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We have been receiving a number of phone calls, emails, and inquiries about the teen pregnancy data for Harrisonburg that was included in the 2011 Youth Data Survey Report released on Monday. Mostly, this has stemmed from an error in the story that the Daily News Record ran on Tuesday, June 19th. Below is the editor’s note identifying the mistake:

“Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story inaccurately stated that for every 1,000 girls age 15-17 in Virginia, 18.8 percent were pregnant in 2011. It should have said that for every 1,000 Virginia girls in that age range, 18.8 were pregnant last year. The corrected version appears below. Also, in today’s print edition, a chart that accompanies the story makes the same error. The chart also says that 54.4 percent of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County girls age 15-17 were pregnant in 2011. It should read that for every 1,000 girls in that age range, 54.4 were pregnant last year.”

While it ISN’T the case that half of all 15-17 year-old girls in Harrisonburg are pregnant, the high rates of teen pregnancy in our community are cause for concern and it is important for the community to work together to reduce the instance of teen pregnancy. The full Youth Data Survey Report can be accessed here: http://www.theocy.org/youth-data-surveys/2011-youth-data-survey/

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