Early pregnancy and childbearing remain pressing concerns in the United States. In 2002, there were over 760,000 pregnancies to women under the age of 20 and some 420,000 births to teens in 2004. Despite a 36 percent drop in the teen pregnancy rate between 1990 and 2002 (the most recent data available) and a 33 percent decline in the teen (girls aged 15-19) birth rate between 1991 and 2004, the United States still has the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates in the industrialized world. In fact, rates of teen pregnancy in the United States are two to six times higher than those in most ofWestern Europe including France,Holland, Denmark, and Sweden. Teen childbearing is associated with adverse consequences for teen mothers, fathers, and their children. Teen childbearing is also costly to the public sector - that is, to federal, state, and local governments and the taxpayers who support them.While the consequences of teen childbearing are many, this report focuses exclusively on the public sector costs of teen childbearing.