(The New York Times News Service) -- The teenage birth rate in California increased in 2006 for the first time in 15 years and is now costing taxpayers $1.7 billion a year -- or $2,493 per baby, according to a report to be released Wednesday by the Oakland-based Public Health Institute.

San Francisco was one of a handful of counties in the state where the teen birth rate continued to decline, but even there births to teenage parents are placing a significant burden on taxpayers, to the tune of $9.3 million a year.

The financial losses cover a range of things, said the study's authors, from public assistance to foster care to diminished future taxable wages and spending power among the parents.

"The costs are really starting to climb now. That's not money we can afford to lose," said Dr. Norman Constantine, a clinical professor of public health at UC Berkeley and lead author of the Public Health Institute study.

The actual number of births to teens started increasing in 2004, due to a growing population of teens in the state, and the annual costs to taxpayers has climbed at the same time -- the state hit a low of about $1.45 billion a year in 2002, and then saw a sharp climb in costs through 2006.

There were 52,770 babies born to teen moms in California in 2006, the most recent year available, for a rate of 37.8 births per 1,000 teens. That was a small increase over the previous year's rate of 37.2 births per 1,000, but it was remarkable for ending a streak of declining rates that the state's public health officials had pointed to with great pride.

In San Francisco, 288 babies were born to teen moms in 2006, for a rate of 18.9 per 1,000 teens.

State below U.S. average

California's teen birth rate is still well below the peak of 70.9 births per 1,000 in 1991, and also below the national average today of 41.9 births per 1,000 teens. But public health officials throughout the Bay Area said part of the blame for the sudden increase statewide is complacency among themselves.

"We know that California has led the nation in reducing its birth rate, and we've all been very proud of it," Constantine said. "When the number (of births) started creeping up, even while the rate was going down, we weren't paying enough attention."

Teen health experts said the increase can't be attributed to one factor; likely causes include higher poverty rates statewide and a growing teenaged population. Funding for sex education has not grown fast enough to keep up with the increasing number of teenagers, public health officials said.

The costs to individual families can be devastating. Girls who give birth as teenagers are usually less-educated than their peers, make less money, are more likely to be single moms, and run a higher risk of having a baby with health problems, public health officials say.

Lost income and private medical expenses resulting from babies born to teens cost their families more than $3,000 a year, according to the Public Health Institute report.

To calculate taxpayer costs, Constantine used a model that analyzed factors such as loss of tax revenue based on the teenaged parents' lowered income; reliance on public assistance, including welfare and Medi-Cal; and costs for increased placement in foster care. The calculations also included loss of income for the child when he or she reaches adulthood.

"California can't risk the economic and social impact of increased teenage pregnancy rates," said Amy Moy, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Golden Gate. "We know teens need information and access to resources to make responsible decisions.

Although the state has made a lot of headway over the past decade, the recent increase points to a growing need for better access to sex education."

Points to need for education

Even San Francisco can improve its services, public health officials said, noting that the county still has a high rate of sexually transmitted diseases among teens. Part of the reason San Francisco has such a low rate of teenage births may be simple demographics -- the county has a fairly small population of teenagers to begin with, said Virginia Smyly, deputy director of community programs at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Smyly said San Francisco has done a good job of providing services to teens, offering sex education starting in elementary school through high school that includes everything from biology to family planning. Condoms are available in the high schools and teenagers are encouraged to visit a health clinic if they decide to have sex.

"We really want to protect young people," Smyly said. "We have built a web around them, and there are a few who fall through the cracks, but overall, they have support for what they want to do."

In Alameda County, where the teenage birth rate climbed from 26.6 births per 1,000 teens to 30 births per 1,000 in 2006, public health officials are testing new programs to reach teen girls, Latinas in particular. The teen birth rate among Latinas is almost twice the national average, according to the Public Health Institute.

"I don't think we need a big overhaul in our programs, because they already worked once in getting the rates down," said Wendy Calimag, director of community development at Girls Inc., a San Leandro nonprofit. "But we need more resources, and we need to keep being innovative. We train girls to be peer health educators, because you know teenagers, they're tend to go to their friends for help."

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