NDSU receives grant for youth programming

FARGO – North Dakota State University has received a federal grant for a program that focuses on preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

The program is meant for youth ages 14 to 19 in the Fargo area. It will target those at greatest risk for unplanned pregnancies, including homeless and runaway teens and teens in foster care or juvenile detention.

Officials said a recent youth risk behavior survey showed that about 45 percent of North Dakota students are sexually active. Thirteen percent have had more than four partners.

NDSU nursing professor Molly Secor-Turner said that while pregnancy rates in North Dakota are lower than the national average, the state’s most vulnerable teens are experiencing abnormally high rates of early pregnancy and childbirth.

The grant is for $1.2 million over three years.

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