HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-AP-0003.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Application due Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Family and Youth Services Bureau Division of Positive Youth Development

FY2026 Personal Responsibility Education Program Innovative Strategies (PREIS) Opportunity number: HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-AP-0003

Contents

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 4

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Agency priorities 9

Program description 11

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 30

Find the application package 31

Get registered 32

Learn more 32

Step 3: Build Your Application 33

Application checklist 34

Application contents and format 36

Step 4: Learn About Review and Award 50

Application review 51

Award notices 59

Step 5: Submit Your Application 60

Application submission and deadlines 61

Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award 63

Post-award requirements and administration 64

Contacts and Support 66

Before you begin 3

Modifications 73

Endnotes 74

Contents 2

Before you begin If you believe you are a good candidate for this funding opportunity, secure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations now. If you are already registered, make sure your registrations are active and up to date.

SAM.gov registration (this can take several weeks)

You must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Grants.gov registration (this can take several days)

You must have an active Grants.gov registration. Doing so requires a Login.gov registration as well.

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Apply by the application due date

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

To help you find what you need, this NOFO uses internal links. In Adobe Reader, you can go back to where you were by pressing Alt + Left Arrow (Windows) or Command + Left Arrow (Mac) on your keyboard.

Before you begin 3 https://sam.gov/ https://grants.gov/

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1:

Review the Opportunity

In this step

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Agency priorities 9

Program description 11

Basic information Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Family and Youth Services Bureau

Division of Positive Youth Development

Provide funding to organizations to rigorously evaluate innovative, promising pregnancy prevention interventions for high risk and vulnerable youth.

Have questions?

See Contacts and Support.

Key facts

Opportunity name:

FY2026 Personal Responsibility Education Program Innovative Strategies (PREIS)

Opportunity number:

HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-

AP-0003

Federal assistance listing:

93.092

NOFO version:

Original

Key dates

Application submission deadline:

August 18, 2026

Expected project start date:

September 30, 2026

See intergovernmental review for other submission processes that may apply to this NOFO.

Summary The Personal Responsibility Education Program Innovative Strategies (PREIS) supports cooperative agreement projects with funding to implement and test the effectiveness of innovative, adolescent pregnancy prevention strategies and interventions among the target population.

Eligible projects must:

• Conduct rigorous impact evaluations for treatment and control groups using randomized controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experimental design (QED).

• Evaluations must be conducted by an independent, third-party evaluator. A minimum of 20 percent of funding per year must be allocated to an independent, third-party evaluator.

• Educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception to help prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS.

• Carry out at least three of six Adulthood Preparation Subjects (APS).

• Participate in Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) evaluation support and technical assistance.

• Maintain continuous staff coordination and management, participant engagement and satisfaction, and stakeholder support throughout the intervention.

• Show compelling, positive preliminary evidence of your proposed intervention that has not been evaluated through an RCT or QED.

• Propose interventions that have the potential to scale and be replicated by others in the adolescent pregnancy and STI prevention field.

• Share evaluation findings and lessons learned by submitting manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals and giving presentations at professional conferences.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 5

Funding details Type: Cooperative agreement

Expected total program funding: $10,000,000

Total expected awards: 12

Minimum award amount for the first budget period (award floor): $750,000

Maximum award amount for the first budget period (award ceiling): $900,000

We plan to fund a five-year project period. The project period has five one-year budget periods.

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

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 6

Eligibility Eligible applicants Eligibility for the opportunity is unrestricted.

Applications from collaboratives and/or consortiums must identify a primary applicant responsible for administering the grant.

Other eligibility criteria Individuals (including sole proprietorships), federal entities, and foreign entities are not eligible to apply.

Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible for awards under this funding opportunity.

Disqualifying factors We will review your application to make sure it meets these responsiveness requirements.

We won’t consider an application that:

• Requests funding above the award ceiling.

• Is submitted after the deadline.

• Is from an individual (including a sole proprietorship), a federal entity, or a foreign entity.

• Is received in paper format that didn’t have a previously approved exemption from ACF.

Application limits If you submit the same application more than once under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), we will only acknowledge the last on-time submission.

