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Shelley Osterloh ReportingTeen girls who get pregnant are at a greater risk for poverty, relying on welfare and dropping out of school. And the chance of their children growing up and continuing that cycle also increases. The Utah Department of Health is launching an ambitious new goal to cut the state's pregnancy rate by 20%.
When Amanda Knox was 19 she became pregnant. Now, ten years later, she regularly talks to teens about the difficult consequences she's faced..
Amanda Knox, Ambassador, The Power in You: "At that point I knew my life, nothing will ever be the same, so I had to prepare myself to be a mother because my boyfriend at that time did not and never did take a responsible part in raising our daughter."
Amanda is an ambassador for the Power in You, a program developed by first Lady Mary Kaye Huntsman to help teens avoid risky behavior. It's one of many programs teaming up to battle Utah's problem of teen pregnancy.
In 2004, nearly four of every 100 girls ages 15 to 19 were pregnant. Two thirds of them were unmarried. Utah's rate is well below the national average of 8.5 per 100. But there are some areas in Utah that exceed even the national rate, including Midvale, Rose Park, Glendale and downtown Ogden.
The Utah Department of Health has some $288,000 of federal money to battle teen pregnancy and has partnered with more than 30 different groups to form the Utah adolescent Health Network.
David N. Sundwall, Executive Dir. Utah Department of Health: "We are trying to do is bring people together to say this isn't good enough, we are going to reduce by half yet again by 2015 our teen pregnancy. But it isn't a new initiative per say, it's getting every one at the table. Faith based groups schools parents medical people to get the word out."
There is some good news -- teen pregnancy rates have fallen more than 20% in Utah and US over the last decade, but officials are determined to reduce that number even more.
