When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton famously replied: "That's where the money is." Which brings us to community colleges...

As regular readers of this blog are surely aware, fully half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Among single women in their 20s the rate is even higher--fully seven in 10 pregnancies among single 20-somethings are unplanned. Moreover, the rates of teen pregnancy and childbearing are highest among older teens (those age 18-19).

Take the high rate of unplanned pregnancy among young adults and consider this: there are about 11.5 million students in community colleges, representing nearly half (46%) of all undergraduate students in America.

Starting to get the Willie Sutton drift?

Over the past several months Congress has been working at a fast pace to get comprehensive health reform legislation to the President's desk before the end of this year.

Two Senate committees are working on bills which they will ultimately merge into one and send to the full Senate for a vote sometime before Congress adjourns for the August recess.

Meanwhile, there are three committees in the House that are working on health reform. The House committees are collaborating to produce one bill, which is also expected to be voted on by the full House by early August. Broad outlines of a "Tri-Committee" draft bill were circulated last week.

Looking at the various draft proposals that have already been released, it is clear that Congress is making a historic effort to reform health care, as is the Obama administration. Yet with so many "big picture" issues to grapple with, like spiraling health care costs, access and affordability, employer mandates, taxing benefits, and whether to include a public plan option, it's hard to get Congress's attention on some of the "smaller issues," such as pregnancy planning and prevention. However, pregnancy planning and prevention affects the lives of most Americans who would benefit from health reform, and therefore, is very much a part of the "big picture."

When I was in 7th or 8th grade, I was chosen to be one of 6 kids from my class to attend a "leadership workshop". It meant a weekend away from home with other kids of the same age from all over the Pittsburgh area, hanging out at a retreat facility and learning how to be better teenagers, better students, and better people in general. We did all of those activities typical of a weekend like that - ice breakers, team building stuff, reflections on life, our future goals, and everything in between. And even though it was more than 15 years ago, that weekend stands out in my memory as one of the hands-down best I've had...I remember the experience vividly and would do it again in a heartbeat.

So what's my point here? All these memories hit me today because The National Campaign is now accepting applications for our 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Team. The YLT is a similar sort of team building, weekend-adventure kind of thing, but with the added bonus that skills are used year-round. Let me explain... The YLT is a select group of 14- to 17-year-olds from across the nation who work with The National Campaign in a variety of ways: they serve as our eyes and ears when it comes to understanding teen culture, we call upon them to share their opinions and perspectives with the press, we show them off on Capitol Hill and have them talk to their Senators and Representatives about the importance of teen pregnancy prevention. Sometimes we even go bowling. We meet in person twice over their 18-month term, but we work together year-round to help them raise awareness about the issue in their home communities.

Do you know a teen who would be a great fit on our YLT? Take a minute to learn more about the Youth Leadership Team and read our YLT Frequently Asked Questions. If you know a teenager who you'd like to sponsor, download the YLT Application Packet here.

Spread the word!

As our bloggers have noted in the past, unfortunately progress in reducing teen pregnancy rates has not been even among all racial and ethnic groups. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, as of 2004 Latina teens had the highest pregnancy and birth rates of any major racial or ethnic group.

Tomorrow, May 19th, at 10:00am at the Capitol Visitor Center, the National Campaign's Latino Initiative will partner with the Latino Leaders Network to raise awareness among policymakers, service providers, the media, and concerned citizens about these disparities and how they affect the Latino community. This Issue Hour will highlight a new poll commissioned by The National Campaign and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) that examines differences and similarities among key subgroups within the Latino community with regard to attitudes about teen pregnancy, sex, relationships, and goals and aspirations.

Click here to learn more about the event and RSVP to attend.

One hundred days into his administration and it is clear that President Obama is ready to take up the important issue of teen pregnancy prevention and unplanned pregnancy with a sense of urgency and seriousness that it deserves. Nothing exemplifies this more than what we heard at NFPRHA's annual gala luncheon yesterday when Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, spoke about the need to direct more resources toward programs and services that support women's health and access to family planning services.

The Obama administration has made a strong commitment to prevention and evidence-based approaches to reduce teen and unintended pregnancy and in turn the need for abortion. In establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls, President Obama will address these issues and many others affecting women and women's health. In her remarks, Ms. Barnes expressed concern about the number of teens who are having sex without using contraception and acknowledged how important it is for parents to have the tools to be able to talk with their teens--both girls and boys. In addition, she raised the importance of involving young adults, men and women, in conversations about taking personal responsibility for their physical and emotional well-being.

To advance its goals, the White House is meeting with organizations and people in communities around the country and across the political spectrum to learn more about what communities are doing and what works. Ms. Barnes expressed a strong interest in working in partnership with family planning and reproductive health care providers to ensure that all women, men, and families get the health care and services they need.

