
spearheading a national grassroots campaign to make teen pregnancy prevention a
priority in every community;
•
launching a long-term, multi-dimensional media campaign to encourage and reinforce
local efforts and instill a new ethic of responsible parenting;
•
maintaining an accessible national database of teen pregnancy prevention programs and
providing better opportunities for those active in the field to learn from one another;
•
supporting the comprehensive evaluation of promising programs and other research as
needed;
�•
seeking to be the most credible, independent resource available to anyone interested in
preventing teen pregnancy and providing training, conferences, newsletters, briefings,
and speakers.
Why did it take a year for this campaign to get off the ground?
A lot of work has gone into making sure this is a serious and successful effort. Planning
funding was obtained from foundations, hundreds of meetings have been held, a draft
prospectus was developed, and significant outreach was conducted to find out what was
happening throughout the country on this issue.
The bottom line is: Within one year of his first calling for a new national effort, we are on
the verge of its launch. This has taken enormous work on the part of a lot of people around
the country, and the President is please arid grateful for their effort.
---~
--------~~~__j
�'
..
What else has the Administration done to address the problem of teen pregnancy!
The administration is releasing today a summary of its activities in the teen pregnancy area
This is a complex and multidimensional social problem without a simple solution. Our
strategy emphasizes the importance of two basic values in addressing this problem:
opportunity and responsibility.
Promoting Responsible Behavior -- The President has made personal responsibility a
central part of his message to young people, urging that they must not become parents
before they are adults, have finished school, and are ready to support their children.
He has supported welfare reform legislation that embodies this principle and tough
new child support enforcement provisions that drive home the responsibility of
parenthood to young fathers.
Promoting Opportunities for Youth-- Teen pregnancy cannot be addressed in isolation
from the wide range of other problems confronting youth, their families, their
communities and their schools. Much of the administration's social and economic
agenda ranging from education reform to empowerment zones to crime prevention
programs is designed to offer young people positive alternatives to early parenting and
sexual behavior.
We have worked in three primary areas to put these values into practice:
1.
Research -- We have supported numerous efforts to learn more about what has caused
us to have such a high rate of teen pregnancy, and to learn more about what works to
reduce it.
2.
Community Demonstrations -- We have also funded numerous community
demonstrations to try different approaches to the problem to determine what works in
practice and then to share that with other communities. These grants support local
programs to prevent teenage sexual activity, promote abstinence, and reduce teenage
pregnancy.
3.
Private Sector Involvement-- Recognizing that government cannot solve the problem
alone, we have worked hard to engage the private sector in the issue. Dr. Foster will
be actively involved in that and we have worked to catalyze a major private sector
campaign.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Don Baer
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Office of Communications
Don Baer
Date
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1994-1997
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36008" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431981" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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2006-0458-F
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Donald Baer was Assistant to the President and Director of Communications in the White House Communications Office. The records in this collection contain copies of speeches, speech drafts, talking points, letters, notes, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, excerpts from manuscripts and books, news articles, presidential schedules, telephone message forms, and telephone call lists.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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537 folders in 34 boxes
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Teen Pregnancy [1]
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Office of Communications
Don Baer
Identifier
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2006-0458-F
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Box 13
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0458-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431981" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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1/12/2015
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42-t-7431981-20060458F-013-007-2014
7431981