Teen birth rate in Milwaukee declines by 50%

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced an unprecedented decline in Milwaukee's teen birth rate. The mayor set the goal of reducing the teen birth rate by 46% over seven years, and since that time the United Way of Greater Milwaukee has led the charge.

Mayor Barrett happily announced the city reached its goals three years early. In a release he says teen birth rates in Milwaukee have decreased for the sixth year in a row. Milwaukee Health Department data shows in 2012 there were 25.7 births per 1,000 females aged 15-17, a decrease from 52.0 in 2006.

The United Way of Greater Milwaukee's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative is credited with making Milwaukee's sharp decline in teen births possible.