LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Department of Public Health reported that California’s adolescent birth rate continues to decline, with declines also noted over the most recent two-year study period in Lake County.

A new report the agency released Thursday showed a record low of 13.9 births per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 19.

Those numbers reflect an 11.5-percent decline between 2016 and 2017, the California Department of Public Health reported.

State officials said declining rates can be attributed to a number of factors, including improved access to reproductive health services and increased use of contraception; delayed first sexual intercourse; and public health prevention, education and support programs.

“California’s commitment to ensuring access to reproductive health care services and sexual health education are helping teens make safe and healthy choices about pregnancy prevention,” said acting State Public Health Officer Dr. Charity Dean.

Lake County’s adolescent birth rate in the latest report is 28.6 births per 1,000, or 154 births per year, down from 34.8 births per 1,000, or 198 births, in the 2012-14 time frame.

For comparison, the local adolescent birth rate has shown a large decrease since 2000-02, when it was at 47.2 births per 1,000, or 273 overall births.

Based on the data, Lake County had the sixth-highest rate statewide for its adolescent birth rate.

In related data, the state reported that 91.7 percent of the deliveries for adolescent mothers in Lake County were paid for by MediCal from 2015 to 2017, compared to 71.5 percent for all mothers. That’s higher than the state average.

Despite the declining birth rates reported this week, state officials said racial disparities persist in adolescent childbearing in California.

African-American and Hispanic adolescents are three to four times as likely to give birth as white youth.

Rates also vary dramatically across counties: the county with the highest adolescent birth rate has a rate 5.4 times greater than the county with the lowest rate.

The 10 highest rates in the report are as follows: Imperial, 33.4; Tulare, 32.7; Kern, 31.8; Madera, 31.3; Kings, 30.2; Lake, 28.6; Yuba, 27.5; Fresno and Tehama, 26.5; Merced, 25.9; and Monterey, 25.8.

The 10 counties with the lowest birth rates are Marin, 6.2; San Francisco, 6.6; Placer, 7.1; El Dorado, 7.8; Yolo, 8.0; Alameda, 8.5; Santa Clara, 8.7; San Mateo, 9.1; Sonoma, 9.3; and Contra Costa, 10.

Lake’s neighboring counties reported the following rates: Mendocino, 21.6; Napa, 11.5; Sonoma, 9.3; and Yolo, 8. All of those rates showed decreases since the last report.

Colusa and Glenn had rates too small to report, the state said.

For more birth rate data, visit CDPH’s Adolescent Health Data and Statistics webpage.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.