Foa_Content_of_HHS-2023-ACF-ACYF-AK-0063 (1).pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families-Family and Youth Services Bureau

Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Competitive Grants: New Hampshire

HHS-2023-ACF-ACYF-AK-0063

Application Due Date: 08/02/2023

Table of Contents Executive Summary

I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching

III.3. Other

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV.1. Address to Request Application Package

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Required Forms, Assurances, and Certifications

The Project Description

The Project Budget and Budget Justification

Application Submission Options

IV.3. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)

IV.4. Submission Dates and Times

Explanation of Due Dates

Acknowledgement of Received Application

IV.5. Intergovernmental Review

IV.6. Funding Restrictions

IV.7. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

V.1. Criteria

V.2. Review and Selection Process

V.3. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

VI.1. Federal Award Notices

VI.2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

VI.3. Reporting

VII. HHS Award Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

Reference Websites

Application Checklist

Appendix

Funding Opportunity Title:

Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Competitive Grants: New Hampshire Announcement Type:

Initial Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2023-ACF-ACYF-AK-0063

Primary CFDA Number:

93.092 Due Date for Applications:

08/02/2023 Executive Summary

Notice:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) carefully and observe the application formatting requirements listed in Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission. For more information on applying for grants, please visit "How to Apply for a Grant" on the ACF Grants & Funding Page at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration on Children, Youth and Families' (ACYF), Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) announces the availability of funds under the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Competitive Grants program. The purpose of this program is to support and fund projects that educate youth between 10 and 19 years of age and pregnant and parenting youth under age 21 on abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Funds will support the implementation of projects that replicate evidence-based, effective programs or substantially incorporate elements of effective programs that have been proven on the basis of rigorous scientific research to change behavior, which means delaying sexual activity, increasing condom or contraceptive use for sexually active youth, or reducing pregnancy among youth. Projects are further required to incorporate at least three of six adulthood preparation subjects (APSs).

Eligible applicants are limited to local organizations and entities, including faith-based organizations or consortia, with the capacity to develop and implement Competitive PREP projects in the states or territories that did not accept states allocations of PREP funding.

Applicants located in and/or proposing to manage a project from an ineligible state cannot propose a project that serves an eligible state. Eligible applicants are located in the following states or territories only: New Hampshire.

Applicants should place special emphasis on youth populations who are the most high-risk or vulnerable for pregnancies or otherwise have special circumstances. These populations include, but are not limited to, the following:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant

• youth in foster care,

• youth experiencing homelessness,

• youth with HIV/AIDS,

• youth who are victims of human trafficking,

• pregnant or parenting youth who are under 21 years of age, and

• youth residing in areas with high teen birth rates.

I. Program Description

Statutory Authority PREP is authorized and funded by section 513 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 713), as amended by section 50503 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-123) extended by Division CC, Title III, Section 302 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-260).

Description The PREP program is designed to educate adolescents on abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS. Projects must incorporate at least three of the following six adulthood preparation subjects: healthy relationships, adolescent development, financial literacy, parent-child communication, educational and career success, and healthy life skills. PREP funding supports programs that incorporate medically accurate approaches while replicating evidence-based programs or elements of programs that have been proven to change behavior.

Current trend data reports that fewer teens are engaged in sex and other risky behaviors.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data collected in 2019, the proportion of high school students who have had sexual intercourse significantly decreased over the past 10 years for all youth. There were also decreased reports among ninth and tenth grade students, non-Hispanic Black students in all grades, and Hispanic students in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades [1].

In 2020, the birth rate for youth ages 15-19 reached a low of 15.4 births per 1,000 women, which decreased 8 percent from 2019 [2]. Additionally, the birth rate for teenagers declined for both younger (aged 15–17) and older (aged 18–19) teenagers 6.3 and 28.9 births per 1,000 women, respectively [2]. The birth rate for African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native youth was 24.4, 23.5, and 25.7 births per 1,000 women (aged 15-19), respectively; and socioeconomically disadvantaged youth of any race or ethnicity experienced the highest rates of teen pregnancy and childbirth. These rates were almost 2 times the 10.4 rate for non-Hispanic white teens [2].

