Cooperative Agreement Summary

Family and Workforce Centers of America (FWCA) received a $1.249 million Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families under the Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood Grants program (CFDA 93.086). Awarded on September 30, 2025, this five-year project runs through September 29, 2030, and implements the READY4LIFE program to serve 3,150 youth participants in high schools and late adolescence populations (ages 18-24) in St. Louis City and County.

The program delivers a 17-hour evidence-based workshop model incorporating three primary curricula: Love Notes for relationship and communication skills development, Money Habitudes for financial literacy training, and Winning the Workplace Challenge for job readiness. Services target youth in areas experiencing higher rates of family instability and emphasize achievement of the "success sequence"—completing high school, obtaining full-time employment, and establishing stable families before having children. The program combines skills-based education with goal-setting support to build participant capacity for long-term economic and family stability.