
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 18, 1995                   TAG: 9507180072
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETH MACY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ECONOMIC COUNCIL AIMS TO WORK WITH REGION TO REDUCE TEEN BIRTHS

The New Century Council has taken on an issue few local groups have been able to agree on, let alone combat. It wants to reduce the region's teen pregnancy rate by 50 percent.

Among the council's proposals on how to do this: maintain family life education programs, target males for prevention and support services, promote parenting skills and develop prevention strategies that include both abstinence and birth-control education.

There were no groundbreaking ideas among the action steps outlined in the health-care part of the plan unveiled Monday. But what will emerge, pregnancy-prevention leaders hope, is a clear public-policy statement that will strengthen regional efforts.

``It's targeting efforts in a collaborative fashion,'' said Sandra Ryals, the Roanoke Health Department nurse manager who headed the council's maternal-child health subcommittee. ``It's sharing vision, resources and power. There's so much effort being done about teen pregnancy, and we know there are some good programs that need to be further expanded. And we know we can learn from each other and help each other.''

Kathryn Haynie, director of Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge, applauded the ambitious goal of a one-half reduction - particularly its inclusion of birth-control education as a plan of attack.

``I think you can put a goal out there, but until the communities acknowledge that young people are going to be involved in sexual relationships at some point in their lives, we're not going to do anything,'' Haynie said. ``Any adults who think about themselves as teen-agers will realize that.''

Tackling teen pregnancy is a key to any community's economic future, she added.

``Young people who have too-early pregnancies cause tremendous costs in medical care. They're less employable and more likely to become welfare recipients, criminals and less productive members of our community.''

In Roanoke, which has one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates in Virginia, City Manager Robert Herbert assigned a task force of citizens to study the issue more than a year ago.

Debbie Henderson, co-chairwoman of the task force, was encouraged by the New Century Council's plan. ``The more people we can get on board, the better off we're gonna be. This isn't just a Roanoke problem, it's a community problem; we've said that all along.''

by CNB