1 out of 4 latinas in the US has a child before the age of 20

“Velez knows how challenging her mission is. While teenage pregnancy rates are down overall, Latinas continue to have a much higher birth rate than their white and black counterparts. In New York City, there were 4,813 live births to Latina teenagers compared to 2,981 for blacks and 650 for white female teenagers in 2004, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Advocates say that the high birth rate is a major factor why so many Latinas are forced to drop out of high school since many cannot find adequate day care. In 2004, the Latino drop out rate in New York City was 20.6 percent compared to 17.7 percent for blacks, 10.6 percent for whites and 9.5 percent for Asian students. While the city’s Department of Education does not break down the numbers by gender, an analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center based on 2000 U.S. Census data showed that in New York state native-born Latinas had a 3.8 percent drop out rate and foreign-born Latinas a 10.7 percent drop-out rate – higher than that of black and white female teenagers.”

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