Healthy choices · Healthy futures
Teen Pregnancy
While U.S. teen birth rates have fallen sharply, nearly 140,000 babies are still born to teen mothers every year — and the consequences ripple across education, income, and health. LEADD partners with schools, parents, and faith communities to support teens in making informed, healthy decisions about relationships and their futures.
By the Numbers
The cost of inaction.
Babies born to U.S. teens (ages 15–19) each year
Source: CDC
Of teen mothers earn a high school diploma by age 22 (vs. 90% of peers)
Source: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
Births per 1,000 girls ages 15–19 — still highest among industrialized nations
Source: CDC NVSS
Annual U.S. cost of teen childbearing in public expenses
Source: Power to Decide
U.S. teens experience dating violence — physical, emotional, or sexual
Source: CDC
Children of teen mothers are twice as likely to become teen parents themselves
Source: HHS
Of teen pregnancies are unintended
Source: Guttmacher Institute
Of teen mothers are on a second pregnancy within 24 months
Source: CDC
Why It Matters
More than a statistic.
Behind every number is a teen, a family, a classroom, and a community. Here is the context every parent, educator, and faith leader should understand.
Teen parenthood is the single biggest predictor of intergenerational poverty in the United States.
Healthy relationships education reduces dating violence, sexual assault, and unintended pregnancy at the same time.
Faith communities and parents are the most-trusted voices — LEADD equips them, doesn't replace them.
Teens already parenting deserve mentorship and a pathway to graduation, not judgment.
Warning Signs
What every adult should watch for.
LEADD trains parents, teachers, coaches, and faith leaders to recognize the early signals — long before a crisis.
Sudden secrecy around relationships or social media
Significantly older partner (3+ years)
Controlling behavior, jealousy, or isolation from friends
Skipping school, dropping activities, mood changes
Unexplained gifts, money, or transportation from a partner
The LEADD Curriculum
A complete, classroom-ready program.
Each module is delivered by a trained LEADD officer in partnership with the school counselor. Modules can be sequenced over a semester or compressed into a one-week intensive.
- 1
Module 1
What a Healthy Relationship Looks Like
Consent, respect, communication, and red flags. Aligned with the CDC Dating Matters framework.
- 2
Module 2
Goal Mapping
Students draft a 5-year and 10-year vision board — and learn how an unplanned pregnancy reshapes that map.
- 3
Module 3
The Biology and the Math
Honest, medically accurate information on reproduction, contraception effectiveness, and STI risk.
- 4
Module 4
Faith & Family Conversation
Optional values-based session co-delivered with faith leaders for participating churches.
- 5
Module 5
If You're Already a Parent
Resources, mentorship, childcare, and graduation support — no judgment, full support.
How LEADD Helps
Education that changes outcomes.
LEADD officers don't just visit a classroom and leave. We build year-round partnerships with educators, parents, and faith leaders so teens hear a consistent, life-saving message from every adult in their lives.
Healthy relationships curriculum
Age-appropriate sessions on consent, boundaries, dating violence, and long-term goal-setting.
Faith-community workshops
Co-delivered with church youth leaders for families that prefer values-based conversations.
Parent communication guides
Practical scripts for parents to start — and keep having — the harder conversations.
Mentorship pairings
Officers and trained adult mentors walk alongside teens already parenting, supporting school completion and stability.
Dating-violence intervention
Officers train school staff to recognize and safely intervene in coercive or abusive teen relationships.
Resource navigation
We connect families to clinics, WIC, Head Start, and graduation-completion programs.
"Officer Jenkins didn't lecture us. She asked what we wanted our lives to look like at 25. Then she helped us see how to get there. I'm the first in my family going to college."
— Destiny, 12th grade
For Parents
What you can do tonight.
You are the most important prevention program in your teen's life. These are the actions LEADD officers ask every parent to take — starting today.
- 1
Start the conversation by 5th grade — and keep having it. Silence does not equal abstinence.
- 2
Know your teen's partner. Meet them. Know the age difference.
- 3
Talk about love, respect, and consent — not just biology.
- 4
Watch for controlling behavior in your teen's relationships, not just your daughter's.
- 5
If your teen is parenting, be the person who keeps them in school.
What's Included
- Healthy relationships curriculum
- Faith-based youth workshops
- Parent communication guides
- Teen-parent mentorship
- Goal-setting & life-skills coaching
- Dating-violence intervention
- Clinic & resource navigation
Aligned With Trusted Partners
Our curriculum draws on the research, materials, and decades of experience of the nation's leading prevention organizations.
- Power to Decide
- CDC Division of Reproductive Health
- Local school nurse & counselor networks
- Healthy Teen Network
- Office of Population Affairs
National Resources
Trusted help, one click away.
Bookmark these. Share them with your teen, your school, and your congregation. Every one of these organizations partners with LEADD.
Bring this program to your community.
We'll connect you with LEADD officers in your region — at no cost to most schools and churches.
Next Program
Bullying & Violence