Although there has been a significant decline in the teen birth rate for all groups, disparities still exist. The latest CDC data indicate young people ages 15 to 24 account for half of new sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) reported annually [3] Thus, there is a critical need for PREP programs to place substantial emphasis on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among youth. Although contraceptives, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of getting pregnant or getting an STI, equipping youth with skills to avoid sexual initiation is the only 100 percent way to guarantee the prevention of pregnancy and STIs.

Adolescents who are at the greatest risk of STIs and unintended pregnancies are a complex and dynamic group. Thus, a targeted and holistic approach is essential to preventing teen pregnancy and STIs.

COMPETITIVE PREP PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Competitive PREP Goals and Objectives The goal of the Competitive PREP program is to educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS. The following are objectives of the Competitive PREP program:

1. Replicate evidence-based effective programs or incorporate elements of effective programs that are proven to change behaviors, including delaying sexual activity, increasing condom and contraceptive use for sexually active youth, or reducing pregnancy among youth;

2. Implement curricula that includes medically accurate information (referenced in peer-reviewed publications by educational, scientific, governmental, or health organizations) and is age-appropriate, culturally appropriate, and inclusive;

3. Promote successful and healthy transition to adulthood through the implementation of at least three of six adulthood preparation subjects; and

4. Target prevention education to youth between the ages of 10 and 19, or pregnant and parenting youth under 21 years of age, who are at high-risk for becoming pregnant or who have special circumstances.

Competitive PREP Program Requirements Competitive PREP projects must address the following requirements:

1. Abstinence and contraception education

2. Adulthood preparation subjects

3. Evidence-based programs or elements of effective programs

4. Fidelity and adaptations

5. Medically accurate and age and culturally appropriate

6. Referrals to healthcare and other services

7. Elements of equity

8. Target population

9. Positive youth development approach

10. Trauma-informed care

11. Performance measures

12. Local evaluation

13. National evaluation

14. Sustainability

Abstinence and Contraception Education

Programs must include activities to educate youth on both abstinence and contraception and must place "substantial emphasis" on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDs among youth (42 U.S.C. 713(b)(2)(B)(iv)). Programs should always place the health of each youth at the forefront, with a focus on providing information and building skills to help youth make healthy decisions, avoid unhealthy risk behaviors, and improve their opportunities to thrive.

Adulthood Preparation Subjects PREP legislation requires programs to combine abstinence and contraceptive education with programming designed to support youth’s successful transition to adulthood. Grant recipients and/or subrecipients must address at least three of the following six adulthood preparation subjects (APSs), as required in the PREP legislation:

1. Healthy relationships, including marriage and family interactions.

2. Adolescent development, such as the development of healthy attitudes and values about adolescent growth and development, body image, racial and ethnic diversity, and other related subjects.

3. Financial literacy, which includes spending and budgeting, savings and investments, borrowing, credit and debt, and other related subjects.

4. Parent-child communication that encourages positive communication between adolescents and their parents or caregivers.

5. Educational and career success, such as developing skills for employment preparation, job seeking, independent living, financial self-sufficiency, and work-place productivity.

6. Healthy life skills, such as goal setting, decision-making, negotiation, communication and interpersonal skills, and stress management.

Programs should be tailored and developed in appropriate ways to reflect the cultural, linguistic, and regional practices of the target population and the community they serve. For more information on implementing APSs in PREP programs, please see the report on “Conceptual Models for Adulthood Preparation Subjects within the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP)” at https://www.ACF.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/conceptual-models-adulthood-prep-feb-2021.pdf and the “Adulthood Preparation Subjects Resource Guide” at https://teenpregnancy.acf.hhs.gov/resources/adulthood-preparation-subjects-resource-guide-0.

Evidence-Based Programs or Elements of Effective Programs The legislation states PREP programs are required to "replicate evidence-based effective programs or substantially incorporate elements of effective programs that have been proven on the basis of rigorous scientific research to change behavior, which means delaying sexual activity, increasing condom or contraceptive use for sexually active youth, or reducing pregnancy among youth" (42 U.S.C. § 713(b)(2)(B)(i)).

