Caring for the Children of Children: Teen Pregnancy in San Antonio
San Antonio, TX, 1998
San Antonio has the highest rate of births to girls ages 10 to 14 in the United States. Because of this undesirable distinction, KSTX joined with San Antonio's public health agency, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (SAMHD), to focus on this serious problem in a six-part series called Caring for the Children of Children: Teen Pregnancy in San Antonio.
Though the problem of teen pregnancy was known, the scope of it was not. The overwhelming community response was often repeated:
Our goal was to educate and inform our community, focusing on mentoring programs, parenting programs in schools, health consequences to both teen moms and their babies, the politics of sex education, and the young males' perspective.
To kick off the series, KSTX and the SAMHD held a community forum to address the problem of teen pregnancy. Additional exposure was provided by San Antonio's daily newspaper and the alternative newsweekly.
An information packet including resource and discussion materials and a poster was created to complement the six monthly broadcast programs.
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District continues its outreach activities by contacting agencies, school districts, and coalitions that deal with teen pregnancy.
The numerous phone calls we received, requesting more information about the series, was a measure of the success of the joint effort of KSTX and the SAMHD in raising community awareness and offering resources that may help in providing solutions.
Contact Information
Caring for the Children of Children: Teen Pregnancy in San Antonio
Ernie Villarreal, Production Manager
Tel: 210-614-8977
San Antonio Metropolitan Health District
Jennifer Herriott, Health Education & Promotion Manager
Tel: 210-207-2106
Awards:
KSTX Round One
Media Award — Texas Public Health Association