WEST MODESTO: Pregency Prevention Program Launched
West Modesto is one of the "state's seven teen pregnancy hot spots," according to a University of California-Berkeley study. The study found that "15% of the 7,800 births in Stanislaus County in 1996 were to unmarried teenage girls," and that the "rate in west Modesto was 16%." As a result, the area is "the setting for an 18-month pregnancy prevention study, funded with a $175,000 California Wellness Foundation grant." The Modesto Bee reports that the "Center for Human Services is the lead agency in the study, which organizers hope will result in Wellness Foundation funding to keep the effort going for another eight years." The Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Initiative is a community-based effort, according to Kathleen Cohn, the center's associate director. She said, "It's a family, neighborhood and community problem. To solve it, we all have to come to the table." Carole Collins, who "has organized two sexual awareness communication workshops for teenagers, their parents and others ... has recruited eight teenagers to help put together the pregnancy prevention program, along with adults who can spread the message in six of the estimated 40 languages spoken in west Modesto" (Williams, 1/29).
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