Family Planning Centers and Unintended Pregnancy: The Effect of Proximity and Provider Type

Risa Griffin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Using data on teen pregnancy from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, as well as the state and county locations of publicly funded family planning centers from the Guttmacher Institute, this paper examines the effect of the number and type of publicly funded family planning center in a respondent's county of residence on teen pregnancy in the United States. Additionally, it finds different effects by center type (health department, hospital, Planned Parenthood Affiliate, or community migrant health center, and if the center receives funding through Title X) on teen pregnancy. Finally, it examines variations in the impact of living in a county with a center by race and poverty status.