Federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Efforts

Teen Pregnancy Prevention

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is prioritizing investments in evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program models primarily through two programs:  the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program and the Personal Responsibility and Education Program (PREP).

The Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Act provided $100 million in grant funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program to address high rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and associated sexual risk behaviors. This program is overseen by the HHS’s Office of Adolescent Health (OAH), which administers the cooperative agreement grants with public and private entities. See the current list of grantees here. It is a two-tiered program that includes the following:

  • Replication of evidence-based programs: In order to test the replication of evidence-based programs, OAH funds 75 grantees replicating evidence-based programs, including 9 abstinence projects, 45 sexual health education projects, 30 youth development projects, 7 clinic-based projects, and 4 projects for special populations. 
  • Research and demonstration projects: In order to develop and test additional models and innovative strategies to prevent teen pregnancy, OAH funds 19 TPP research and demonstration programs and the Administration on Children and Families (ACF) funds an additional 13 innovative strategy projects targeting very high-risk populations such as youth in foster care and homeless youth. OAH also provides funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement and test community-wide, multi-component approaches to preventing teen pregnancy and births in communities with high rates of teen births.

In addition, the Affordable Care Act provided funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program models through the Personal Responsibility Education Programs (PREP), administered by the Family Youth Service Bureau (FYSB) within ACF. The ACF/FYSB prevention programs include several distinct components, 

  • formula grants to states to either replicate evidence-based effective programs or to substantially incorporate elements of effective prevention programs while including three of six adult preparation subjects mandated by Congress;
  • competitive PREP Innovative Strategies (PREIS) cooperative agreement grants, which were issued in conjunction with the OAH research and demonstration grants;
  • discretionary 3-year grants based on unexpended allotments from states and Territories that did not apply for PREP in FY 2011 and 2012; 
  • grants provided for Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations; and 
  • a competitive abstinence program.

ACF/FYSB manages 49 PREP programs, 13 PREIS projects, and 16 Tribal PREP programs. In 2013, ACF will administer discretionary grants in ten jurisdictions and up to four national competitive abstinence education programs.  ACF/FYSB also manages the Title V, Section 510 State Abstinence Education Program’s 37 grantees, which is funded through the Affordable Care Act. This program provides funding to states and territories for abstinence education and, where appropriate, mentoring, counseling, and adult supervision to promote abstinence from sexual activity.

ACF/FYSB grantees are encouraged to serve youth populations that are the most vulnerable for pregnancies or otherwise have special circumstances, including youth in or aging out of foster care, homeless/runaway youth, youth in adjudication systems, youth with HIV/AIDS, pregnant youth who are under 21 years of age, mothers who are under 21 years of age, culturally underrepresented youth, and youth residing in areas with relatively high teen birth rates compared to all youth within their State.

FYSB also recognizes youth populations that are the most vulnerable for pregnancies or otherwise have special circumstances to include culturally underrepresented youth populations, including Hispanic, African American, or Native American teenagers. As applicants design their programs, FYSB also encourages grantees to consider the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. To learn more about the ACF’s teen pregnancy prevention programs, listen to Commissioner Samuel speak about the effort, click here (MP3, 4.3mb).

Within the federal government, there are a number of program offices whose missions and work also directly support the prevention of teen pregnancy and promotion of youth sexual reproductive health.     

  • The CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) provides funding for state, territorial, and local education agencies and tribal governments to help school districts and schools implement effective policies, programs, and practices to address sexual risk behaviors. In addition, DASH provides funding and technical assistance to national nongovernmental organizations to increase the capacity of education and health agencies, juvenile justice and correctional centers, alternative schools, and shelters for homeless and runaway youth to improve sexual health among young people and prevent HIV, other STDs, and teen pregnancy.
  • The ACF’s Administration on Children, Youth and Families' (ACYF) Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides funding to states and territories for abstinence education, and where appropriate, mentoring, counseling and adult supervision to promote abstinence from sexual activity through the Title V, Section 510 State Abstinence Education Program, which is funded through the Affordable Care Act.
  • The HHS’s Office of Population Affairs (OPA) administers the Title X Family Planning Program, which provides men, women, and adolescents access to comprehensive reproductive health care services and contraceptive methods, including prevention education, counseling, and screening for HIV and STIs. Title X supports over 4,300 clinics within every U.S. state, territory, and jurisdiction that provide care to over one million males and females aged 19 and younger. Find a clinic in your area.
  • The HHS’s Indian Health Service (IHS) provides federal health services in a comprehensive health service delivery system with Tribal and Urban Indian health programs for approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 564 federally recognized Tribes in 35 states. 

