HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	220
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

requesting government collaboration with community-based organizations to develop and implement methods of improving the prevention of teenAGE pregnancies.

     WHEREAS, teenage mothers face significant challenges in trying to provide for their children, with many less likely to complete high school or obtain any post-secondary education; and

WHEREAS, many teenage mothers end up in poverty and reliant on welfare, especially during the critically important developmental years of the child; and

     WHEREAS, by far the greatest harm from teenage pregnancy is experienced by the children, who are at heightened risk of being born prematurely or at low birth weight, raising their probabilities of infant death, blindness, deafness, chronic respiratory problems, mental retardation, mental illness, and cerebral palsy; and

WHEREAS, young parents are often less able to provide an environment for the early cognitive stimulation that a child needs for adequate brain development and consequently, children born to teenage mothers tend to do worse in school, are more likely to repeat a grade, perform worse on standardized tests, and are ultimately less likely to complete high school; and

WHEREAS, society pays a price for teenage childbearing because children of teenage parents exhibit higher rates of economic inactivity and crime, resulting in taxpayer costs through lost tax revenues, public assistance expenditures, and costs associated with health care, foster care, and criminal justice; and

     WHEREAS, teenage pregnancy prevention programs improve the lives and future prospects of children and families and help ensure that children are born into stable families that are committed to and prepared for the demanding task of raising the next generation; and

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Youth Services Network provides training and technical assistance for teenage pregnancy prevention programs; and

     WHEREAS, a collaboration between public schools and youth-oriented, community-based programs can strengthen and expand efforts to prevent teenage pregnancies; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, that the Department of Education is requested to collaborate with the Hawaii Youth Services Network and other community-based organizations to develop and implement methods to improve the prevention of teenage pregnancies; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the Executive Director of the Hawaii Youth Services Network.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Teen Pregnancy Prevention; Collaboration with Community-Based Organizations