Decades of social science research indicate identifying specific curricula and program models that can be successfully, reliably, and broadly applied across many applications and among diverse audiences and locations is challenging. This body of research has focused on testing whole program models without sufficiently identifying the elements or components of the program model that lead to the desired outcomes. However, recent social science and educational research have explored identifying core components that are key in attaining positive behavior change. Many of these elements have been identified in research summary documents such as the CDC Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool:

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/hecat/index.htm. This tool provides critical elements to success in implementing programs to positively change youth behavior. There may be other tools and resources available to assess curricula.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/conceptual-models-adulthood-prep-feb-2021.pdf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/conceptual-models-adulthood-prep-feb-2021.pdf https://teenpregnancy.ACF.hhs.gov/resources/adulthood-preparation-subjects-resource-guide-0 https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/hecat/index.htm

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is committed to giving youth information and skills that are solidly based on the scientific literature. Grant recipients should be careful in selecting programs or models to ensure that they address content requirements while they meet the needs of their target populations. Further, grant recipients should check with program model developers in order to clearly identify the essential or core components of the model programs they use. For more information on core components with adolescent pregnancy prevention programs, please reference a brief on the Office of Population Affairs’ website at https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/core-components-brief_0.pdf.

Programs must provide data that demonstrate the selected program model or elements of programs are effective in youth behavior change. Programs must ensure the elements selected meet the PREP requirements. These added elements must improve the likelihood interventions will fit their target populations and have positive impacts on the targeted behaviors. If implementing effective program elements, the discussion must include how the selected curriculum incorporates these elements. In addition, the program should provide a compelling research basis and rationale for lessons that address their selected APS topics.

Competitive PREP projects must demonstrate how their proposed programs meet the requirements to either be evidence-based or incorporate elements of effective programs by including the following:

1. References to a journal article or study where the program was shown to be effective (e.g., significant effects on outcomes of interests); or

2. Provide data that demonstrate how the selected overall program systematically applies core curriculum components that have been found to be effective in delaying sexual activity, increasing condom or contraceptive use for sexually active youth, or reducing pregnancy among youth.

3. Provide formal training for facilitators/educators on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Fidelity and Adaptations Whether intervention designs replicate an entire program or substantially incorporate elements of evidence-based or effective programs, it is an established best practice to sustain fidelity to the original evidence-based or effective program model. When a full program model is being replicated with fidelity, adaptations to the program should generally be minimal. Any component that is added to an evidence-based program must be appropriately integrated into the evidence-based program model and should not alter the core components of that program model.

Frequently, developers that distribute evidence-based curricula will offer guidance on their core components and address how to ensure fidelity. They may offer checklists or other tools to assist with implementation. Programs must consult with developers to obtain approval for proposed adaptations.

If a grant recipient incorporates elements of effective programs, they must ensure the elements selected meet the PREP requirements. These added elements must improve the likelihood that interventions will fit their target populations and have positive impacts on the targeted behaviors.

Medically Accurate and Age and Culturally Appropriate Medically accurate and complete programs are verified or supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where applicable, or comprised of information that professional organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field recognize as accurate, objective, and complete (see 42 U.S.C. § 713(e)(2)). The program(s) must provide medically accurate and up-to-date https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/core-components-brief_0.pdf contraceptive information and program materials (e.g., workbooks, handouts, posters, videos).

Competitive PREP programs must also provide age-appropriate information and activities. The topics, messages, and teaching methods must be suitable to specific age groups of youth based upon varying capacities of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development.

Competitive PREP projects must also use culturally sensitive and responsive interventions that incorporate the norms, beliefs, and values of the target population into programming. The proposed project should demonstrate cultural sensitivity and competence in providing social, linguistic, and culturally appropriate interventions with the target population.

Referrals to Healthcare and Other Services Competitive PREP programs must provide referrals for healthcare and other necessary services, as needs are identified, but must not pay for the services with ACF/FYSB grant funding. As appropriate, programs should provide adolescent pregnancy prevention-related referrals to other providers of healthcare services (e.g., substance abuse, tobacco cessation, family planning, and behavioral health), local public health agencies, and social service agencies. Programs are encouraged to develop partnerships to help facilitate these referrals and must document such referrals. When feasible, programs should track the initiation of service delivery. Competitive PREP programs may only provide education to youth on the requirements provided in this NOFO and the statute. For more information, see Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions.

