Correction This story originally described which organization gave a grant to fund the Youth Empowerment peer group in Tulsa. The story has been clarified.
A teenager at a north Tulsa library works her laptop keyboard, engaged silently in guerrilla-like computer tactics.
At the opposite end of the city, a sliver of the Bixby student population participates in a family health elective, which includes a frank discussion about the consequences of sex and the demands of parenthood.
In midtown, a group of Hispanic students at Tulsa Community College produces a video on the attitudes of teen sex and pregnancy.
"Teen pregnancy is so common in Oklahoma that our 15-year-old cousins are attending baby showers for their friends instead of birthday parties," said Lupe Campos, member of the TCC Hispanic Student Association.
In these nooks and crannies of Tulsa County, teenagers are taking on what adults may be too uncomfortable, naive or scared to address.
"Who is going to teach Oklahoma children about sex? It's not happening at home, it's not happening in churches and it's not happening in schools," said Felicia Rowland, executive director of the Margaret Hudson program. "The numbers show that. I see this as a state of emergency."
'Not about sexuality'
Oklahoma is rising in the national rankings for teen births - fifth overall, second among 18- to 19-year-olds and sixth among 15- to 17-year-olds.
Tulsa County rates are slightly higher at 61.9 births per 100,000 females ages 15 to 19, compared to the Oklahoma rate of 61.3.
Within Tulsa County, ZIP codes with the highest percentage of births to teens 19 and younger tend to be north and east of the downtown/midtown area - 74126, 74110 and 74106.
Oklahoma has been in the top 10 since at least the early 1990s.
Between 1991 and 2005, the state's teen births slowly declined. That trend reversed in 2006. A dramatic 12 percent increase occurred between 2005 and 2007, and Oklahoma has returned to levels last seen in 1999.
The Community Service Council has convened the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition to seek new federal grants for evidence-based pregnancy prevention programs.
During the George W. Bush administration, federal funds were restricted to abstinence-only programs. With little fanfare, those grants are opening up to other proven prevention health curricula.
"The fear in Oklahoma is that if you talk about sexuality, then kids will become more sexual," said Jan Figart, associate director at the Community Service Council.
"We've had 10 years of abstinence-only education and are at all-time peaks in sexuality of kids - those who are sexually engaged at an early age and not engaged in protecting themselves. It is time we start coming out and talking about this and addressing it in a youthful way."
The coalition has members from several youth- and health-related community groups to collaborate among agencies, provide advocacy to policymakers and educate the public. A major goal is establishing a community-wide approach to health education.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rank Oklahoma near last in national surveys on the quality of health education in schools.
"Oklahoma is one of two states with no comprehensive health education," Figart said.
Schools are reluctant to have programs addressing sex or birth control, citing parental concerns and pressure from religious organizations.
But some schools will invite educators with prevention programs into classrooms, depending on the site leadership and staff.
"There's no structure or overall plan," said Gabe Lowe of Youth Services of Tulsa. "It's hit and miss. We get in where we can. But it's not structured, and it's not planned."
Health educators dismiss the term "sex education," saying it is a narrow definition of what pregnancy-prevention programs are about.
When officials speak of pregnancy prevention, they are including programs on mentoring, career planning, after-school activities, extracurricular school activities, family development, relationship building, child behavior and health.
Within health, sex would be discussed along with its consequences and pregnancy and disease prevention, coalition members say.
Some specifics may include how to plan a night with friends to avoid temptations and how to negotiate for safe sex in a relationship.
"This is not about sexuality but about helping these kids have a future," said Nancy Kachel, president and chief executive office of Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma, Inc. "Sexual education is a small piece of this."
'Teach yourself'
A grant from the Advocates for Youth to the Oklahoma Health Equity Initiative helped create a Youth Empowerment Initiative peer group, which is about 10 high school and college students who receive the latest health information and training on spreading the prevention message.
"I wanted to give back to my community, and teen pregnancy is on the rise," said 19-year-old Chantelle Fitzpatrick. "I don't think that's the best thing for our youth."
