Demonstrating the role of welfare reform in bringing about these decreases is difficult. However, many states restricted benefits prior to 1996, making it difficult to measure the impact of this single piece of legislation. Determining which approaches are most effective at reducing the incidence of nonmarital pregnancies is also complex. All of the winning states and the District of Columbia have a range of teen pregnancy prevention policies and programs. Teen pregnancies, though, do not account for all nonmarital births.
Few states have prevention policies and programs aimed at unmarried adults.
These are difficult and complex questions to answer. This text may not be reproduced or reprinted in any form without the express written permission of the Population Reference Bureau. See our copyright policy .