One of the best indicators of a woman’s upward mobility is the age at which she gives birth to her first child, and that advantage or disadvantage confers to her children as well.
Teen parents are less likely to complete high school and acquire further education, so their future income is likely to be lower. The obverse is that high school dropouts are less likely to postpone childbearing. In addition, their children are less likely to live with both parents, more likely to live in poverty, and less likely to be successful in their own education and careers. The cycle is difficult to break. So it is good news that, according to a report by the Colorado Children’s Campaign, the teen birth rate is shrinking in both La Plata and Montezuma counties. Two other indicators also show La Plata County doing well: The high school dropout rate shrank from 2.2 percent to 1.5 percent, and the number of teens not in school and not working also dropped from 8 percent to 7 percent.
In Montezuma County, the good news is tempered by the fact that although the teen birth rate dropped substantially – from 45.2 to 33.7 per thousand women ages 15-19 – it is still high. In 2014, La Plata County’s teen birth rate was halved to 9.4 per thousand.
In Montezuma County, the high school dropout rate increased from 5.2 to 6.8 percent, more than four times La Plata county’s rate, and the number of teens not in school and not employed increased from 11 to 14 percent, compared to 6 percent statewide. Neither of those changes is huge, and calculation of dropout rates is especially complex, taking into account family mobility and other factors. But the fact remains that both numbers are moving in the wrong direction. Teens in Montezuma County are participating in education and in the economy at lower rates.
The difference between the two counties is indicative of the reason such statistics are important in the first place. Affluence and success create more of the same. Both counties have educational alternatives for students who don’t do well in a conventional school setting, and those are extremely valuable. Even for students who do not graduate, every year – indeed, every day – spent in school is beneficial, and efforts to keep them there should be applauded.
That is only half the picture, though, and communities must address the factors that cause students to drop out. Young people who do not want to leave the area must be helped to understand how, even here, their opportunities depend on education. Unfortunately, those opportunities are limited, especially in Montezuma County. Durango has far more entry-level jobs. It also has much higher housing costs. Parents of teens need to look at a broader picture: Their children must be able to do more than simply get by in Cortez. They need to be able to succeed in the world.
Community members also must understand the social and economic costs of having a large group of people who cannot earn enough money to pay their bills and support their children. Shrinking that segment of the population not only benefits the individuals who are lifted out of poverty and dependency; it makes the whole community healthier and more prosperous and diminishes the need for social programs to meet the needs of those who can’t meet them on their own.
Everyone benefits when young people are discouraged from making, either consciously or by default, decisions that limit their future options. Early parenthood and incomplete education cause severe limitations. Kudos to community leaders that have successfully understood their own roles in helping teens make better choices.
