The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy was founded in 1994 to respond to concerns in South Carolina and across the country about high rates of teen pregnancy. Since that time, the South Carolina Campaign has been the only organization in South Carolina that works in all of the state's 46 counties exclusively focused on the reduction of teen pregnancy. After 15 years of dedication and commitment to the issue, great progress has been made in our state but much work remains. From 1994 through 2004, teen pregnancy rates in South Carolina decreased by 25%. Even with such remarkable progress more than one in every three teen females will get pregnant, at least once, before her 20th birthday. More importantly, teen pregnancy rates over the last three years have begun to increase. Since 2004 teen pregnancy rates have increased by 8% and have increased in 34 of the state's 46 counties.

In the midst of this disturbing trend, the work of the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has become even more important. Through mission based focus areas of training & technical assistance, public awareness & advocacy and research & evaluation work continues to increase the capacity of individuals at the local level to address the critical issue of teen pregnancy. At the core of our work are four organizational promises, to:

• Communicate with and listen to parents, providers, key leaders and community members throughout South Carolina to gain an increased understanding of local needs and assets;
• Customize approaches that combine evidence-based approaches with the unique fabric of every community it serves;
• Increase the capacity of community members (parents, youth serving organizations, school staff, faith leaders and youth) to address the complex issue of teen pregnancy; and,
• Commit and fully invest in prevention for the long term.