Saturday, March 15, 2025
3/15/2025
New York City (NYC) has seen teen pregnancy rates drop by 79% since 2000, but disparities persist: the teen pregnancy rate remains four to five times higher among African American and Latina teens than their White-non-Hispanic and Asian peers. Among teens aged 15-19, 80% reported that their pregnancies were unintended. African American and Latino communities suffer disproportionately from high rates of STIs: the rate of Chlamydia ranges from 1,292 to 3,497 per 100,000 females aged 15-19 compared to 201 to 229 among white, non-Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander teens. Additionally, African American and Latino communities frequently live in the poorest and most segregated neighborhoods of the city. These neighborhoods are historically and disproportionately impacted by low educational attainment, high rates of infant and maternal mortality, diabetes, asthma, and incarceration. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) developed an effective model for decreasing teen pregnancy rates in low-resourced neighborhoods that can be scaled up. New York City Teens Connection , a robust program which works with hundreds of schools, over 100 clinics and dozens of youth -serving organizations, implement evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs for at least 15,000 youth annually. NYCTC increases access to high-quality and teen-friendly comprehensive health care for at-risk youth. Since 2010, NYCTC has reached over 70,000 youth in neighborhoods with the highest rates of teen pregnancy with evidence-based programs and linkages to health care. While we are proud of our impact in decreasing unintended teen pregnancy rates across the city, more must be done to close remaining disparities. If funded, NYCTC will reach more youth, saturating the neighborhoods where they live, providing crucial sexual and reproductive health education, and investing in community health, education, and self-efficacy to ensure sustainability. NYCTC will work through partnerships and systems to bring evidence-based programs and clinic linkages to reach over 65,000 youth aged 11-20 by 2028. Work will be focused in The South Bronx and North and Central Brooklyn where teen birth rates and STI rates are above the national and citywide averages. NYCTC proposes to implement eight evidence-based programs – Reducing the Risk (RTR), Making Proud Choices! (MPC), Teen Health Project (THP), Positive Prevention Plus (PP+), Seventeen Days (17D), Plan A, Sexual Health & Adolescent Risk Prevention (SHARP), and Linking Families and Teens (LiFT) – in three settings – schools, clinics, and a variety of youth-serving organizations (YSOs). RTR, MPC, 17D, and Plan A will be delivered to students in traditional high schools. THP, 17D, and Plan A will be delivered to students in transfer high schools, which serve students who are over-age and under-credited for graduation. THP will be delivered to students in international high schools. MPC and 17D will be delivered to middle school students. PP+ will be delivered to students in District 75 schools with special needs students. 17D and Plan A will be delivered to youth in clinics. 17D, Plan A, SHARP, and THP will be delivered in a variety of YSO settings. Lastly, LiFT will be delivered to parents and their adolescent children through school parent groups. All youth in partnering schools and YSOs will also be linked to local, high-quality, “teen-friendly” clinics that provide quality sexual and reproductive health services to youth; lastly every school classroom and YSO setting will incorporate a visit to their linked clinic. NYCTC will continue to partner with DOE’s Office of School Wellness Programs to recruit and support all schools, saturating schools in the catchment areas, and with the existing 100+ NYCTC clinical partners to provide health care linkages with school partners.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).