News Release from National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

An updated analysis from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy shows that teen childbearing in Hawaii cost taxpayers at least $32 million in 2010. Nationally, teen childbearing costs taxpayers at least $9.4 billion each year.

Costs and Savings

• Between 1991 and 2010 there have been 34,699 teen births in Hawaii, costing taxpayers a total of $0.9 billion over that period.
• Had it not been for significant declines in the teen birth rate in recent years, the costs to taxpayers would have been even higher.
• The teen birth rate in Hawaii declined 45% between 1991 and 2010. The progress Hawaii has made in reducing teen childbearing saved taxpayers an estimated $50 million in 2010 alone compared to the costs they would have incurred had the rates not fallen.

Total costs factor in the negative consequences sometimes experienced by the children of teen mothers during both their childhood and their young adult years, and include

• costs associated with public health care (Medicaid and CHIP);
• increased risk of participation in child welfare; and,
• for children who have reached adolescence or young adulthood, increased risk of incarceration and
• lost tax revenue due to decreased earnings and spending.1

Total costs also factor in the negative consequences experienced by the teen mother and the father of her child, primarily in terms of lost tax revenue due to their decreased earnings and spending.

HAWAII STORY

From National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy and birth rates are at historic lows and there has been impressive progress on both fronts in all 50 states. As of 2012, the Hawaii teen birth rate was 28.1 births per 1,000 teen girls (age 15-19). Since 1991, the teen birth rate has declined by 53%. In the past year alone, the decline was unknown. In 2010, public spending on teen childbearing in Hawaii totaled $32 million.

The teen pregnancy rate, which includes all pregnancies rather than just those that resulted in a birth, has also fallen steeply. As of 2008 (the most recent data available), the rate was 76 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls (age 15-19); some 3,180 teen pregnancies. The teen pregnancy rate has declined by 43% since 1988. Since 2008, the teen pregnancy rate has changed by 7%.

In 2011, the percent of sexually active high school students in Hawaii that reported using any method of contraception the last time they had sex was 80.2%. The percent of all high school students in Hawaii that have ever had sex was 37%.

When looking at women in Hawaii overall, not just teens, 54% of all pregnancies are described by women themselves as unplanned. In 2008, public spending for births resulting from unplanned pregnancies in Hawaii totaled an estimated $44 million.

LINK: Hawaii State Data

Note: the data here represent the most recently available from a variety of sources. The most recent year available will vary by indicator.

1. Note that because we cannot measure and include all outcomes and all costs, this analysis should be considered conservative; that is, it is likely that the full costs of a teen birth are greater than the figures presented here.

2. This analysis was funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through grant number IU58DP002916-04. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. The National Campaign wishes to thank the CDC for its support of this resource.

KGI: Teen childbearing costs taxpayers $32M annually

CB: Teen Births Cost Hawaii Taxpayers $32M Annually, New Data Suggests