[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 32 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Pages 1807-1808]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Decline in Teen Birth Rates

August 8, 2000

    I am very encouraged by new data released today by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention showing that teen birth rates in the 
United States have reached their lowest level since record keeping began 
60 years ago. These preliminary data for 1999 show that birth rates 
among 15 to 19 year olds dropped 3 percent from the previous year and 20 
percent from the most recent peak in 1991.

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    This new information confirms that we continue to make impressive 
strides in addressing one of the most important social problems facing 
our Nation. By enacting welfare reform in 1996, taking executive action 
to require young mothers to stay in school or lose welfare payments, 
cracking down on child support enforcement, and launching a national 
campaign to prevent teen pregnancy, the Clinton-Gore administration has 
sent a clear message to young women and young men alike: Don't get 
pregnant or father a child until you are ready to take on the 
responsibility of parenthood. Working in partnership with States, 
communities, families, religious leaders, the media, and teens 
themselves, we have promoted innovative teen pregnancy prevention 
strategies that have contributed to the historic progress we witness 
today.
    These encouraging trends cut across both younger and older teens, 
married and unmarried teens, all States, and all racial and ethnic 
groups. The sharpest decline last year was a 6 percent drop in the birth 
rate for American Indian teenagers. And since 1991, the African-American 
teen birth rate has decreased by 30 percent. Together, we are helping 
more young people make responsible choices and delay parenting until 
they are financially and emotionally ready.
    However, we still have much to do, and I urge all sectors of society 
to continue their efforts to reduce teen pregnancy even further. To 
build on our progress in breaking the cycle of dependency, I call on 
Congress to enact my budget initiative to provide $25 million to support 
``second-chance homes.'' These adult-supervised, supportive living 
arrangements for teen parents who cannot live at home offer parenting 
skills, job counseling, education, and other referrals that help reduce 
repeat pregnancies and improve the prospects for young mothers and their 
children.