Elements of Equity In accordance with CDC data, a disproportionate number of Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black teens, and American Indian/Alaska Native teens have significantly higher than the national average of teen birth rates. Additionally, certain geographic areas of the United States experience disparities in teen births, such as rural and Southern states and counties. To address these disparities, Competitive PREP recipients must specifically target one or more of these populations.

Applicants must describe how they will reach underrepresented and underserved populations.

FYSB’s Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) Program will ensure programs address potential inequities and barriers to participation by assessing performance measures survey data on program participants' demographics such as race, gender, and ethnicity to ensure representation of underrepresented and underserved populations. The applicant must describe how they will infuse lived experience of the targeted service community in the implementation of the Competitive PREP program. The applicant must describe how they will recruit and retain historically underrepresented and underserved populations within the targeted community. The applicant must describe how they will coordinate, communicate, and engage with community-based organizations whose mission is to reach underrepresented and underserved populations.

Lastly, applicants must describe staff development and training opportunities to increase knowledge of gender, race, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Target Population Competitive PREP efforts are dedicated to the development of comprehensive, culturally appropriate interventions and services that rely on the best available research to inform and guide practice. Grant recipients must provide PREP programming to youth who are the most high-risk;

are vulnerable for pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS; or have other special circumstances, including youth in foster care, youth experiencing homelessness, youth with HIV/AIDS, victims of human trafficking, pregnant youth who are under 21 years of age, mothers who are under 21 years of age, and youth residing in areas with relatively high teen birth rates compared to all youth within the state or territory. Youth are defined as those who are 10-19 years old (42 U.S.C. § 713(e)(4)), except in the case of pregnant and parenting youth, which may include youth under 21 years old (42 U.S.C. § 713(a)(1)(C)(ii)(III)).

FYSB recognizes additional youth populations who are the most high-risk or vulnerable for pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, or have other special circumstances including culturally underrepresented youth populations such as Hispanic, African American, or Native American youth; systems-involved youth; rural youth; youth who have runaway, youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, and/or two spirit (LGBTQIA2S+); out-of-school youth; and fathers who are under 21 years of age. PREP projects must be welcoming and accessible to all youth and their participation must be voluntary.

Positive Youth Development Approach Competitive PREP programs must include a Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach as part of their programming to help participants build healthy life skills and protective factors that mitigate the impact of past and future negative factors, empower participants to make healthy decisions, provide tools and resources to prevent pregnancy and STIs, and prevent youth engagement in other unhealthy risk behaviors. PYD also means promoting increased youth leadership capacity through intentional projects and activities designed to enhance this skill set.

These activities often include engaging young people in program planning, implementation, and quality improvement discussions. PYD could include elevating youth voices through youth advisory boards and feedback from youth with lived experience. With a PYD approach, programs not only address early sexual activity, but they also address the risk and protective factors in young people's lives that are known to influence sexual activity. The program approach must also include service linkages to local community partners that support the safety and well-being of the target population.

PYD is an intentional, pro-social approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive;

recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths. PYD programs promote a number of outcomes in youth, including social skills, emotional competence, positive relationships with peers and adults, and civic and school engagement. Typical elements of PYD program models include ongoing structured activities that facilitate progressive skill-building, positive interactions between youth and peers as well as adults, and high levels of youth participation and engagement. The program approach should also include service linkages to local community partners that support the safety and well-being of the target population. For more information on PYD, please see “Positive Experiences + Positive Relationships + Positive Environments = Positive Youth Development” located at Positive Youth Development | Youth.gov.

Trauma-Informed Care Programs are required to address interventions that work with vulnerable youth and should https://youth.gov/youth-topics/positive-youth-development consider the trauma and mental health needs of many young people who have experienced maltreatment, abuse, or violence. Childhood abuse, neglect, and exposure to other traumatic stressors, known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), are common. Exposure to ACEs can lead to a multitude of negative effects on health, well-being, and opportunity, including early initiation of sexual activity and teen pregnancy [4].

For youth with experiences of trauma, this means that program planning should take into account underlying skills, competencies, and attitudes that improve basic functioning across a range of life domains. For example, effective programming that supports mental health, development of coping strategies, and increased protective factors in a youth's life can minimize negative risk-taking behaviors and increase their capacity to thrive. For more information on trauma-informed care, please see the Promising Youth Programs Trauma-Informed Care brief at the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.