You may submit multiple applications under this NOFO, but each one must propose a unique project with different interventions, populations, and services.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 7

Cost sharing This program has no cost-sharing requirement, meaning you do not need to contribute to the costs of this project.

If you choose to include cost-sharing funds, we won’t consider it during review. If you receive an award, we will include your voluntary commitment in the award, and you must report on the funds. If you don’t provide your promised amount, we may have to decrease your award amount or use other enforcement actions.

Post-award requirements

Before you apply, make sure you understand the requirements that come with an award.

See Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award for information on regulations that apply, reporting, and more.

Statutory authority The PREIS program is authorized and funded by section 513(c)(1) of the Social Security Act(c) (1) 42 U.S.C. 713(c)(1) ), as amended by section 50503 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law (Pub. L.) 115-123) extended by Div. B, Title II, section 6302 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (Pub. L. 119-75).

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 8 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:42%20section:713%20edition:prelim)

Agency priorities Required alignment with ACF vision, mission, values, priorities, and guiding principles The recipient of this award must implement any funds awarded under this NOFO to effectuate program goals or agency priorities in accordance with ACF’s vision, mission, values, priorities, and guiding principles when authorized. Funded activities must advance ACF’s vision of resilient, safe, healthy, and economically secure children, youth, families, and communities, and support ACF’s mission to foster health and well-being through effective, accountable, and compassionate human services when awarded in any programs that authorize these priorities.

Consistent with ACF’s values, in carrying out any project that is funded under this NOFO, the recipient is required to adhere to the following principle:

1. Program integrity and fiscal stewardship: Administer funds in accordance with all applicable federal statutes, regulations, and award conditions; maintain strong internal controls; and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

The recipient is also required to adhere to the following principles when consistent with the authority and scope of the award and its activities:

2. Evidence-based and outcome-focused practices: Design and deliver services using evidence-based or evidence-informed approaches, establish measurable performance goals, and use data to monitor outcomes and drive continuous improvement.

3. Partnership and local leadership: Coordinate with state, tribal, territorial, local, and community partners, as appropriate, and tailor services to meet community-identified needs while respecting local decision-making authority.

In addition, in keeping with ACF’s priorities, the recipient must administer any project that is awarded under this NOFO in accordance with the following objectives when consistent with the scope of the award and its activities in programs that are authorized to advance them:

4. Family stability and child well-being: Strengthen families, promote safe and stable home environments, and improve outcomes for children and youth through prevention-focused and developmentally appropriate services.

5. Work, self-sufficiency, and economic mobility: Support pathways to employment, job retention, and economic independence for individuals and

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 9 https://acf.gov/about/acf-vision-mission-values https://acf.gov/about/acf-vision-mission-values families, including through workforce development, education, and supportive services.

6. High-quality early care and learning: Where applicable, invest in high-quality early childhood programs that support school readiness, healthy development, and long-term success.

The recipient must demonstrate ongoing compliance with these values and priorities, in all programs that are authorized to advance them, through program design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation. Failure to meaningfully align funded activities with the applicable requirements may result in corrective action, additional reporting requirements, or other enforcement actions consistent with federal grant regulations found at 2 CFR Part 200 and the terms and conditions of this award.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 10

Program description Program overview For a glossary of terms used in this NOFO, please see the Appendix.

The goal of PREIS is to carry out and evaluate innovative strategies for preventing unintended pregnancies among high-risk, vulnerable, and culturally under-represented youth populations.

Program objectives The PREIS program addresses the following ACF Priority:

Gold-Standard Research: PREIS projects funded by ACF will reflect the standards of HHS’s Gold Standard Science.

The PREIS program has four main objectives:

• Test innovative approaches: Pilot and test innovative adolescent pregnancy prevention (APP) strategies and interventions designed to reduce sexual risk behaviors among youth most vulnerable to pregnancy.

• Evaluate the innovation: Rigorously evaluate these interventions using strong research methods, specifically quasi-experimental design (QED) or randomized controlled trials (RCT).

• Create intervention manuals: Document and package successful interventions so other organizations can easily replicate them.

• Share knowledge: Share lessons learned, best practices, and relevant findings with the broader community and APP field.

