Teen pregnancy is a problem that every community across the world faces including in Maverick County.
Locally, in past years the teen birth rate has been one of the highest in the state and nation. The Maverick County Hospital District recognized the problem several years ago and established its Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program to raise awareness of the social ills that teen pregnancy brings.
During the month of May, Teen Pregnancy Prevention is observed across the entire nation. This is a time to emphasize that too many teens still leave pregnancy prevention to chance and prevention should be taught and focused on every month and day of the year.
Through the Juntos Podemos Program, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator Yaraida Diaz provides vital information to participating youth through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). The program’s goal is to provide adolescents ages 10-19 with an evidence-based educational curriculum that informs them on topics such as abstinence and contraception in order to prevent pregnancies as well as the sexuall transmitted infections.
The Hospital District’s main objective through Juntos Podemos is to recruit and commit youth and adolescents to learn more on abstinence and contraception, enroll youth and adolescents in education programs offered by Juntos Podemos, and participate in the collection of performance-measured data collection.
“We have seen a decrease in teen pregnancy rates in Maverick County. And we are focused on helping our kids understand that making active decisions about preventing pregnancy is part of taking charge of their futures and lowering teen pregnancy rates,” said Diaz. “We do encourage parents to allow for their children to take this very beneficial course.”
For more information, please contact Yaraida Diaz at (830) 757-4931.
