UPDATES

Teen Pregnancy Economic Impact Study

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, says teen pregnancy (teens 19 and under) cost taxpayers nearly $9.1 billion a year nationally; and on a state level, teen childbearing cost Tennessee taxpayers approximately $181 million in 2004.*  

MemTV asked the question: how does teen pregnancy impact us on a local level? To find out MemTV commissioned a study on the economic impact of teen pregnancies in Memphis/Shelby County by Dr. David Ciscel, Professor Emeritus from the Department of Economics, at the University of Memphis .     

Dr. Ciscel presented his findings at the November MemTV meeting.  A full report will be released in January. 

*http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/costs/pdf/states/tennessee/onepager.pdf  

Reproductive and Pre-natal Services for Adolescents UPDATED

While there are some data on local teen births and sexual risk taking, local policy makers do not have access to accurate data on the level of need or range of health services available to teens.  To address this, MemTV is conducting a series of two roundtables concerning teens' access to reproductive and prenatal healthcare in Memphis and Shelby County.  

Healthcare providers and local health policy makers participated in the first of two Rroundtable events on Thursday, November 10th, 2011.  Nearly twenty Shelby County healthcare providers gathered to discuss the current provider landscape for reproductive and prenatal health services for teens.  This roundtable focused on current assets, resources, and barriers to expanding availability and access to these services for teens. 

Look for a full report on Roundtable I this spring, and keep checking back for more information on Roundtable II!

National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Memphis Community Awareness Breakfast

On Wednesday, May 4th, 2011 more than 250 Memphis community members attended the Memphis Teen Vision (MemTV) Community Awareness Breakfast to promote the 10th Annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.  

Community members learned about the significance of the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, as well as MemTV's mission and vision for Memphis teens.  Participants also learned about likely outcomes for teens parents through a series of narratives which reflected the story the statistics tell, and what they can do to win what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers a "winnable battle."* 

*Teen Pregnancy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 17, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/WinnableBattles/TeenPregnancy/index.html

Slides and Narratives from the May 4th, 2011 Teen Pregnancy Community Awareness Breakfast

Interested in using the narrative slides from the Teen Pregnancy Community Awareness Breakfast for your next event?  Click here and here!

MemTV is a collaborative effort of over 25 agencies and organizations currently co-chaired by Dr. Muriel Rice, Family Planning Coordinator, Shelby County Health Department; Dr. Lynda Sagrestano, Director, Center for Research on Women, University of Memphis; and Ms. Rebecca Terrell, Executive Director, Memphis Center for Reproductive Health. The Center for Research on Women is currently administering MemTV, which is in the process of becoming a working group of the Early Success Coalition (ESC).  Expect this website to relocate to the ESC website (http://earlysuccesscoalition.com/index.php/about/C4)some time soon.