PREP Performance Measures All grant recipients and subrecipient(s), including their implementation sites, will be required to collect and report information on program implementation and program outcomes through a common set of performance measures. This requirement applies to any community partners who agree to host a site or recruit program participants (e.g., school districts, non-profits). The purpose of the performance measures is to monitor and provide feedback about whether grant recipients are implementing PREP programs as intended and to demonstrate progress towards expected objectives. Performance measures can also create a foundation for program improvement efforts, through federal, grant recipient, and program providers’ examination of the data. PREP performance measures provide information based upon the three categories of data collection listed below while rigorous evaluations assess program effectiveness and impact.

PREP performance measures will be distributed to grant recipients and funded subrecipients, who will be required to collect and report on these measures approximately twice a year.

ACF/FYSB has defined measures at the grant recipient, provider, and program levels. For some performance measures, grant recipients must provide data about activities they undertake directly at the grant recipient level. For other measures, data are based on information about each separate provider that serves youth directly (i.e., provider level) or each program model that a provider is implementing (i.e., program level). A program model is defined as the core curriculum plus other lessons or activities that may be integrated with the core curriculum to meet the PREP requirements. In addition, data are also collected directly from the youth through participant entry and exit surveys. Ultimately, grant recipients are responsible for submitting performance measures from the grant recipient, provider, and program levels to ACF/FYSB.

The following are the three categories of PREP performance measures for data collection and submission:

1. Structure, cost, and support for program implementation;

2. Attendance, reach, and dosage; and

3. Participants’ entry and exit surveys (which capture characteristics, behaviors, program experiences, and perceptions of effects).

Applicants applying for funds must indicate their agreement to collect the PREP performance measures and submit the data to ACF/FYSB. Grant recipients will be expected to check local and state laws, policies, and procedures to ensure the collection of performance measures data are feasible and obtain any necessary permissions (e.g., formal agreements with partners, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/INCORPORATING%20TRAUMA-INFORMED%20CARE%20IN%20ADOLESCENT%20PREGNANCY%20PREVENTION%20PROGRAMS_0.pdf

Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, copies of school district approvals) to collect these data.

Grant recipients are responsible for ensuring all subrecipients and implementation sites collect and submit the PREP performance measures. FYSB will provide training on how to conduct performance measures data collection and reporting. Grant recipients may develop additional indicators of program performance, as needed, including adding items to the entry or exit surveys. Feedback from youth participants on their satisfaction with the services can be included as additional indicators beyond the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) -approved measures for participant entry and exit surveys.

However, all FYSB OMB-approved items must be administered first, in the order presented in the approved survey before any additional items are added. Any additional survey items should be added at the end of the OMB-approved survey and should not be submitted to ACF/FYSB.

For more information about the PREP performance measures, including definitions, survey instruments, and data collection tools, please see Studies of Performance Measures and Adult Preparation Subjects (PMAPS) (prepeval.com).

NOTE: Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, (44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3521), under this NOFO, ACF will not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information covered by such Act, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. ACF has obtained OMB approval (OMB Control Number 0970-0497; Expiration Date June 30, 2023) under PRA to request and collect performance measures.

Local Evaluation The purpose of these local evaluations is to learn from programs in order to improve their implementation in the future and to rigorously examine the efficacy of curricula with the targeted population. Applicants have the option to propose to conduct recipient-specific evaluations, referred to as “local evaluations,” of their Competitive PREP projects to answer one or more recipient-specific research questions of implementation sites. Applicants that propose to conduct a local evaluation must ensure the evaluation addresses the following:

• Answers important questions of interest to the program;

• Includes an appropriate evaluation design; and

• Meets expectations of rigor that ACF/FYSB provides through a system of technical assistance for those grant recipients and their local evaluators. Per ACF/FYSB’s Common Framework for Research and Evaluation, research must be credible, consistently implemented, applicable (beyond the grant itself), and neutral: https://www.ACF.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/docum ents/opre/ACF_common_framework_for_research_and_evaluation_v02_a.pdf.