Federal Resources

Searchable Database of Evidence-based Programs
This is a searchable database of the program models on the HHS’s List of Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Models; it can be used to find programs that work for certain target populations, settings, ages, etc. The programs have been found to be effective at preventing teen pregnancies or births, reducing sexually-transmitted infections, or reducing rates of associated risky sexual behaviors. Each program is linked to an Intervention Implementation Report that provides program information and supporting research evidence.

FindYouthInfo.gov Program Directory
The program directory provides up-to-date information for effective programs that address a range of risk and protective factors, including those for teen pregnancy prevention. All programs included in the program directory have been rigorously reviewed based on their conceptual framework, if the program was implemented as intended, how it was evaluated, and the findings of the evaluations. The directory also includes youth-focused programs from SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), and teen pregnancy programs reviewed by the Office of Adolescent Health.

Office of Adolescent Health, Grantees by State, Replicating Evidence-based Programs (PDF, 16 pages)
This grantee list highlights the communities that were awarded grants through OAH to replicate evidence-based teen pregnancy program models.

Office of Adolescent Health, Grantees by State, Research and Demonstration Grants (PDF, 5 pages)
This grantee list highlights the communities that were awarded grants through OAH to support research and demonstration programs to develop, replicate, refine, and test additional models and innovative strategies for preventing pregnancy. 

Reducing Teen Pregnancy: Engaging Communities
This web page from the CDC offers communities steps to take in reducing teen pregnancy, including recommended strategies that incorporate important community partners such as health and human services agencies, health care providers, community- and faith-based organizations, parents/guardians, and teens.  

Webinars Supported by the Office of Adolescent Health
This resource provides a list of webinars concerning adolescent health, as well as past grant opportunities, general training, evaluation, and technical assistance.

Teen Pregnancy Success Stories: Working to Reduce Teen Pregnancy and Promote Health Equity Among Youth (PDF, 2 pages)

This resource developed by the CDC highlights success stories of pregnancy prevention and health promotion among youth in the U.S.

Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF)/Family Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) Tip Sheets

There are Teen Pregnancy programming guidance and tip sheets available as full text downloads on the ACYF homepage. For examples, see: “Selecting an Evidence Based Program that Fits” and “Making Adaptations”.  View a full list of topics available.

Adaptation Kits for Evidence-based Programs (Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention)
ETR Associates, in collaboration with the CDC Division of Reproductive Health and the Office of Adolescent Health, developed adaptation tools and resources for evidenced-based pregnancy and STD/HIV prevention programs. The adaptation kits contain practical tools and resources to guide practitioners in making effective adaptations and maintaining fidelity to program core components.

Office of Minority Health: Cultural Competency Resources
This webpage from the Office of Minority Health provides a number of resources for health practicioners that address cultural competency in the health care field.

Little (PSBA) GTO: 10 Steps to Promoting Science-based Approaches to Teen Pregnancy Prevention Using Getting to Outcomes (PDF, 27 pages)
This manual presents a summary of the teen pregnancy prevention strategy, Getting to Outcomes (GTO). GTO is a science-based approach for how to set goals, consider and plan for a prevention program, develop and conduct process and outcome evaluation, and learn how to improve and sustain a program’s intended outcomes.

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Resources
This resource page from the Administration for Children and Families provides a list of resources including webinars, guides, awards, national survey results, federal forms, and fact sheets. Topics such as adulthood preparation, evidence-based practices, and the Personal Responsibility Education Program are covered.

Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, Third Edition
This publication developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration provides guidelines for health care providers to work with families, children, and youth to potentially prevent problems including adolescent pregnancy. Included in the guidelines is an extensive section on counseling to avoid pregnancy, including information about contraception. In addition to the guidelines, there is a pocket guide and a tool and resource kit available.