These figures are from the National Center for Health Statistics. Thirty years ago, you got married because that's what society said you did. Today, pregnancy out of wedlock is less of a stigma. Because of that, fewer people marry. As a result, more single parents are raising children.
More children grow up in poverty.
Vandergrif is a 22-year teaching veteran who teaches sexual education at Morgantown High School. She says teen parents are one segment of the public targeted by welfare reform. Two changes affecting teens are education and residence. That law lays out certain parent provisions for teens to follow who need government assistance. Teen parents are required to stay in school if they are younger than 18, single, and have a child at least 12 weeks old.