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Recently released government data show that in 2006, the U.S. teen birth rate began to increase, marking the end of a 14-year period of decline. More specifically, these data show that between 2005 and 2007, the teen birth rate climbed five percent. This trend reversal is a cause for concern, given the negative consequences of teen childbearing for the mothers involved and for their children especially. For example, research indicates that children of teen mothers fare worse on cognitive and behavioral outcomes than do their peers with older mothers. Teen mothers are more likely than older mothers to be dependent on public assistance after giving birth and to experience turbulence in their family structures--even taking into account the fact that teen mothers tend to be from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, teen mothers are at a particularly high risk of dropping out of school, although previous research has found that they are more likely to be having problems in school prior