Applicants may only propose one local evaluation. The research questions must drive the local evaluation, including its design, methods, data, and analyses. Examples of research topics may include the following:

• APSs, e.g., the impact of adding specific skills-based programming related to APSs;

• Populations, e.g., describing the populations of adolescents reached and whether programming addresses the perceived needs of target populations; and https://www.prepeval.com/DataCollectionResources.html#anchor-user-guides https://www.prepeval.com/DataCollectionResources.html#anchor-user-guides https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/acf_common_framework_for_research_and_evaluation_v02_a.pdf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/acf_common_framework_for_research_and_evaluation_v02_a.pdf

• Adaptations, e.g., determining the differential outcomes or impacts of programming that adheres to standard curricula versus programming with significant adaptions.

Among these and other ACF/FYSB-approved topics, programs may conduct descriptive and/or impact studies on PREP implementation sites. Descriptive studies include implementation studies and outcome studies. Implementation studies are to document how PREP programs are designed and implemented, and outcome studies examine implementation or participant outcomes. Impact studies require an appropriate study design to assess the effectiveness of programming. Programs may propose to conduct an implementation and/or impact local evaluation.

Programs are not required to propose local evaluations, and programs’ funding levels will not be affected if programs propose or do not propose to conduct a local evaluation. If the applicant is choosing to conduct a local evaluation, no more than 20 percent of the total budget can be allocated towards conducting the evaluation. Programs should not undertake evaluative activities with PREP funds unless they adhere to overall guidance in this NOFO and best practices consistent with technical assistance from ACF/FYSB.

Any proposed local evaluation should be in addition to the planned delivery of adolescent pregnancy prevention education designed to serve participants and shall not replace programming by the program or its providers.

Local evaluations must be conducted by an independent evaluator, referred to as the “local evaluator.” Local evaluators may be universities, research organizations, evaluation consultants, or other institutions with experience in conducting rigorous evaluations. In order to maximize learning from these projects, ACF/FYSB will provide technical assistance and/or training on evaluation planning, implementation, analysis, reporting, and dissemination to states conducting local evaluations and to their local evaluators. As part of the technical assistance, grant recipients may also be asked to complete standardized forms and templates describing their evaluation plans and submit evaluation updates. These forms and templates are subject to OMB approval under PRA. ACF/FYSB will obtain OMB approval prior to requiring states to complete the forms and/or templates. ACF/FYSB will review and provide suggestions to programs to improve plans prior to the initiation of local evaluation activities. Improvements may include reconsiderations of evaluation design and funding.

Upon completion of local evaluations, programs may be required to submit a final report to ACF/FYSB. The final report template is subject to OMB approval under PRA, which ACF/FYSB will obtain prior to use. Although ACF/FYSB may provide technical support to programs that propose local evaluations, the programs will ultimately decide what data are to be collected and maintain oversight of the entity conducting the evaluation, as well as the subrecipient(s) that they select to participate in the evaluation. Programs conducting local evaluations are also required to collect the PREP performance measures.

ACF/FYSB is interested in supporting high-quality, well-designed, local evaluations from which programs will learn and expand the evidence base and will help ACF/FYSB learn more about what does and does not work at the state-level. ACF/FYSB will work in collaboration with programs to disseminate information about the evaluation findings.

NOTE: Consistent with the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3521), under this NOFO, FYSB will not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information covered by such Act, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

National Evaluation ACF/FYSB is engaged in a learning agenda to increase understanding of what works and why for PREP programs. FYSB may select projects funded under this NOFO to participate in one or more rigorous federal evaluations. All prime recipients and applicable subrecipients will be required to participate, if selected, and must give their written assurance that they will participate in the national evaluation. As part of these national evaluation efforts, prime recipients and subrecipients may also be required to complete surveys, standardized forms, and templates.

These instruments are subject to OMB approval under the PRA. ACF/FYSB will obtain OMB approval prior to launching any evaluations.

Project Sustainability Plan Applicants are to develop a sustainability plan that includes their subrecipients and collaborating partners plan for the project sustainability after the period of federal funding ends. The plan should address key elements of their grant project, e.g., strategies or services and interventions, which have been effective in improving practices and outcomes. The plan must include ongoing activities to involve a subset of youth participants, family members, and community leaders to provide feedback on how to improve the program. Applicants are encouraged to have their funded providers develop a plan to sustain key elements of their grant-supported projects (e.g., strategies, or services and interventions) that have been effective in improving practices and outcomes for youth and families.

POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS

The acceptance of federal funds under this NOFO will signify agreement by the grant recipient that it will comply with the following requirements:

• Implement the fully functioning project and start serving youth within 90 days following the Notice of Award for grant.

• Formally train facilitators/educators in the program model or elements of the program by professionals who can provide follow-up technical assistance to facilitators.

• Provide diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings for facilitators/educators.

• Budget the costs of sending two key staff persons to attend the 3-day Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) Grant Recipient Conference to be tentatively held in the Washington, DC area or through a virtual platform in 2024.

• Budget the costs of sending a minimum of two staff persons to attend at least one of two topical training sessions offered during the 1-year project period in areas such as Washington, DC;

Portland, Oregon; and Boston, Massachusetts, or through a virtual platform

• Participate in a new grant recipient orientation webinar. The webinar will be held shortly after the official award date.

• Collect and report biannually on all of the OMB- approved federal PREP performance measures (prime recipient, partners, and subrecipients).

• Agree to participate in the national evaluation, if selected.

• For those conducting local evaluations, participate in training and technical assistance provided by the federal government and follow related guidance provided by FYSB.

• Participate in a medical accuracy review of selected curricula sponsored by FYSB.

Glossary of Terms The terms, “age-appropriate,” “rigorous,” “medically accurate”, and "youth” are defined according to the legislation at 42 U.S.C. § 710(e). All other terms are defined by applicable research for the purposes of this NOFO:

Activities – All the actions needed to prepare for and carry out the program. This includes program and financial management, intervention activities, training activities, and staff debriefings.

Abstinence – Voluntarily refraining from non-marital sexual activity.

Adaptation – The modification of an evidence-based intervention that has been developed for a single, demographic, ethnic, linguistic, and/or cultural group for use with other groups.

Age-appropriate – The term “age-appropriate,” with respect to the information in pregnancy prevention, means topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable to particular ages or age groups of children and adolescents based on developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical for the age or age group.

Capacity – The resources (i.e., staff, skills, facilities, finances, technology, partnerships capabilities, and other resources) an organization has to implement a program.

Core Components – Program characteristics that must be kept intact when an intervention is being replicated or adapted for it to produce program outcomes similar to those demonstrated in the original evaluation research.

Continuous Quality Improvement – A continuous and ongoing effort to achieve measurable improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, performance, accountability, outcomes, and other indicators of quality in services or processes.

Effectiveness – The impact of a program under conditions that are likely to occur in a real-world implementation.

Equity – The consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other persons of color; members of religious minorities;

LGBTQIA2S+ persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

Evidence-based – Interventions, strategies, approaches, and/or program models that have been evaluated using rigorous impact evaluation designs such as randomized controlled trials or high-quality, quasi-experimental studies, and that have demonstrated positive impacts for youth, families, and communities.

Fidelity – The degree to which an intervention is delivered as designed. Faithfulness with which a curriculum or program is implemented; that is, how well the program is implemented without compromising its core content that is essential for the program's effectiveness.

Implementation – The process of introducing and using interventions in real-world service settings, including how interventions or programs are adopted, sustained, and taken to scale.

Medically Accurate and Complete – Verified or supported by research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, where applicable or comprising information that leading professional organizations and agencies with relevant expertise in the field recognize as accurate, objective, and complete.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – A written statement from a stakeholder organization or individual describing a commitment, including possibly a financial role, in supporting the implementation of a program.

Objectives – The specific changes expected as a result of the program.

Performance Measures – Indicators that are designed to collect data for program monitoring, improvement, and reporting purposes.

Rigorous – With respect to research or evaluation, using established scientific methods for measuring the impact of an intervention or program model in changing behavior (specifically sexual activity or other sexual risk behaviors), or reducing pregnancy among youth; or other evidence-based methodologies established by the Secretary. [Section 510(e)(3) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 710(e)(3)] Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) or Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) – STIs/STDs are harmful diseases that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. These include chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papillomavirus, syphilis, and human immunodeficiency virus. Many of these STIs/STDs do not show symptoms for a long time. Even without symptoms, they can still be harmful and passed on during sex. Avoiding sexual activity is the most reliable way to prevent and protect against STIs/STDs. See https://www.cdc.gov/std Stakeholders – Individuals and organizations that have a shared interest in the program results.

