4-H. Funded by grants from Wilmington Healthy Start, AAAP, UAW Chrysler. Participants learn the facts about human sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases.
Families learn ways to improve communication, self-esteem and decision making skills.
Participants also explore techniques to deal with peer pressure and stress and discuss the importance of family values. The fact is that Delaware teens are having children and contracting diseases at an alarming rate. Births to teens ages 15-17 are 44.8 per 1.000 females, versus 36.6 per 1.000 females for the entire United States. In Wilmington, DE, births to teens ages 15-19 are 155.3 per 1,000 females. Mark Manno, New Castle County Extension director, created and developed Growing up Female .