New Goal Set for NC

This week more than 40 state, local, and national groups met in Chapel Hill and endorsed a new state goal. Over the next ten years - by 2020 - North Carolina will reduce its teen pregnancy rate by 30%.  According to the latest reports, North Carolina’s teen pregnancy rate is down nearly 53% since its peak in 1991.  Statistic show that decline has saved North Carolina taxpayers more than $7.7 billion, and fewer teen pregnancies means more healthy people, more financial stability, and more educations finished.  Reducing North Carolina’s teen pregnancy rate by 30% in ten years, means the teen pregnancy rate would drop from 49.7 to 34.8 by 2020.  This equates to nearly 5,000 fewer teen pregnancies each year, less than 9,000 babies born to teen parents each year, and a ten-year cumulative savings of nearly $500 million to taxpayers.