SCHENECTADY Teen pregnancies on rise in city Albany, others drop; hike alarms workers BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Teen pregnancy is on the rise in Schenectady while falling nearly everywhere else. In the most recent numbers released by the state Department of Vital Statistics, 295 Schenectady teens ages 15 to 19 got pregnant in 2010. In 2009, 202 teens got pregnant. Nearby in Albany, the teen pregnancy rate is falling. It went from 284 pregnancies to 266 in the same time frame. The statistics are based on hospital reports gathered by county health departments. Since Albany has almost twice as many female teens as Schenectady, the cities’ teen pregnancy rates are vastly different. Albany’s rate is nearly half that of Schenectady’s. Yet the two cities are similar in terms of poverty, youth unemployment, high school graduation rates and other factors that affect teen pregnancy. Along with Albany, most of the state is seeing a decrease in young mothers, while Schenectady’s rate keeps rising. The statistics are sobering: Schenectady is bucking the trend in every category. Not only are 15- to 19-year-olds getting pregnant more often, but 10- to 14-years-olds are too. Schenectady’s rate for very young mothers went up slightly, while the state’s average went down. Among teens age 15 to 17, the age most often focused on because the mothers are minors, Schenectady is also seeing a steady increase. Outside of New York City, only Monroe County has a higher teen pregnancy rate in that age category than Schenectady County. Among cities, Schenectady and Rochester are neck-and-neck. They’ve even beaten two of the five boroughs of New York City. SEEKING ANSWERS In Schenectady, Planned Parenthood and the AIDS Council have organized an advisory board to seek help from Girls Inc. and other agencies that work with teens. They were hoping the other agencies would help them reach more teenagers and persuade them not to become mothers. “What can we be doing differently?” Planned Parenthood Education Team Manager Eileen Lawson said. “Lend us your expertise, help us get the message out.” So far though, she said, the board has offered little advice. “They’ve given us some feedback on materials, tweaked some materials, suggested different locations [for events],” she said. But they have not coalesced yet into the community-wide powerhouse she feels is needed. “I would like us to look at this as a community responsibility. I’d like everyone to take a piece of it: churches, health care professionals, schools, after-school agencies,” she said. Some of the youth agencies have welcomed Planned Parenthood’s programs. Girls Inc. runs a Teens Helping Teens program with teens who have been trained by Planned Parenthood to discuss healthy relationships and how to set safe boundaries. Those teens also learn about contraception and the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases. LIMITED IN SCHOOLS But Planned Parenthood is not invited to run sex-ed programs in the city schools. Teachers can only teach an abstinence-based sex-ed curriculum that was last updated in the 1990s. While seventh-grade teachers do mention contraception, it is only during one class period and there are no demonstrations or displays. Students get abstinence education twice: during an 18-day unit in seventh grade and again for a unit in 10th-grade health class. School officials did not return calls seeking comment. In Albany, where the teen pregnancy rate is roughly half that of Schenectady, Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood is welcome in the schools, at community centers and at after-school programs. From middle-school age on, students are taught how to insist on safe sex — “condom negotiation,” as Education Director Meaghan Carroll said. “It’s very skills-based,” she said. “For those who aren’t ready to be sexually active, we can teach them how to communicate that to their partner.” The programs emphasize communication skills, particularly with parents. Learning how to talk about sexual issues with parents is critical to preventing teen pregnancy, Carroll said. “Parent-child communication, that’s really a key piece. That’s so very important,” she said. Planned Parenthood officials teach sex-ed at any opportunity — even in the waiting room at the Albany clinic, she said. Every Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. the agency holds a teen clinic. While teens are waiting for their first exam or for an HIV test, teachers run classes. “It really is fi nding the program that matches the population,” Carroll said. “What we’re talking about is comprehensive sex-ed. The programs have been designed and scientifically evaluated to show a positive outcome.” REACHING OUT In Schenectady, Planned Parenthood has found inventive ways to teach without going to the schools. Teens that attend a program are given a text number to ask questions that they might have been too embarrassed to ask in person. The organization trains teens because they can talk about sexed at parties and social gatherings where Planned Parenthood teachers are unlikely to be. “Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone your own age,” spokeswoman Linda Scharf said. They also train parents on how to deliver “the talk,” which they say needs to be a series of conversations rather than a one-time event. Parents can call for advice, get one-on-one help from a teacher, or borrow materials from the Planned Parenthood library. The agency’s website also offers a host of resources for both parents and teens. But thus far it hasn’t been enough. Teens are still giving birth. .......................>>>>.......................>>>>.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00100&AppName=1
“What can we be doing differently?” Planned Parenthood Education Team Manager Eileen Lawson said. “Lend us your expertise, help us get the message out.”
