Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program
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Hope is a powerful contraceptive.  The way that you help young people avoid pregnancy is by providing them with real evidence that good things can happen in their lives.  -  Dr. Michael A. Carrera


In 1984, Dr. Carrera and The Children's Aid Society developed a model that is holistic and long-term, focusing on an "above the waist approach to pregnancy prevention." This approach centers on the belief that success in school, meaningful employment, access to quality medical and health services, and interactions with high caliber, role model adults, have a potent contraceptive effect on teens. The program centers on all the forces and factors affecting the life of a teen at that time in their development, and discusses sexual issues within the context of an adolescent's whole life.

The program incorporates a separate parent participation and includes seven program components: educational support, career awareness and job club, lifetime sports, creative expression, comprehensive medical and dental services, mental health services and family life and sex education. The overall philosophy of this approach is based on the belief that young people with whom we work are not "at risk" but rather "at promise." Their goodness, gifts and possibilities constitute the context of our work with them.

Our mission is to provide support to local and national agencies and institutions implementing programs to reduce teen pregnancy in their communities. Programs to reduce adolescent pregnancy are typically requested by communities where poverty is a central issue. Our services are available to all individuals, regardless of language, physical ability, sexual orientation or gender, with an average participant age between 12 and 18 years of age. Programs are designed to offer teens a supportive and nurturing environment, where they can learn about sexual responsibility while developing goals and aspirations for life. Simultaneously, parents are involved in the program to learn how they can assist in their child's development.

Substandard housing, poor health care and insufficient education are typical characteristics of neighborhoods in need of these programs. Single parent homes, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Medicare and food stamps are common facts of life for the families who participate. Most of our work is with individuals of African American and Latino backgrounds, with the exception of our national programs which sometimes serve individuals of Southeast Asian and Appalachian Caucasian descent. Currently, we have 21 replications and 30 other programs in 20 states throughout the country.

 


Salvador: "The program gave me opportunities I never thought possible..."
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The Beating Heart

of Our Work

Is Service to Young People

In The News
Planned Parenthood of South Palm Beach & Broward Counties “Exceptional Women & Men of 2006”
The Children's Aid Society
Strong Message get Girls to Wait on Motherhood
USA Today
Preventing Teen Pregnancy through Community-Based Programs
Democratic Leadership Council
When the Youth Development Guru Speaks
The DC Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy
High Graduation and College Admission Results
Philliber Research Associates
Children’s Aid Society’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Is Recipient Of Largest Single Grant In Program’s History
The Children's Aid Society
Carrera Model Celebrates 20 Years
The Children's Aid Society
Sex Ed Program Aimed At Brains
Houston Chronicle
Abstinence-Only for Teenagers: A Pipe Dream
The Wall Street Journal
Abstinence Isn't the Only Way
USA Today
Program Finds Success in Reducing Teenage Pregnancy
The New York Times

Click Here For Speaking Engagements For Dr. Carrera

See Us In The News
Hopeless to Industrious
VIDEO
President Clinton Thanks Dr. Carrera
VIDEO


The Children's Aid Society