Evaluating The Children’s Aid Society: Carrera In-School Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

CAS-Carrera is a school-based program focused on pregnancy prevention and supportive positive behaviors in adolescents. This study uses self-reported survey data collected from youth in the program in Tulsa, OK and New York City, NY and matched comparison groups.

Significant findings for program participants in Tulsa, compared to non-program students, include:

• 27 percent higher rating on the program's family life and sexuality knowledge scales, and 18 percent higher on the financial literacy scale; and
• Two-thirds more likely to report having an eye exam and a bank account (both considered supportive positive behaviors).

Significant findings for program participants in NYC, compared to a matched comparison dataset, include:

• 7 percent less likely to report having been pregnant/causing a pregnancy; 
• 18-33 percent more likely to report using a condom at last intercourse;
• 15-20 percent less likely to report smoking cigarettes;
• 9-16 percent less likely reporting smoking marijuana in the past 30 days; and
• 13-16 percent less likely to report having been in a physical fight in the past 12 months.

Because of the limitations of this study in NYC with matching comparison data and the underpowered sample sizes in Tulsa, this research is at best suggestive of the model’s potential and additional study is recommended to better measure the effectiveness of the in-school version of the CAS-Carrera program model.