Jennifer Morgan said she is one of those people that simply want this world to be a better place so that people can live easier. At 16, she holds two jobs, is a sophomore in high school, and is actively involved in nuÂ-merous after school community service programs.
But that is not it.
Morgan, who lives in SomerÂ-ville, is also part of a national team of teenagers that advoÂ-cate for sexual education and teen pregnancy prevention.
«I like to keep busy,» Morgan said. «And I want to help teens so that they know what they are getting themselves into and help them be responsible.»
The 15-to-19-year-old teen birth rate has decreased annually since 199, according to a recent report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health ( DPH)
In 2009, there were 19.5 births per 1,000 teens, said the report.
The number of Hispanic teen births has deÂ-creased 11 percent during the 1990-2009 span, based on the «Massachusetts Births 2009» report presented by DPH.
But Latina teens still have the highest rate of pregnancy among their peers with 63.1 births for every 1,000 women. In contrast, there were 11.5 births per 1,000 white teenage women.
«The reasons for any decrease would be mulÂ-tifactorial,» said Maria R. Gonzalez, community health education manager at DPH. «From inÂ-creasing use of contraception, delays in sexual activity, increased sex education, community social norms, and many other causes.»
As shown by the numbers, Gonzalez said the decrease is not consistent across all communities in Massachusetts and «large disparities remain in certain groups.»
According to the report, during the 1990-2009 timeframe, teen birth rates declined disproÂ-portionately among different ethnicities. Asians saw a 32 percent decline, Whites a 14 percent decline and Hispanics an 11 percent decline.
Gonzalez said that there needs to be a «comÂ-munity-wide effort to address teen pregnancy.» She regarded the issue as a «complex phenomÂ-enon that is a result of numerous challenging dynamics, such as access to accurate information about reproductive health and contraception,
feeling confident that there is a future out there for them, connectedness to family and adult mentors, and engagement in school.»
Patricia Quinn, executive director of the MassaÂ-chusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy, agreed with Gonzalez, saying that the issue is multidimensional.
«Schools are not the only ones to be bl
