Since 1991, the teen birth rate has dropped by 12 percent. Despite these trends, the United States continues to face significant problems. Nearly 80 percent of teen mothers go on welfare. Some 55 percent of all mothers on welfare were teenagers at the time their first child was born. Children born to teenage mothers are more likely to suffer severe health problems, and are less likely to receive adequate health care.
Children born to teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school.
They have lower grade point averages, poor school attendance, and are less likely to go to college. The sons of teen mothers are more likely to end up in jail. About half of all high school students have had sex at least once. Each year, more than three million teens contract a sexually transmitted disease, accounting for about one-fourth of the 12 million Americans infected annually. One-fourth of all new HIV cases each year occur in people aged 13 to 21.