Posted on 07/17/2009 1:35:12 PM PDT by GOPGuide
A program operating on the University of North Carolina at Greensboro campus pays young girls not to get pregnant.
Participants in the College Bound Sisters program earn $7 a week to stay baby-free. For 90 minutes a week, the girls learn about abstinence and the use of contraceptives while exploring the benefits of staying in school. The money earned is deposited into a fund and may be retrieved once the girl has enrolled in college.
The program, funded by a grant from the state's Department of Health and Human Services, costs about $75,000 a year to operate. A total of 24 girls at a time participate. In order to qualify, an applicant must have a sister who had a baby before age 18, be between the ages of 12 and 16, never have been pregnant, and want to attend college.
Nationally, the teen pregnancy rate is 7.2 pregnancies per 1,000 teenage girls, according to Bill Albert, chief program officer at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. The rate had been decreasing for 14 years, but began increasing over the last two years. Teen pregnancy rates are the highest in the south and the southwest, and the lowest in the northeast, Albert said.
Participants in the North Carolina program make a dollar for every day they're involved, for a total of $365 a year. If a teenage girl begins the program on her 12th birthday and stays enrolled until her 18th, she'll make a grand total of $2,190. Members of the program also receive five dollars a week in transportation expenses to attend meetings.
Only six of 125 girls who have been enrolled in the program for six months or longer since 1997 have gotten pregnant or dropped out, officials said. While it seems to have had some success, Albert questioned the wisdom of paying people for responsible behavior.
"It would be like if you didn't want young people to experiment with marijuana, you'd pay them not to do it," said Albert.
Others were less skeptical about the program. Matthew Wilson, a North Carolina State University graduate, applauded the effort.
"I have a little sister who is in her teens, and knowing that there are people out there who are willing to pay her not to get pregnant is awesome," said Wilson. "If I were a girl, I'd look at it as a win-win situation. It's like getting paid to enjoy my youth without the responsibility of a child."
snip
This program should be expanded.
I hope this isn’t supported with taxpayers money.
“I hope this isn’t supported with taxpayers money.”
So what if it is? Each teen pregnancy drains *millions* of dollars more than this program does.
Compared to how many out of a random 125 girls of the same demographic attending the same schools?
IF the program's participants actually have fewer pregnancies than a comparable group, it's probably due to the additional attention and support of positive choices, rather than the money.
It is ... but $75,000 a year is nothing compared to what the state blows on programs that are actively harmful, so I’d rather they spent it on something that seems (at worst) outcome-neutral.
Why don’t I get money for not killing somebody, or money for not knocking up an illegal alien? Good grief!
I’ll pay them $8 a week to have sex with me (j/k)
“IF the program’s participants actually have fewer pregnancies than a comparable group,”
The people who run this project did use a control group. The program works (see link below).
Whatever is causing the teen birthrate to drop, this program should be expanded nationwide.
A Dollar a Day Not to Get Pregnant
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/07/09/pregnancy
LOL! no you weren’t! ;)
I could make a better argument that it’s because they all wear SOCKS.
Seriously.
That dollar is just another variable added into a complicated equation, yet they claim that it’s the hingepoint.
I think this sounds like a great program. First I’ve heard of it but it makes sense.
An asprin can be an extremely effect birth control pill. All you have to do is hold it firmly with you knees.
Pay me $75K and I promise I will not knock up any teenagers.
The math here is quite interesting. The program costs $75,000 and enrolls 24 girls. Each girl gets $365 a year for not getting pregnant.
24 x 365 = 8,760. (paid to the girls)
75,000 - 8,760 = 66,240 (????)
Who is getting the 66,240 that is not paid to the girls in the program?
Seems to me the money would be better used is each of the 24 girls were given $3,000 a year for each year they did not get pregnant. The would give them a good start on their first year of college. The math for my program...
24 x 3,000 = 72,000 for the girls in the program
75,000 - 72,000 = 3,000 for the administration of the program.
Don’t misunderstand me. It is good to get involved with mentoring teenagers and encouraging them to make the right choices for the future. But I can’t help but think more could be helped if the helpers were not keeping most of the pie for themselves.
According to the link GOPGuide posted at #9, most of the cost is for a program administrator.
Based on the information at the link, the program is effective in reducing pregnancies among the specific at-risk population.
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