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SACRAMENTO — The rate of teen births in California dropped 31.3 percent since 1990, Gov. Gray Davis announced Wednesday. 

California also saw a 4.2 percent drop in the rate of teen-agers having babies from 1999 to 2000. 

“The good news demonstrates that California’s prevention programs and initiatives work,” Davis said in a release. “The rate decrease means that 1,200 fewer teen births occurred in 1999 than in the previous year.” 

More than 30 of the state’s 58 counties saw a decrease in the teen birth rate, with the greatest percentage drops occurring in Siskiyou, Calaveras, San Benito and Shasta counties. The survey uses statistics from teens ages 15 to 19. 

During 2000, California saw 56,268 births to mothers under 20 years of age.