The impact of community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiatives (CWIs) on local U.S. birth rates among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years was examined using synthetic control methodology within a quasi-experimental design. CWIs were implemented in 10 U.S. communities from 2010 to 2015. Each initiative implemented evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention interventions at local organizations and enhanced best practices in adolescent reproductive health care at local health centers, while engaging diverse community sectors. The synthetic control method was used to estimate the impact of each CWI on overall and race- and ethnicity-specific teen births relative to rates in synthetic control communities. Additionally, we estimated the overall effect of CWIs across communities by pooling results from the 10 synthetic control case studies using the mean percentile rank. Pooled data across all 10 communities indicated an estimated average of 6.6 fewer births per 1000 teens per year overall during the initiative relative to each community's synthetic control (p = .001). By race and ethnicity, there were an estimated average of 6.4 fewer births per 1000 teens per year among Black teens (p = .03), 10.7 fewer births among Hispanic teens (p = .03), and 4.2 fewer births (p = .10) among White teens. Results from individual communities indicated an intervention effect on overall and/or race/ethnicity-specific teen birth rates in five communities. This study demonstrates the value of synthetic control methods in evaluating community-level outcomes of programmatic efforts. Findings indicate the CWIs had a positive impact on teen birth rates and have the potential to address racial and ethnic disparities in those rates.

Policies that improve the socioeconomic conditions of families have been identified as one of the most promising strategies to prevent child maltreatment, particularly neglect. In this study, we examined the impact of integrated Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child welfare (CW) systems on child maltreatment-related hospitalizations and Child Protective Services investigations and substantiations in nine counties in Colorado from 1996 to 2014. Regression analyses showed TANF-CW integration was associated with subsequent year, but not second-year, increases rates of substantiated child maltreatment overall and neglect specifically (that is, there was no longer a difference in the rate two years after the change in integration). Neither unemployment nor the one- or two-year lagged effect of integration were significant for investigations or child maltreatment-related hospitalizations. Increased opportunities to interact with a family in crisis using an integrated case management model may help explain these findings. Implications for future research are discussed.

This paper presents an overview of the key evaluation components for a set of community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiatives. We first describe the performance measures selected to assess progress toward meeting short-term objectives on the reach and quality of implementation of evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention interventions and adolescent reproductive health services. Next, we describe an evaluation that will compare teen birth rates in intervention communities relative to synthetic control communities. Synthetic controls are developed via a data-driven technique that constructs control communities by combining information from a pool of communities that are similar to the intervention community. Finally, we share lessons learned thus far in the evaluation of the project, with a focus on those lessons that may be valuable for local communities evaluating efforts to reduce teen pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a large-scale place-based intervention on obesity prevalence in Black communities. METHODS: The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health across the United States (REACH US) project was conducted in 14 predominantly Black communities in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. We measured trends from 2009 to 2012 in the prevalence of obesity. We used Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to compare these trends with trends among non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks in the United States and in the 10 states where REACH communities were located, and with a propensity score-matched national sample of non-Hispanic Blacks. RESULTS: The age-standardized prevalence of obesity decreased in REACH US communities (P = .045), but not in the comparison populations (P = .435 to P = .996). The relative change was -5.3% in REACH US communities versus +2.4% in propensity score-matched controls (P value for the difference = .031). The net effect on the reduction of obesity prevalence was about 1 percentage point per year for REACH. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity prevalence was reduced in 14 disadvantaged Black communities that participated in the REACH project. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print June 16, 2016: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303253).