Each month, the members gather at the Rudisill Library to talk strategy. Text-messaging and voice-mail campaigns are being planned with promotions on Facebook and MySpace pages.
They are hosting "pizza protection parties," which will feature free food and games based on Tulsa County health trivia.
"In high school, you've got to teach yourself," said high school student LaBrisa Williams.
"Abstinence-only didn't make much sense when you look at the little difference it made. So, where did those funds go and how come no one has the information they need? Money can be used better than that."
Planned Parenthood offers programs, including how parents should approach the subject starting at early ages using proper body part terms, said Tommy Chesbro, vice president of education for Planned Parenthood.
"We have to change the public perception about the issue so it's easier to talk to kids about sex," Chesbro said. "We need to change from having 'the talk' to having an ongoing talk."
The effectiveness of abstinence-only programs is up for debate, with a mix of studies and results.
"The key difference is that if a teenager has had sexuality education and decides to have sex, they are more likely to protect themselves," Chesbro said.
'Idiotic decisions'
After attending a summer youth conference, members of the TCC Hispanic Student Association became alarmed by the Oklahoma teen pregnancy statistics.
The group created a video with Tulsa-area teens talking about their views of sex and pregnancy and spoke to teen mothers about their lives. It's being entered in a national contest.
"We witness teen pregnancy every day and want to make an impact on our community to stop the pregnancy rate from increasing and help it decrease," said student Jessica Caballero.
"We need to be leaders and show them that pregnancy at a young age is not the way. We see these teen moms and dads struggle because of their idiotic decisions that were made for a moment of pleasure."
Teen pregnancy is one of the top reasons for Hispanics dropping out of school, said student Iris Bernal.
"Everywhere I go I always see pregnant teens, and it seems like every time they keep getting younger and younger," Bernal said. "Since we can't tell teenagers to use abstinence, the next great thing is to teach them about protection, like condoms and birth control."
Margaret Hudson is known as an education program for pregnant girls and teenage mothers funded by the United Way and private and public grants. But it also provides pregnancy prevention to its students to help in family planning.
About $170,000 has been cut from its state funding in the past two fiscal years - including a grant specifically for a neighborhood pregnancy-prevention program involving parents and a peer education group.
The first year, the $48,000 grant was used for planning and implementation. Within days after hiring staff for the program, Margaret Hudson was notified that the remaining two-year $97,000 annual funding was being eliminated.
"You would think if the state is the worst in something that funds would be targeted in that area for improvement," said Rowland.
The program is using its reserve fund to keep the same level of services, which include helping pregnant teens and teenage mothers finish school and learn parenting skills.
"This issue has been around for generations," said Betina Tillman, director of operations at Margaret Hudson. "As a state, we need to step up and take ownership of it. We have an issue, and we have a problem."
Oklahoma youth risk behavior
A study conducted every two years by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oklahoma State Department of Health monitors health-risk behavior among youth by collecting data during the spring semesters from 9th- through 12th-grade students in public and private high schools. The 2009 data was recently released:
51 percent of youth reported ever having sexual intercourse
40 percent of youth are currently sexually active
18 percent of youth have had four or more sexual partners
43 percent did not use a condom during their last sexual encounter
72 percent did not use birth control pills or Depo-Provera before last sexual encounter
18 percent were not taught in school about AIDS or HIV infection
20 percent drank alcohol or used drugs before their last sexual intercourse
5 percent had sex before age 13
Source: HealthyTeens Oklahoma
Teen mother traits 2007
| Tulsa County | Oklahoma |
|
Unmarried | 83 percent | 80 percent |
|
Less than 12th grade education | 58 percent | 55 percent |
|
No prenatal care until last trimester | 10 percent | 7 percent |
|
Low birth weight | 9 percent | 8 percent |
|
Premature | 11 percent | 11 percent |
|
Subsequent children less than 24 months apart | 63 percent | 66 percent |
|
One previous birth | 23 percent | 22 percent |
|
Two previous births | 3 percent | 4 percent |
Source: Community Service Council of Tulsa, Oklahoma State Department of Health
Ginnie Graham 581-8376
ginnie.graham@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Solving teen pregnancy