The message is out and has been for decades upon decades!! What PP has failed to relinquish is that this is not about the PHYSICAL.........it's a moral mind thought!!!! What ALL so called 'safe sex advocates' are not equipped for is the moral and mind thought of the young.
Our friend works at a school for the 'disadvantaged' in Albany (where there are many of these schools). And they receive young women from 10-18 years old from all over the state....including the capital district. And yes even PP is actively involved there. Bottom line....these girls don't want birth control........THEY WANT BABIES!!! And they are having babies as young as 12 years old. And they will have babies with any guy with working sexual parts and is willing.....nothing else comes into the equation. Short of sterilizing these young girls......NOTHING is going to resolve this..........NOTHING!!!
The liberal socialist progressives wanted a dumbed down society.......well they got it! Congratulations!! Success!! Keep throwing the welfare checks at 'em.......that seems to be working well...eh?
All of these young teen pregnancies are guaranteed votes for the future of the liberal socialist progressives. It's about the only way they can build their voter base!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
How many teens actually come to Schenectady County because they are already pregnant.
I'm sure that statistic would never become available.
How many teens become pregnant because their momma is capped on how much welfare they can legally collect, so they encourage their daughters to get pregnant? Ohhhh...That doesn't happen?
LEARNED BEHAVIOR....PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.....
Learned behavior rewarded by government.
It is the same way they train Shamu at Sea World...Shamu is captured out of the wild before he learns to fend for himself, he's put in an aquarium, and the only way he can eat is if he does the tricks his master tells him to.
There is a huge segment of society that is incapable of taking care of themselves because they were never taught the skills, nor are they encouraged to. They were taught having babies = getting food, clothing, and shelter.
It is the same way they train Shamu at Sea World...Shamu is captured out of the wild before he learns to fend for himself, he's put in an aquarium, and the only way he can eat is if he does the tricks his master tells him to.
There is a huge segment of society that is incapable of taking care of themselves because they were never taught the skills, nor are they encouraged to. They were taught having babies = getting food, clothing, and shelter.
You just described the two low-life white trash scumbags living in the apartment next to me.............................both late 20's their only occupation is the monthly walk to the mailbox to pick up their welfare checks..............................between them they have 2 kids, but neither has the skills to care for a child.........rather the parents of each of these genius' are raising the kids........................when low-life white trash scumbag female moved in I over heard the low-life white trash scumbag male declare to his low-life white trash scumbag friend "Yeah I get fucked anytime I want now...............maybe you've seen low-life white trash scumbag male making his rounds to the dumpsters in town, scrounging bottles so he can go to Stewarts and buy smokes so he doesn't have to pick up the butts laying on the ground to smoke..................the two low-life white trash scumbags just got a cat..........I better stop here, cause my blood pressure just shot through the roof...................ain't it great that we get to support these 2 low-life white trash scumbags..............
Caught my breath...........so here's a couple more things as they relate to Cicero's post...................the 2 low-life white trash scumbags have no idea what personal hygiene is, when they open the door to their apartment the overwhelming stench that permeates their dwelling wafts through the hallway...........the maintenance man tell me there are no sheets or blankets on what looks like a black bed.........................food stains on the wall next to their trash basket where they toss scraps from the table and don't bother to clean.........................they've gone through 2 dishwashers (which amazes me, not so much that the machines break, but rather that they have the intelligence to use one) which maintenance man tells me is caused by grease and broken glass..................and just to top it all off low-life white trash scumbag male is a thief, who seems to enjoy stealing, of all things the newspapers delivered to our building each morning........................that's pretty much stop since the day I caught him, and in no uncertain terms told him that if it ever happened again I'd kick his door in and he could deal with a geezer wielding a 32 oz. wooden Louisville slugger left over from my youth...............I hate the two low-life white trash scumbags that live in the apartment next to me, and one day I'll succeed in getting their sorry asses evicted.....................now for a nice cup of soothing herbal tea.....
Planned Parenthood officials teach sex-ed at any opportunity — even in the waiting room at the Albany clinic, she said. Every Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. the agency holds a teen clinic. While teens are waiting for their first exam or for an HIV test, teachers run classes. “It really is fi nding the program that matches the population,” Carroll said. “What we’re talking about is comprehensive sex-ed. The programs have been designed and scientifically evaluated to show a positive outcome.”
Hey, they're doing a GREAT job eh? Comprehensive, scientifically evaluated ... oh and SUCH a positive outcome.
They must not be hearing enough about sex and getting enough sex ed.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
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