Stakeholders include participants, families, staff and volunteers, funders, and community organizations that share the program vision and are actively committed to the program through a

MOU.

Training and Technical Assistance – For the purposes of this NOFO, the provision of training, advice, and/or assistance pertaining to the initiation, operation, or implementation of the proposed program.

Work Plan – A written list of all of a program’s activities, broken down by resources, personnel, delivery dates, and accomplishments.

Youth – Youth is defined as someone who has “attained age 10 but has not attained age 20” (42 U.S.C. § 713(e)(4)), except in the case of pregnant and parenting youth, which may include youth under 21 years old (42 U.S.C. § 713(a)(1)(C)(ii)(III)).

References [1] Leigh S, PhD; Richard L, MD; Amy M. F, et al. Condom and Contraceptive Use Among Sexually Active High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States; 2019.

CDC MMWR Suppl 2020; 69: 11-16 https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2019/su6901-H.pdf [2] Osterman MJK, Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Driscoll AK, Valenzuela CP. Births: Final data for 2020. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 70 no 17. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:112078.

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, (2015) http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/sexualbehaviors/ [4] Azur M, Zaveri H. Incorporating Trauma-Informed Care in Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs: Significance and Resources for Grantees. OPRE Report Number 2020-125.

Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/incorporating%20trauma-informed%20care%20in%20adolescent%20pregnancy%20prevention%20programs_0.pdf Please note that providing a link to the non-federal resource in this NOFO does not constitute an endorsement by ACF or any of its employees.

https://www.cdc.gov/std https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2019/su6901-H.pdf https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:112078 https://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/sexualbehaviors/ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/INCORPORATING%20TRAUMA-INFORMED%20CARE%20IN%20ADOLESCENT%20PREGNANCY%20PREVENTION%20PROGRAMS_0.pdf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/INCORPORATING%20TRAUMA-INFORMED%20CARE%20IN%20ADOLESCENT%20PREGNANCY%20PREVENTION%20PROGRAMS_0.pdf

II. Federal Award Information

Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant) Estimated Total Funding:

$250,000 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$250,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$250,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$250,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

09/30/2023 Length of Project Periods:

12-month project period and budget period

Additional Information on Project Periods and Explanation of 'Other' Additional Information on Awards:

Awards made under this funding opportunity are subject to the availability of federal funds.

Applications requesting an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period, or per project period, as stated in this section, will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. This disqualification applies only to the Award Ceiling listed for the first 12-month budget period for projects with multiple budget periods. If the project and budget period are the same, the disqualification applies to the Award Ceiling listed for the project period. Please see Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

Note: For those programs that require matching or cost sharing, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period or by project period for fully funded awards, even if the projected commitment exceeds the required amount of match or cost share. A recipient's failure to provide the required matching amount may result in the disallowance of federal funds.

For more information on these requirements, see Section III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching.

Applicants must provide a budget for 12-month project period. This chart establishes award floors and ceilings by state or territory. Based on the availability of funds, multiple awards may be made in each state or territory.

State/Territory Annual Award Floor Annual Award Ceiling

New Hampshire $250,000 $250,000

Applicants that propose to serve more than one territory through a consortium are allowed to submit a 12-month budget based upon the cumulative annual award floors and ceilings for each of the territories to be served.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are limited to local organizations and entities or consortia in the following states and territories: New Hampshire. Applicants serving an emerging, unserved, or underserved population, or remote geographic area, are encouraged to apply for funding under this NOFO.

Collaborative efforts and interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged.

The following types of organization are eligible to apply:

• County governments

• City or township governments

• Special district governments

• Independent school districts

• Local and regional school districts

• Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education

• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)

• Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)

• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities

• Nonprofits having 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education

• Nonprofits without 501 (c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

• Private institutions of higher education

• For-profit organizations other than small businesses

• Local affiliates of national organizations

• Small businesses

Applications from collaborative groups (consortia) must identify a primary applicant responsible for administering the grant. A primary applicant must be named in the application, and the application must include a MOU for each partnering organization. The primary applicant must be local to the eligible state. Collaborative groups (consortia) may propose to serve one, or more than one, eligible territory. Collaborative groups (consortia) proposing to serve an eligible state must serve only one state.

Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. See Section III.3.