DROP IN TEEN PREGNANCIES IN STATE SEEN AS TEMPORARY.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

California's hefty investment in teen pregnancy prevention over the past decade has paid off with the largest drop in teen birth rates in the nation, according to a study released today.

But teen births in the Golden State still exceed those of any Western democracy - and cost taxpayers $1.5 billion a year, and society as a whole, $3.3 billion.

More ominously, the Public Health Institute study on teen births, titled ``No Time for Complacency,'' predicts that teen birth rates will soon accelerate, with a boom in Latina pregnancies - and a 23 percent increase in teen birth rates by 2008.

``California has made remarkable progress over the past decade in reducing its teen birth rate and associated costs; for this, we should all be proud,'' said study co-author Norm Constantine, program director for the institute's Center for Research on Adolescent Health and Development in Berkeley.

``Yet demographic and economic changes now threaten to completely reverse this progress.''

In 1991, California teenage girls between 15 and 19 gave birth to 72,000 babies. Ten years later, that number had dropped to 54,000, a 40 percent reduction.

Once among the top teen birth states, with 74.7 deliveries per 1,000 teen women, California boasted 45.2 births in 2001 - lower than national average.

Researchers attributed the decrease to $128 million a year in state and private funding for teen birth prevention programs that include comprehensive sex education.

They also attributed the decline to a refusal by California to accept federal Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education funds, which would have banned promotion or instruction in the use of condoms or other contraceptives.

Funding for teenage pregnancy prevention programs, however, could be imperiled by budget cuts in Sacramento.

Four state Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Grant Program grants have expired in Los Angeles schools, and a teen male involvement program is in jeopardy, educators said. Programs to cut down on sexually transmitted disease has also helped lower pregnancies.

``We need to do more comprehensive health and sex education,'' said Linda Ward Russell, program coordinator for the Pregnant and Parenting Teens Program for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has high schools exclusively devoted to teen mothers. ``Parents want help talking to their kids, exercising their values and making sure the kids know how to be safe.''

When it comes to kids making babies, policy-makers are clear: Teenage pregnancies not only limit a mother's education and job opportunities, but they also hamper parenting and hinder cognitive development in children.

They also cost taxpayers money in lost tax revenue, public assistance, foster care and incarceration of children.

The 33-page Public Health Institute report, which crunched estimates from nationally prominent researchers, estimates the net cost to taxpayers for teen births at $3,108 a year in 2000 dollars.

The social cost, including private medical costs and potential lost wages for teen mothers and fathers when they reach adulthood, amounts to $4,750 per birth in 2000 dollars, according to the report.

The study broke down birth rates and costs according to each state Senate and Assembly district, for 2000.

For instance, with 1,747 teen births in state Sen. Richard Alarcon's district, with a birth rate of 57.7 per 1,000 deliveries, 11th in the state, teen births cost society $108 million, according to the report.

According to data from the state Department of Finance, the precipitous decline in births will reverse by 2005, as a greater population of Latina teens grows. Latinas bear children at three times the rate of non-Latina whites and Asians, the study says.

``It doesn't surprise me,'' said Jimena Vasquez, children's public policy analyst for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, based in Los Angeles. ``We may not have the highest pregnancy rate, but we have a higher birth rate because we're more accepting of children, and (have) religious reasons against abortion. ``A lot of the reasons Latina teens continue with birth and don't use contraceptives as much as other teens is because of a lack of access to health insurance. Culturally, it's taboo to talk about sex.''

In addition, a seven-year decline in poverty rates - an indicator of teen birth rates - bottomed in 2001, with more babies expected to follow increasing low-income teenage families.

Within five years, the annual number of teen births is projected to exceed 66,000 - a 23 percent increase.

``There's a whole different kind of education that needs to be developed to target the Latina population,'' said Barbara Rhodes, a professor of African-American studies at California State University, Northridge, who works with an abstinence-only pregnancy prevention program in South Central Los Angeles.

``Everyone who supports abstinence-only education can give you statistics as to why it's a success, but those who support comprehensive (sex) education provide a backup.''

Researchers say more needs to be done to educate children and families in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

As it stands, teenage birth rates in California are between four and 12 times higher than those in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan - where parents involve their children in sex education at a younger age.

``They talk about it,'' said study co-author Dr. Carmen R. Nevarez, who interviewed teens across Europe. ``Young people talk about their sexual decision-making with their parents.''

At a minimum, all state program funding aimed at reducing teen births must be maintained, she and others said.

``The stuff that we're doing works,'' said Nevarez. ``You have to teach facts.

Beginning at 10:30 a.m. today, the complete study can be accessed at http://crahd.phi.org/

TEEN BIRTHS

-- In spite of steep declines, teen birth rates in California exceed those in other industrial nations. In 2001, more than 53,000 teens - nearly 5 percent of all teens between 15 and 19 - gave birth.

-- The current annual cost to taxpayers for teen births in California is estimated to be $1.5 billion. Every year, the total cost to society for teen births is $3.3 billion.

-- The California Department of Finance predicts a spike in the teenage population will accelerate teen births, with an expected increase of 23 percent per year by 2008. A rise in poverty might also increase births.

-- California budget cuts threaten to slash funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs.

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes, chart

Box:

(1) BIRTH RATE BY SENATE DISTRICT

SOURCE: Public Health Institute study

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(2) TEEN BIRTHS (see text)

Chart:

TEEN BIRTH RATES

SOURCE: Public Health Institute study

Daily News