Target population The program focuses on youth who face a higher risk of pregnancy. The primary age range is 10 to 19 years old, though it may include individuals under 21 who are pregnant or already parents.

Targeted populations include:

• Youth in either foster care or child welfare settings.

• Victims of trafficking.

• Runaway youth or youth experiencing homelessness.

• Youth with HIV/AIDS.

• Pregnant women who are under 21 years of age and their partners.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 11 https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/hhs-gold-standard-science-report-2025.pdf

• Mothers who are under 21 years of age and their partners.

• Youth living in areas with high birth rates for youth.

PREIS project design Under PREIS, the following requirements must be addressed:

• Innovative strategies.

• Abstinence and contraception.

• Adulthood Preparation Subjects (APS).

• Medically accurate and complete information.

• Age-appropriate information.

• Culturally appropriate information.

• Positive youth development approach.

• Referrals to health care and other services.

• A Home for Every Child Initiative.

Innovative strategies PREIS projects must use new or innovative approaches or strategies to reach young people at high risk of pregnancy. An “innovative strategy” can be new or adapted products, programs, strategies, approaches, or practices that are implemented, adopted, or shared within groups, organizations, or networks. These strategies must address risk and protective factors linked to sexual risk behaviors.

Innovative strategies may include:

• Technology-based components: Using apps, websites, or games.

• Non-traditional settings: Putting together programs in places like foster care settings, youth shelters, juvenile detention centers, or faith-based organizations.

• Hard-to-reach populations: Focusing on foster care youth, youth experiencing homelessness, pregnant and parenting youth, or victims of human trafficking.

• Systems-level approaches: Aiming to affect individuals, families, communities, and institutions.

Project requirements:

• Prior experience: You have carried out the intervention before. Pilot studies count as evidence of prior implementation. Do not propose interventions that are not fully developed or that you have no experience with.

• Theoretical framework: Interventions must be based on a solid theoretical framework.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 12

• Evidence of effectiveness: Interventions must show promising evidence of effectiveness through process evaluation findings and descriptive studies. They should show significant quantitative outcomes related to attitudes, intentions, or behaviors.

• Evaluation status: Interventions must not have been rigorously evaluated before.

Abstinence and contraceptive education Projects must place substantial emphasis on educating youth on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and STIs (42 U.S.C. 713(b)(2)(B)(iv)).

Prioritizing the well-being of every young person should be the main focus of all programs. Your project should focus on giving youth the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed choices about their health, avoid risky behaviors, and increase their potential for success in adulthood. Additionally, your project must be tailored to the target group’s cultural context to make sure that it’s effective and relevant.

Adulthood Preparation Subjects (APS) The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) statute requires all programs to include adulthood preparation subjects (APS). The APS subjects are designed to support youth’s successful transition to adulthood. Your project must address at least three of the following six APS:

• Healthy relationships, including marriage and family interactions.

• Adolescent development.

◦ Examples include healthy attitudes and values about adolescent growth and development, body image, racial and ethnic diversity, and other related subjects.

• Financial literacy.

• Parent-child communication.

• Educational and career success.

◦ Examples include developing skills for employment preparation, job seeking, independent living, financial self-sufficiency, and workplace productivity.

• Healthy life skills.

◦ Examples include goal setting, decision-making, negotiation, communication, interpersonal skills, and stress management.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 13 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=42+USC+713&f=treesort&fq=true&num=153&hl=true&edition=prelim&granuleId=USC-prelim-title42-section713

Medically accurate and complete, age and culturally appropriate PREIS projects must be based on medically accurate, complete information that is culturally and age appropriate.

• Medically accurate and complete: Project materials must be verified or supported by the weight of 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.

• Age appropriate: Projects must provide age-appropriate information and activities. Topics, messages, and teaching methods must be 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.

• Culturally appropriate: Projects must use culturally appropriate interventions that recognize the experiences of youth from various communities, backgrounds, and experiences.

