…a Georgia where our most vulnerable children grow up and begin their adult lives healthy with self-esteem and a good education.
 

These children are less likely to have children too early in their lives, and more likely to escape poverty and the myriad life altering consequences of teenage pregnancy.
 

When, as adults, they do start families, their children are much more likely to be healthy, educated and successful.
 

But this is not the situation in Georgia today. Across our state nearly 17,000 adolescents give birth every year. When children have children, lives are forever changed—a high school diploma often becomes a distant memory, maternal and child health concerns tend to follow, reliance on public assistance is chronic, and entrenched poverty moves on to a new generation. Mothers and children are unlikely to reach their potential and our society is diminished.
 

The economic impact is just as huge, costing Georgia taxpayers $465 million each year.
 

The CDC has declared teen pregnancy a “winnable battle.”

Georgia’s teen pregnancy rates have already dropped 32% since 1995. We have gone from worst in the nation to 13th. We need to be best in the nation.
 

How do we tackle this? GCAPP works to see that our young people are prepared to make healthy choices, supported by the trusted adults in their lives, primarily their parents. We also work with adolescents, parents and professionals to see that Georgia’s children receive age appropriate, science-based, effective sex education, and that they can find help and support when they need it.
 

We need you to join this team. Please make a gift today to help all Georgia’s children become healthy, contributing members of the community. 
 

--- Jane Fonda, Founder of GCAPP