The article is headlined "A Dollar a Day not to Get Pregnant.
A private group based at the University of North Carolina targets teens who are at risk of getting pregnant (siblings or mother were pregnant before they were 18 and dropped out of school). The money is put into a college fund and if the girls complete three objectives: not get pregnant, finish high school, and enroll in college. The money is in a fund to help defray costs of college.
About half of the girls who start the program complete it and go on to get higher education. In addition to the monetary incentive, there is also mentoring and programs about many things from birth control to getting into college. Even those who do not complete the program, for a variety of reasons, meet the objectives: only 5 percent of former enrollees get pregnant or drop out of high school.
Considering the high cost to society when a teen becomes pregnant, it is interesting that the concept has not spread. Single parent households, especially with uneducated teen-age mothers, require assistance with basic needs, such as food. In addition the juvenile delinquency rate is higher in these households.
Probably the most important factor is the individual mentoring and the lessons taught about goal setting and the value of higher education.
It is well worth thinking about intervention that helps girls to stay in school and boys to see that education is not for nerds alone.
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