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County Wide Issues of Concern: |
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| The
Chesterfield County project will address the problem of adolescent
pregnancy, repeat adolescent pregnancy, drug, tobacco, and alcohol use
among youth.
In 2002, there were a total of 105 adolescent pregnancies within the county. Within Chesterfield County there were 3 teen pregnancies for the age group 10-14, 40 for ages 15-17, 62 for the 18-19 age group. There were 38 repeat teen pregnancies as well within the same time period. For the 18-19 year old group, 47% of the estimated pregnancies were in the repeat category (29 of 62). For the entire 10-19 year old group, the percentage is 36% (38 of 105). This percentage is significantly higher than the overall state percentage of 29% (2794 of 9540) |
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The 2001Youth Risk Behavior Survey for S.C. found: |
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That 38% of females and 49% of males had engaged in sexual intercourse
by age 15. 2) That over 48% of females and 50% of males in the 11th and 12th grades had intercourse during any three month period. 3) That 27% of females and 33% of males in the 12th grade have had intercourse with 4 or more persons during their young lives. ( Kids Count Chesterfield County 2003 ). 4) Over 1/3 of the females by age 19 had become pregnant twice. (DHEC) Approximately two-fifths of the referrals to the Solicitor for delinquency are elementary and middle school grade age (14 or less) |
| Delinquency
rates among the youth 15-17 have increased substantially over the past
20 years. (Kids Country Chesterfield County 2003). Eight of the 38
repeat pregnancies in Chesterfield County in 2002 were in the 15-17 age
group (DHEC). This is the justification for the Subcommittee to decide
to begin working with the youth as young as 8 years of age.
Often overlooked is the economic impact of teen pregnancy. Chesterfield County's indirect cost is $17,340,096. This amount takes into consideration the lost earnings, public assistance, food stamps, WIC, and Medical expenditures (Kreutzer, Tracy A., 1997, South Carolina Statistical Abstract, 1996 Office of Research Statistics, South Carolina State Budget and Control Board). Adolescent pregnancy can be a barrier to self-sufficiency. Poverty often traps families in dependency. Many poor families experience these barriers, such as lack of transportation and/or telephone, which prevents them from becoming self-sufficient (Kids Count Report for Chesterfield County, 2001). Pregnant teens are at risk of not growing up to become self-supporting adults, good family members, and responsible community citizens which causes the entire county to suffer (Kids Count for Chesterfield County, 2003). |
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