LOS ANGELES The teen birth rate in the Los Angeles area was among the highest in
the state, costing the county more than $29 million per year, according to a
study released on Wednesday by the nonprofit Public Health Institute.
After 15 years in decline, teen birth rates in California are rising, costing
taxpayers about $1.7 billion per year, the study found.
At 37.8 births per 1,000 teens, California's birth rate is lower than the
nation's as a whole, but four times higher than the median of 9.2 births per
1,000 in 16 other Western democracies, according to the study, entitled "No Time
for Complacency: Teen Births in California."
Every two years, the nonprofit PHI counts teen birth rates in the state's 40
Senate districts.
Three regions had the highest rates, accounting for about $1 billion in
taxpayer-supported services. They were the Los Angeles area, which includes
districts 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30 and 32; the Central Valley, including
districts 12, 14, 16 and 18; and the Imperial Valley, district 40, according to
the study.
"On a community-by-community basis, we're seeing individual legislative
districts costing taxpayers as much as $100 million a year due to avoidable teen
pregnancies," said the study's co-author, Dr. Carmen Nevarez, PHI's medical
director.
The cost estimates were based on the number of reported teen births per
district, as well as factors such as tax revenue, public medical and assistance
costs, lost income, productivity and private medical costs. The study was funded
in part by the California Wellness Foundation.
Source : CBS Broadcasting Inc
