Abstract

PIP: The goal of school-based health clinics is broader than the reduction of adolescent pregnancy and birthrates. Yet because teenage births, especially to single mothers, have reached such epidemic rates in some communities and are associated with such high public costs, their prevention is often the galvanizing issue behind the establishment of these clinics. Each year, 1 out of 10, (1 million) teenage girls, becomes pregnant in the US. Although the teenage birthrate has declined in recent years in most states, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Florida had increased birth rates among 15-19 year-olds between 1978 and 1983. This report discusses school-based health clinics is Denmark, South Carolina; Snow Hill, North Carolina; Quincy, Florida; and Jackson, Mississippi. Levy asserts that the programs' intense but caring counseling, combined with appropriate medical attention and followup, has had a positive effect on teenage birthrates. The estimated pregnancy rate in Bamberg County, South Carolina, declined from 67.1/1000 in 1982 to 36.6 in 1985. Teen births in Greene County, North Carolina, dropped from 65 in 1983 to 35 in 1985. Birthrates at Lanier High School in Mississippi have declined from about 65% in 1979-1980 to about 16% in 1985-1986. Dropout rates there have also declined significantly; of 182 mothers followed for 1 year or more, there were no dropouts, compared to a 50% dropout rate for teen mothers before the program began. The author concludes that these school-based programs have gained respect and support from students, their parents, and the community. All function as the focal point for coordinating a variety of services for adolescents, and guiding students through the maze of organizations and procedures that too often has deterred them from seeking help or locating necessary resources.