BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Newly-released numbers show that at least 1,000 Erie County teens will get pregnant by the end of the year.
It's an alarming number that county health officials say has actually gone down significantly in the last decade.
Erie County Health Department Director Gale Burstein says part of the recent decreases have been due to breakthroughs in contraception and comprehensive education for teens of all genders.
"Over the past eight years, our teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 22 percent. So that's good. But that the bad news is, is that Erie County, especially in the City of Buffalo, has pregnancy rates higher than the rest of the state and also higher than some parts of the United States,” said Burstein.
But she adds that there's clearly still more work to do.
"It's not just around sex, but it's about how to make the right choices, how to say 'no' when you don't want to do something, how to negotiate with your partner and helping people to understand that 'no' means 'no,' it doesn't mean 'yes' and they have to respect that,” said Burstein.
Her department is partnering with local school districts and faith-based groups to help spread the word to local youth.
She recommends teens and their parents visit the county's full service family planning center on the 600 block of William Street in Buffalo for appointments or just for more information.