This bodes well for those of us interested in making a serious dent in reducing the high rates of teen and unplanned pregnancy in our country. The steps the administration is taking are very encouraging and promising if we are to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families, and to help ensure that children are born into stable families who are ready for the demanding task of parenting.

We all go to plenty of meetings--some more interesting than others. One of the most energizing ones I've been to was a Roundtable last week that The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy hosted in conjunction with Healthy Teen Network, and with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, on the topic of teen pregnancy prevention among youth in foster care. Teams of program leaders and practitioners in the fields of teen pregnancy prevention and child welfare from eight states (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Virginia) rolled their sleeves up and went to work at an interactive roundtable where they developed concrete plans for how to reduce teen pregnancy among young people in and transitioning out of foster care through policy, program, and practice changes.

A highlight of the meeting was a panel with four young adults who had been in foster care and are currently involved with the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Stay tuned for a video of this session that will be available on our website soon. A DVD featuring some of the state experts at the meeting will also be available in the coming months.

The more than half a million children in foster care are at significant risk for pregnancy. One study found that almost half of girls in foster care became pregnant at least once by age 19 and 71 % became pregnant at least once by age 21. This has serious consequences for teens and their families, as well as financial costs to the child welfare system. However, youth in foster care have been largely overlooked in terms of teen pregnancy prevention.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is working to raise awareness and spark action about the high rates of teen pregnancy among youth in foster care through research, technical assistance, and partnerships with organizations that focus on child welfare. Check back soon for updates about this project!

We are two weeks in, and already it has been a busy 2009 in the world of teen and unplanned pregnancy prevention. For us policy nerds, it has been an even busier one as the 111th Congress convenes, and the ball is officially rolling on a number of pressing issues and ideas that would make the world a better place.

So, here I have compiled my very own list of things that get me out of bed every morning. Here's hoping Congress and the new Administration take note!

1. Last week, the federal government released data that confirmed the 3% increase in the teen birth rate between 2005 and 2006 (as originally reported in December 2007) and announced that some 26 states saw a significant increase in the rate for the same period. As for the others, only 3 states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant decreases, and 22 state rates were essentially unchanged. I don't know about you, but after 14 straight years of declines, this scares the pants off me. Or maybe it scares my pants on as the case may be. Wake up call, anyone?
   
   
2. Policymakers and advocates alike genuinely seem ready to move past the decades-long culture wars and to find common ground on abortion. Among the ways to do it: getting to the root of the issue and helping women avoid unplanned pregnancy in the first place. The Prevention First Act, which has already been introduced in the U.S. Senate and will be introduced in the House later this week, proposes several ways to achieve that goal, including increased access to birth control and making information about sex, pregnancy, and childbearing available to young people.
   
   
3. Young people of color are still falling through the cracks. Latina teens and African American teen girls are more likely than not to become pregnant before turning twenty. Exhibit A: The Dallas Morning News recently announced the first babies born in 2009 in the area, a New Year's Day tradition, which included the first baby born at Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital to a fifteen-year-old Latina.
   
   
4. Our health care system could use a little work. Okay, some would argue that it needs a complete overhaul. Regardless of what steps are taken, they should improve access to the services that help women and couples successfully plan families and prevent pregnancy. That's just plain old basic health care.
   
   
5. Studies continue to show that preventing unplanned pregnancies actually saves money. This just in from the "Duh" files. And in this economy, what better to invest in than a public health intervention that both improves the lives and health of women and families and relieves some of the crunch that state and federal governments are feeling.
   
   

This list is exciting, daunting, jaw-dropping, (insert adjective of your choice here)...but more than anything, it's a reminder of all the work that we have to do this year and the ENORMOUS opportunities that we will have to make a difference on the issues that we care most about. Be sure to check out the more comprehensive list of The National Campaign's work in the policy realm.

Let's get to work, people.

As you may or may not know, the progress in teen pregnancy prevention in this country has been embarrassingly uneven. While about one-third of all teen girls will become pregnant before age 20, this figure jumps significantly for minority girls--51% of African-American girls and 53% of Latinas will have at least one pregnancy during their teen years. Rates for Native American teen births are also disproportionately high.

You read it right--some minority youth are more likely than not to become pregnant during their teen years. We thought this was important enough to hold a Congressional briefing on the topic a couple of weeks ago.

These stats made our friends' jaws drop over at the The Progressive Policy Institute--rightly so. And while they clearly have shown their hand as far as their preference for the Prez (not surprisingly, considering their affiliation with the Democratic Leadership Committee), this is an issue that all Americans have to care about, regardless of where your fall on the red-purple-blue spectrum.

My colleagues and I won't engage in political debates, but the policy question is quite valid: How will our elected leaders address the staggering disparities among minority youth, and what's the best way to make progress on teen pregnancy prevention in communities of color? Discuss.