Implementation of a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program for Youth in Foster Care

Globally, the sexual and physical health of adolescents is of paramount concern. Teen pregnancy has been linked with socioeconomic disadvantage (Bissell, 2000), increased maternal mortality (Nove, Matthews, Neal, & Camacho, 2014), and poor child outcomes (Chen et al., 2007); while sexually transmitted diseases threaten to shorten life spans, increase disease burdens, and compound pregnancy complications (Glasier, Gülmezoglu, Scmid, Moreno, & Van Look, 2006). Although national teen birth rates have decreased to a historically low rate of 22.3 per 1,000 girls, research suggests that teen birth rates among foster care youths are disproportionately higher (Carpenter, Clyman, Davidson, & Steiner, 2001; Dworsky & Courtney, 2010). The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies (2015) reports that youths in foster care are nearly twice as likely to become pregnant compared with youths in the general population. Disparities faced by youths in the foster care system call for continued and focused work in the area of sexual health and pregnancy prevention