The California Department of Public Health has released data showing that births to teenage girls recently dropped to a historical low. From 2007 to 2008, the rate of teen births declined from 37.1 per 1,000 females ages 15-19 to 35.2, or in absolute terms from 53,393 births to 51,704.

Locally, health officials and advocates credit sex education, including abstinence-based programs, for the downturn.

"In seventh grade, we talk about medically appropriate tools to prevent pregnancy, while stressing abstinence," said Nancy Maxson, health services coordinator for Ventura Unified School District. "We talk about HIV and other STDs starting in the seventh grade." The Family Life Education program is offered in fifth, seventh, and ninth grades, with the older students learning more mature lessons about the responsibilities and consequences of sex.

"The more education that kids have about themselves and their bodies, the better. We also teach them to consider the emotional impact of having a pregnancy," said Christine Lyon, vice president of external affairs for the Planned Parenthood affiliate covering Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties. The group offers a peer education program in some schools.

In Ventura County, 87 percent of teen births were to Latino teens, compared with 11 percent to white teens, and 1 percent or less to black, Asian, and Native American teens, county Public Health data show. The disparity has generated discussion at the school staff level, Maxson said.

"At least with some of the newer families who have recently immigrated from another country, it's much more acceptable for older men to be with their daughters," said Maxson. "The thought is that they can take care of them." In addition, families in poverty might be seeking more practical support through a larger family, she said.