Using a positive youth development approach Incorporate a positive youth development (PYD) approach that ensures a young person has a sense of self-worth, belonging and membership, safe and structured settings, closeness in interpersonal relationships, positive adult role models, skills development, and opportunities to serve others. Any PYD approach utilized, including in any project curricula, products, or resources, must not be used in a way that conflicts with the ACF Vision, Mission, Values, Priorities, or Guiding Principles unless authorized by law, including any relevant court orders.

Trauma-informed care PREP programs should consider the trauma and mental health needs of young people who have experienced physical or sexual maltreatment, abuse, or violence.

Projects should include trauma-informed approaches. Project staff should be trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in youth, including survival mechanisms or coping behaviors stemming from past experience with childhood sexual abuse or current trauma (from abusive or predatory relationships). Projects should build organizational and staff capacity to fully include knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices to be able to refer to appropriate treatment or services and to avoid re-traumatizing youth.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 14

For youth who have experienced trauma, you should consider addressing and providing support for youth to develop underlying skills, competencies, responsibilities, and attitudes that improve basic functioning across key life moments.

For example, effective programming that supports mental health, developing coping strategies, and increasing protective factors in a youth’s life can minimize negative risk-taking behaviors and increase their capacity to thrive.

Referrals and connections to youth-friendly health care and other services You may provide referrals for necessary services within the scope of the PREIS program, as needs are identified, but may not pay for the services themselves with this award.

Your project should include referrals and service documentation to youth friendly services, such as:

• Educational services, such as tuition for formal K-12 or General Education Diploma classes.

• Career development.

• Counseling services (such as substance use disorder treatment, tobacco cessation mental health counseling, and intimate partner violence counseling).

Youth with foster care experience and pregnant or parenting youth are priority populations under the PREP statute due to their elevated risk of engaging in sexual risk behaviors and experiencing unintended pregnancy. Evidence-based pregnancy prevention programming and adult preparation subjects can help address gaps in knowledge, relationship skills, and future planning.

As part of its comprehensive, medically accurate education, PREP may also provide information on parenting, adoption, and available support so that youth are equipped to make informed decisions that align with their goals and circumstances. PREP programming helps youth build healthy relationships and communication skills, supporting better outcomes, for both youth and their children.

For pregnant and parenting youth in particular, these supports can enhance parenting stability and reduce risk factors associated with adverse outcomes. Over time, this effort contributes to interrupting intergenerational patterns of risk, including involvement in the child welfare system, by promoting stability, healthy development, and reduced rates of unintended pregnancy among populations identified in statute.

Referrals to outside agencies or contractors must not conflict with ACF-published priorities unless authorized.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 15

Human trafficking universal education Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of a person to perform labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Per 22 U.S.C. 7102(11), the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 as amended, human trafficking (severe forms of trafficking in persons) means:

• Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.

OR

• The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Recipients must provide universal education on human trafficking to all program participants. Universal education provides information, safety messages, and resource connections to all individuals, regardless of disclosure or identified risk, to mitigate risk across the population served. This approach normalizes access to support, reduces stigma, and promotes early connection to services. Staff must be trained in this approach and must offer resources regardless of whether a program participant discloses trafficking, and universal education should not be used to require or elicit disclosure. This approach may use or adapt existing tools and materials, with emphasis on the quality of the interaction and the provision of resources.

Recipients must include information on human trafficking in all youth curricula.

Curriculum content must be research-based and theory-driven; emphasize strengthening participant knowledge and skills; and provide adequate opportunity for participants to practice and apply newly learned skills. Prevention education must support youth in recognizing trafficking risks, identifying potential trafficking schemes, and building skills related to safety, decision-making, help-seeking, and access to resources and support.

• Look Beneath the Surface Campaign: Downloadable and printable outreach materials that help individuals who are at risk of or experiencing human trafficking recognize trafficking schemes and access support.

• SOAR Online: Free, self-paced online training courses that can be completed on demand.

