AUBURN #- An ounce of prevention, as the saying goes, is worth a pound of cure.

Teen pregnancy is just one of the numerous problems young adults face, and its resulting repercussions can be devastating for families involved.

To aid young people in avoiding the situation, Cayuga County Department of Health and Human Services has a program called Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy, a coalition designed to educate parents on the dangers of premarital sex.

On Saturday, the group held an informational services seminar in Auburn. The meeting, one of more than a dozen seminars the health department holds regularly on various topics, included discussions on abstinence and the sharing of various methods of communicating with teens about pregnancy.

“Today's meeting is expressly for parents,” said Annette Abdelaziz, adolescent health coordinator for the county health department.

While the health department frequently presents programs for young people at schools and community centers, Abdelaziz said, Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy was created to allow parents to participate in open dialogue about pregnancy issues.

“Above all, our goal for the coalition is to make parents aware of the sexual pressures teens face and to help them explain how their children can make good decisions regarding sexual activity.”

The seminar began with a word exercise called “True Colors,” in which the dozen participants chose from a list of different adjectives to describe their parenting style.

Next was a presentation about bullying and verbal abuse given by Rosa Grube of Sexual Assault Victims' Advocate Resource.

The group later heard from Chris Major, school resources officer for the Auburn Police Department, who spoke about Internet safety and the media's influence on sexual activity.

“We hold this workshop to show parents exactly what's out there, and help their kids deal with these issues,” Abdelaziz said.

“Regardless of the situation, the better informed (parents) are, the easier it will be for the family to deal with the problem.”