Milwaukee Initiative Reduces Teen Births by 59%

With Milwaukee teen birth rates more than twice the national average, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and its partners publicly committed to a comprehensive, multi-component intervention campaign with an ambitious goal: in 2008, they pledged to reduce births among 15 to 17 year olds by 46% by 2015.

To launch this effort, United Way gathered partners from across the greater Milwaukee area, teaming with individuals and organizations spanning business, city government (including public health), health care, the faith community, and the public school system. Together, they formed the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. The group believed involvement and backing of the whole community was key to implementing a plan that would span approaches, sectors, and time.

“One of the things that separates this initiative and makes us successful is the diversity of the roles and the acknowledgement that one strategy is not going to fix this problem,” said Nicole Angresano, vice president, Community Impact, United Way of Greater Milwaukee. “We realized very early on that we needed to be inclusive and diverse and considerate of broad opinions and beliefs while still staying true to those methods and strategies that were grounded in evidence.”

The community-wide campaign focuses on funding, research, education and action, along with plans to sustain its multi-faceted work over time. Key components include: 

• The Healthy Girls Initiative, which invests in evidence-based prevention programming delivered in school and community settings. Programs are targeted at girls and boys, helping teens understand the consequences of teen pregnancy, and combating sexual violence and victimization. Its signature curricula are Making Proud Choices! and ¡Cuidate!. 
• The Collaborative Fund, built from contributions of at least $50,000 per year by funders and foundations, supports innovative strategies to address teen pregnancy and violence prevention.

There has been a dramatic drop in birth rates among 15 to 17 year olds since the start of the initiative. In 2008, there were 62.9 births per 1,000 to mothers between 15 and 17 years old. Within two years, birth rates dropped, putting the initiative half way to its goal. By 2012, 3 years ahead of time, the goal was more than met: the birth rate among Milwaukee females aged 15 to17 had dropped by 59%, to 25.7 births per 1,000.

“We get a lot of requests from communities asking us to send the model,” said Angresano. She is happy to share Milwaukee’s lessons learned, but encourages communities to also consider the unique challenges and attributes of their own community: “This is a Milwaukee initiative, and it is based in Milwaukee’s needs and Milwaukee’s culture and Milwaukee’s history. It is not nor has it been intended to be a one size fits all coalition or collaboration that you can simply pick up and drop into Toledo or Chapel Hill or Washington, DC.”

To learn more, visit: http://www.unitedwaymilwaukee.org/TeenPregnancyPrevention

Communities in Action provide examples of strategies or tools in action. Their purpose is to connect like-minded communities in their implementation efforts, giving insight into how others are tackling key challenges and what they've accomplished. To learn more about the evidence supporting this strategy's effectiveness or resources to help move towards implementation, see the What Works for Health summary of Multi-component interventions: pregnancy and STIs.

Date added: March 26, 2014