PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1394 PRINTER'S NO. 1697
No. 68 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY BLAUM, EVANS, RICHARDSON, STETLER, JOSEPHS,
DeWEESE, ITKIN, BELARDI, VEON, M. COHEN, COY, STEIGHNER,
TANGRETTI, ROBINSON, LINTON AND KUKOVICH, APRIL 19, 1993
AS AMENDED, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MAY 3, 1993
A RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
2 conduct a study evaluating the effectiveness of pregnant and
3 parenting teen programs and to make recommendations to the
4 House of Representatives.
5 WHEREAS, In 1990 approximately 18,500 or 11% of all live
6 births in this Commonwealth were to teen mothers -- women 19
7 years of age or younger; and
8 WHEREAS, Only 55% of these teen mothers received any prenatal
9 care in their first trimester and over 20% received no prenatal
10 care; and
11 WHEREAS, The infants born to teen mothers are more likely to
12 be very low and low birth weight babies; and
13 WHEREAS, Almost 33% or one-third of the teen mothers giving
14 birth in 1990 had a history of at least one previous pregnancy;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, Teen parents are more likely to drop out of school
17 and to become welfare dependent; and
18 WHEREAS, This Commonwealth has teen pregnancy and parenting
1 programs administered by the Department of Education, the
2 Department of Health, the Department of Labor and Industry and
3 the Department of Public Welfare; and
4 WHEREAS, Different programs and services are provided in
5 other states, including programs which are directed at AFDC
6 recipients and which use monetary rewards, monetary penalties or
7 both as a means of keeping teen parents in school; and
8 WHEREAS, There is a need for a comprehensive analysis of the
9 effectiveness of the programs administered in this Commonwealth
10 as well as those used by other states; therefore be it
11 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the
12 Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to undertake a
13 comprehensive review of the various teen pregnancy and parenting
14 programs; and be it further
15 RESOLVED, That the report shall include, but is not limited
16 to, the following:
17 (1) a description of the various programs and services;
18 (2) an analysis of the effectiveness of these programs;
19 (3) information on the cost of the programs and the
20 numbers of teen parents served;
21 (4) information on the funding streams used;
22 (5) information on available non-State funding sources
23 and the extent to which these have been accessed and
24 maximized by this Commonwealth; and
25 (6) recommendations for future programs and services,
26 including a discussion of any statutory or regulatory changes
27 needed for implementation of these recommendations;
28 and be it further
29 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
30 submit the report to the House of Representatives by December <--
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1 31, 1993 APRIL 29, 1994. <--
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