BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Public Schools will be holding a resource fair specifically for teens who are pregnant or parenting, this Friday in West Baltimore.
It's being run by BCPS' Re-Engagement Center, which is currently working with 70 students who are pregnant or parenting. The Re-Engagement Center helps teens find daycare and apply for WIC services and related programs.
BCPS spokesperson Sherry Christian said:
"This is the first year [for the fair]. The Re-Engagement Team is always looking for ways to support all of the students we work with and this was another way to support this specific population of students."
The city's teen birth rate is more than double the statewide teen birth rate, and represents 20 percent of all Maryland teen births, according to the Harford County-based organization Healthy Teen Network. Baltimore City has a rate of 32.6 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19.
The Pregnant & Parenting Teen Resource Fair appears to be a unique initiative among local school systems.
A Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson said: "I am not aware of any systemic initiatives for pregnant and parenting teens... It's also possible that some of our high schools offer formal support to their teen parents, but it’s not something we track... BCPS did create a Pregnant and Parenting Policy/Rule (5480) last year that specifically addressed the supports that must be provided to pregnant and parenting students. It’s not the event that the city has, but it does add a bit more illumination to the resources available to pregnant or parent students."
Harford County Public Schools' spokesperson said: "While we don’t have a resource fair, we do have a policy in place to ensure appropriate support and accommodations are provided"; the policy requires a lactation space in every high school and a designated staff member to support students, among other things.
Howard County Public Schools offers a teen parenting childcare program at Wilde Lake High School and an outreach program.
The city's resource fair will offer "resources, support and supplies" - items like diapers, bottles, school supplies and hand warmers, and runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Excel Academy at Francis M. Wood High School, 1001 W. Saratoga Street.
Nationwide, the teen birth rate has been dropping for decades, and Maryland's rate seems to be in line with the national rate. Still, the CDC notes that "the US teen birth rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations."
