This month, the nationwide non-profit organization ARISE launched a new website to promote its Sprouts Series, a program designed to encourage prevention and raise awareness of teenage pregnancy.
The organization touts its Sprouts Series, a component of the ARISE Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, as “evidence-based” material intended to show teenagers “the realities of making babies and all that is involved in raising them.”
The latest Centers for Disease Control data finds that more than 400,000 American teenagers gave birth in 2009.
The Sprouts Series program consists of five books, which are available in both English and Spanish. Each book charts a different aspect of the childrearing process, from prenatal care and postpartum expectations to family building and infant safety. Additional resources, including instructor manuals and learner’s workbooks, are available for the first four installments in the series.
The fifth book in the Sprouts Series, entitled “Are You Living an Upside-Down Life?,”is a collection of stories informing teenage girls about the risks and consequences of sexual activity. The Spanish-language version of the Sprout Series, called ARISE Retonos, is a modified version of the program material containing seven booklets.
According to CDC statistics, Hispanics experience the highest rates of teen pregnancy and childbirth in the United States, at a rate almost three times higher than Caucasians.
The ARISE Foundation, founded in 1986, has certified more than 5,000 Life-Skills Group Facilitators over the last quarter century, who have taught over 5 million documented hours to at-risk youth and teenagers in the United States and abroad.