Most of the money will be used to hire health educators to give presentations in schools or pay overhead for county officials. However, very few announcements have been made in North County in the last three years.

County health educator Jessica Palmer walked away on the brink of a pandemic three years ago. A second health educator was hired, she trained county officials in a series of in-class presentations, but she quit before the program could resume.

Beck said the county is currently struggling to recruit teachers who can teach not only reproductive health, but also bullying, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, life skills and smart driving.

As a result, the county spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal aid, mostly in the southern half of the county.

That’s unfortunate given the high rates of teen pregnancy, suicide, smoking, drug use, bullying, and other health problems faced by teens in Gila County. It suffers from the highest teenage pregnancy rates. Research shows that not only does teenage pregnancy dramatically increase a girl’s risk of not graduating from high school or attending college, she faces high unemployment and a range of health problems throughout her life. It shows that you are willing to take risks.

Gila County’s teenage birth rate is 44 per 1,000, the highest in the state. The statewide average is 22 per 1,000 of hers. The US rate is even lower at 19 per 1,000 people.

Approximately 67% of teenagers in Gila County have had to deal with at least one ‘adverse childhood experience’ such as divorce, domestic drug use or domestic violence. About a third report being bullied at school.

Beck said: and career success. “

This program is funded through the Arizona Lottery based on voter passage of Proposition 203 circa 2005.

Since then, states have changed program rules to complicate attempts to reach out to their children. rice field. Parents are currently required to “opt-in” by returning a form giving their child special permission to attend the session. At Payson, it was mostly her hour-long sessions around gym class.

“This made the program much more difficult to introduce in schools,” Beck said. “This is a huge burden on public health and schools.”

He emphasized that Payson’s school continues to accept presentations. “[Superintendent]Linda Gibson has been a great partner for Payson through COVID,” Beck said.

However, since Palmer left, the county has not been able to fill Payson’s health educator position. COVID hit shortly after I left, almost everything was online and all the grant money was diverted to COVID call centers and contact tracing.”

The county is now hiring teachers to offer grant-supported course credits, but even that has proven difficult in North County. “So finding a replacement for Jessica was tough,” Beck said.

“It is difficult to reach out to teachers who are already overwhelmed and ask them to take classes. Beck said.

He said the health department had just approved a deal with a motivational speaker to give a presentation to schools about teenage pregnancy focused on life choices. and other non-issue topics that must be worked with by all parents on both sides of the aisle.”

Years of research on teenage pregnancy demonstrate that a comprehensive sexual health approach that includes decision-making, coping with peer pressure, life planning, the health effects of pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other topics is well-established. suggest that it may have a significant impact on teenage pregnancy rates. and sexual intercourse. Studies of programs focused on abstinence until marriage have shown little effect and in some cases increased teenage sexual activity.

Legislators, however, require that sex education curricula adopted by schools must emphasize abstinence.

The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world, more than double that of countries such as Sweden, Spain, France, Portugal, Israel, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Singapore and Switzerland. U.S. rates are often four or five times higher than hers, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Additionally, the near-total ban on abortion in Arizona now could increase the number of teenagers having children. The Guttmacher Institute reported a U.S. rate of 15 abortions, 8 miscarriages, and 34 births per 1,000 of her teens.

Research has linked teenage pregnancy risk to many other factors, many of which are also addressed in county teenage health programs. Gila County, for example, also has the highest teen suicide rate in the state. Suicide rates are rising, while her teenage pregnancy and drug use rates are rising in the county.

County health departments address many of the major risk factors, including bullying, decision-making, violence, relationships, family stress, and other triggers.

The 2022 Arizona Youth Survey by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission found that many risk factors and risky behaviors have declined among teens, but remain at worrying levels. . Findings from the Gila County study include:

25% do not feel safe at school

• 32% have been bullied

• 11% have had a fight

• 14% have been threatened with a weapon

• 18% were suspended.

Experience 39% live with alcoholism

• 23% live with drug users

• 34% lived with an incarcerated person

• 48% of parents separated or divorced

• 21% live with a quarreling adult

• 35% lived with an adult who insulted or put you down

• 7% had at least one of these experiences

• 32% use alcohol, down from 47% in 2018.

• 8% smoke cigarettes (down from 30% in 2018).

• 27% have used marijuana (down from 34%).

• 1.3% have used cocaine, down from 5.2%.

• 3% use prescription pain relievers, down from 8%.

• 3.5% abuse prescription drugs, down from 5.5%.

• 6% have used more than one illicit drug at one time, down from 15%.

• 60% less attachment to their neighborhood

• 42% of norms favor drug use

• 24% drug availability

• Handgun Inventory 32%

• 35% poorly managed family

• 29% had a history of antisocial behavior in the family

• 23% of parents favor drug use

• 44% of parents favor antisocial behavior

• 62% have low commitment to school

• Early drug use rate 13%

• 39% favor anti-social behavior

• 32% favor drug use

• Friends using drugs 23%

• 31% of high-risk students

• 23% can easily get a handgun

• 40% have seen someone beaten up in the past year

• 21% lost in the past year

• 5% have been assaulted by a boyfriend/girlfriend

• 25% were harassed or ridiculed via text or online