Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Posts from Community / Mayor Barrett releases 2015 teen birth rate data

Mayor Barrett releases 2015 teen birth rate data

October 28, 2016 by City of Milwaukee Health Department Leave a Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Today, Mayor Tom Barrett and the city’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, led by United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, released the city’s 2015 teen birth rates, showing progress toward the city’s goal to reduce teen births by another 50 percent by 2023.

According to data from the City of Milwaukee Health Department, the overall teen birth rate for 15- to 17-year-old girls in the city of Milwaukee has reached a historic low of 18.1 per 1,000 females. Decreases were also seen across all racial and ethnic groups, with Hispanic and African-American rates reaching the lowest rates in recorded history. The Hispanic rate declined from 25.1 births per 1,000 females to 19.4, while the African-American rate declined from 27 per 1,000 females to 22.3. The white rate declined from 9.8 births per 1,000 females to 6.7, which is the second lowest rate on record for this population.

Compared to 2006 baseline data, Milwaukee’s teen birth rate has seen a 65 percent decrease since establishing a communitywide effort around the issue. 

“We have made incredible progress in reducing the teen birth rate,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “We should be proud of what this means for the future of our young residents and for our city as a whole. But we cannot become complacent. To reduce these rates even further, we must continue to work as hard as ever to give each teen the opportunity for a healthy future.”

The current goal seeks to reduce the overall teen birth rate by another 50 percent while also decreasing the Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black rates by 50 percent, lowering the overall teen birth rate, as well as the rate for each racial and ethnic group, to below 15 per 1,000 for 15- to 17-year-old girls by 2023. The goal was set after the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative announced it had surpassed its original goal to reduce teen births by 46% by 2015 three years early.

“This community has fought for these outcomes,” said Nicole Angresano, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “Across zip codes, across demographics, across constituencies, we have come together to demand better for our young people. The new data is gratifying, but we know we still have work to do.”

The goal is supported by the continuation of an unprecedented all-hands-on-deck approach adopted by the Milwaukee community since 2008. The effort is led by United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, which brought together a diverse collaborative of community stakeholders that included local businesses, media outlets, health care providers, schools, and community- and faith-based organizations.

“Through a communitywide effort we are not only seeing Milwaukee’s teen birth rate decline overall but are also closing the gap between racial and ethnic groups,” said Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker, who serves as co-chair of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Oversight Committee at United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “All of our children are essential to our city’s future, and we will not leave anyone behind.”

Along with education efforts, a public awareness strategy has sought to speak to teens about how getting pregnant negatively affects both young men and young women in both the short term and the long term. In addition, efforts have emphasized encouraging parents to talk to their teens about the issue. The campaigns have also brought attention to the problems of sexual violence and victimization of teens.

“The decline in the teen pregnancy rate is one of Milwaukee’s enduring victories,” said Betsy Brenner, co-chair of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Oversight Committee at United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “It’s one that so many in our community share: Our health department, Milwaukee Public Schools, our social service support agencies, our faith community, our loyal and determined funders and, of course, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County. They’ve all come together and devoted themselves to achieving this milestone.”

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Posts from Community

About City of Milwaukee Health Department

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

NNS on ‘Lake Effect’: 5 things to do this February in Milwaukee neighborhoods

Out-of-state landlords are increasingly buying up property in Milwaukee. Here’s what that means for our neighborhoods.

5 things to know and do the weekend of Feb. 3

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in