Abstract

PIP: From 1980 to 1989 there were 2069 babies born to teenage mothers in northeastern Connecticut, accounting for more than 10% of all births in this region. A Connecticut model program that combats teen pregnancy and emphasizes a collaborative venture between a state-funded community-based pregnancy prevention program and a regional vocational-technical high school located in a rural setting is described. Beginning in the fall of 1987, a group of local providers and concerned citizens formed a steering committee which was given funding to initiate services in early 1988. The objectives of the Northeast Connecticut Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program were (a) to enhance the capacity of parents to prevent teen pregnancy, (b) to increase public education concerning the prevention of teenage pregnancy, (c) to increase the coordinated planning of teen pregnancy prevention resources, and (d) to mobilize additional teen pregnancy prevention resources. At the regional vocational-technical high school in rural north eastern Connecticut a pregnancy prevention program for students in grades 9 through 12 was designed called Contemporary Life Issues Clinic (CLIC). This voluntary experiential program lasted 8 weeks for male and female students. Each week, one session operated during regular school hours. Students preregistered for each week's activity or clinic in the guidance office. CLIC's consisted of eight topics with accompanying activities aimed at improving sexual responsibility; increasing the decision-making skills of students; encouraging the development of coping skills; fostering emotional growth; cultivating success-oriented attitudes; providing information in pregnancy prevention, sexually transmitted disease including AIDS; and providing information regarding the financial and legal implications of parenthood. During the fall of 1990, CLIC had 98 participants. The majority of the students were young women. The most heavily attended session dealt with contraception; the fewest participants attended the session devoted to sexually transmitted diseases. CLIC has the potential for expansion and improvement.