The Women's Fund of Mississippi

As a statewide public foundation dedicated to using women's philanthropy to create social change, we recognize that policy change at the state level is one of our most effective strategies. This strategy is particularly powerful when it is maximized by a broad coalition of citizens who take the time to correspond with lawmakers. Experience shows us that lawmakers do indeed listen. You, too, can join this movement!

Looking for information about the December 8 Teen Pregnancy Prevention Summit in Jackson? Click here to download all presentations and related documents from this meeting.

New Report by the Women's Fund: Mississippi's High Teen Birth Rate Costs Taxpayers $155 Million a Year

Report offers solutions to reduce teen birth rate in Mississippi and also presents county-level cost data

The Women's Fund of Mississippi has released a new report (takes a minute to download) describing the economic costs of teen births for every county in Mississippi. These taxpayer costs, which were calculated for the Women's Fund of Mississippi by the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, can be attributed primarily to the lost tax revenue from lower wages among teen parents and their children, incarceration costs of sons of teen parents, and foster care costs.

The report makes clear that lower educational outcomes associated with teen mothers and their children limit the overall skill levels of the stat's workforce. Mississippi's economic health will be impacted until the teen birth rate declines.

The report also suggests a variety of ways that policymakers, teens, schools, and parents can help reduce the teen birth rate. These solutions include: "abstinence-plus" sex education in public schools that is evidence-based and medically accurate; access to school nurses and youth-friendly preventive health services; access to educational opportunities and youth employment; and helping parents succeed in their role as sex educators.

One of the goals of this report is to show that teen pregnancy impacts every person in every community. More importantly, Mississippi doesn't have to be the state with the highest teen birth rate. Key steps can be taken to reduce the teen birth rate in Mississippi. Now is the time for action.

UPDATE (October 13, 2011): Blueprint Mississippi has named reducing teen births as a top recommendation to cultivate a more robust workforce in Mississippi. From their report: "Decrease the economic and social costs associated with teenage births by lowering birthrates among females under 19 years old." Blueprint Mississippi is a partnership between the Mississippi Economic Council, Momentum Mississippi, and the Mississippi Partnership for Economic Development.

Op-Eds & News about Report:

"Pregnancy by Teens Has Big Costs," by The Cleveland Current (September 2011)
"Editorial: Teen Moms: Enormous Social Costs," by Clarion Ledger (September 2011)
"High Cost of Teen Pregnancy," radio interview with Jamie Holcomb of Women's Fund and Sarah Welker of Mississippi Economic Policy Center. Mississippi Edition of Mississippi Public Broadcasting (September 13, 2011)
"Editorial: Staggering Cost of Teen Births," The Commercial Appeal, (September 2011)
"Teen Births Cost Miss. $154M, Study Finds," CBS The Early Show, (September 2011)
"Study Puts Cost of Teen Births at $154.9M: Proponents of Sex Ed Classes Cite Economic Impact," The Commercial Appeal, (September 2011)
"Teen Births Cost Millions to Miss. Taxpayers, Study Shows," The Christian Post, (September 2011)
"Business Blog: Teen Pregnancies Cost Miss. $154 Mill a Year," Mississippi Business Journal (September 2011)
"Teen Pregnancy Costs State Nearly $155 Million in a Year," Jezebel (national blog) (September 2011)
"Study: Teen Births Cost Miss. $154.9 Million in '09," Associated Press (September 2011)
"Teen Births Cost Mississippi $155 Million Every Year," interview with Mississippi First (a grantee) and Women's Fund staff. Mississippi Public Broadcasting (September 2011)
"Teen Moms Costly to State," by Clarion Ledger (September 2011)
"Opinion Editorial: Sex Ed Should be Medically Accurate," by Board Member Katie McClendon, PharmD, Dr. Cris Glick, Dr. Aaron Shirley, and Dr. Helen Barnes The Clarion Ledger (August 2011)

Mississippians for Fair Lending

The Women's Fund is committed to raising public awareness about the devastating impact payday lending has on Mississippians. We are working in partnership with other organizations—the Mississippi Center for Justice, the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, the Center for Responsible Lending, to name a few—to address this issue at the local and state level. This coalition, Mississippians for Fair Lending, is committed to bringing about policy changes at the state level that would cap the interest rate for payday loans at 36%.

Women's Fund Fact Sheet on Payday Lending in Mississippi

Cost of Bad Lending in Mississippi

Payday Lending in Mississippi Issue Brief

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