• Office on Trafficking in Persons Resource Library: A searchable collection of anti-trafficking resources and materials, including outreach materials, toolkits, fact sheets, policy and guidance documents, and training tools that support prevention, awareness, identification, and access to services.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 16 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Facf.gov%2Flook&data=05%7C02%7CKatherine.Godesky%40acf.hhs.gov%7C3773dd6f92544643fb7708de9be77658%7Cd58addea50534a808499ba4d944910df%7C0%7C0%7C639119615586818967%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=HeRM4X0HJWJbfVu2vn3mvXehIBxktnMtCLljPqqtwSQ%3D&reserved=0 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Facf.gov%2Fotip%2Feducation-training%2Ftta%2Findividuals&data=05%7C02%7CKatherine.Godesky%40acf.hhs.gov%7C3773dd6f92544643fb7708de9be77658%7Cd58addea50534a808499ba4d944910df%7C0%7C0%7C639119615586844323%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=zd5Fslh4OGmJhiNlpry6oHzuxih9yZvMpFfaC0OZGEs%3D&reserved=0 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Facf.gov%2Fotip%2Fresource-library&data=05%7C02%7CKatherine.Godesky%40acf.hhs.gov%7C3773dd6f92544643fb7708de9be77658%7Cd58addea50534a808499ba4d944910df%7C0%7C0%7C639119615586862721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=9Dnq7coCgJeaJ1nyBQqgKv7Hb8XMZ7fhITlkKgUvuiU%3D&reserved=0

Validated Screening Tools for Human Trafficking of Children and Youth[1]

Tool Identifier In- Depth

Short/ Rapid

Demographic Environment

Commercial Sexual Exploitation- Identification Tool

X Ages 10+; sex trafficking only

Multiple settings, including child welfare and juvenile justice systems, schools, homeless youth shelters, health care and mental health settings

Human Trafficking Screening Tool

X X Ages 18–24; sex trafficking only

Runaway and Homeless Youth system settings

Quick Youth Indicators for Trafficking

X Youth who are homeless;

sex trafficking and labor trafficking

Service provider setting

Rapid Appraisal for Trafficking

X Ages 18+; sex trafficking and labor trafficking

Health care setting

Short Screen for Child Sex Trafficking

X Ages 12–18; sex trafficking only

Health care setting

Mandatory Reporting Human trafficking of children (labor and sex trafficking) is now defined under “child abuse and neglect” in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Pub. L. 93-247.

Therefore, if a recipient identifies potential concerns of human trafficking, the recipient is required to comply with all federal, state, tribal, and local mandated reporting requirements in the same way the recipient reports abuse and neglect within that jurisdiction (child welfare, law enforcement, etc.).

A Home for Every Child Initiative ACF’s newest initiative, A Home for Every Child, is designed to reduce risk factors for adolescent pregnancy among youth in foster care.

Youth in foster care experience significantly higher rates of adolescent pregnancy due to unstable housing, disrupted relationships, and exposure to trauma. Adolescent girls in foster care are more than twice as likely to become pregnant by age 19 compared to their non–system-involved peers.

Your program should support healthy decision-making, strong relationships, and youth connectedness to community for foster care youth. These factors contribute to long-term family stability.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 17 https://www.westcoastcc.org/cse-it/ https://www.westcoastcc.org/cse-it/ https://www.westcoastcc.org/cse-it/ https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/257786/Pretesting.pdf https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/257786/Pretesting.pdf https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918307540 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918307540 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918307540 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34667976/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34667976/ https://journals.lww.com/pec-online/Fulltext/2018/01000/A_Short_Screening_Tool_to_Identify_Victims_of.8.aspx https://journals.lww.com/pec-online/Fulltext/2018/01000/A_Short_Screening_Tool_to_Identify_Victims_of.8.aspx https://journals.lww.com/pec-online/Fulltext/2018/01000/A_Short_Screening_Tool_to_Identify_Victims_of.8.aspx https://journals.lww.com/pec-online/Fulltext/2018/01000/A_Short_Screening_Tool_to_Identify_Victims_of.8.aspx

PREIS project timeline Project timeline The PREIS program has three phases. Projects must finish all required activities in one phase before they can move to the next phase. The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) must review and approve each phase before a project can continue.

Phase I: Planning and pilot testing (first 12–18 months) Phase I focuses on planning, testing, and preparation. Projects will plan how to deliver and evaluate the intervention, then complete testing through a pilot.

Projects will:

• Plan how to carry out and evaluate the intervention.

• Hire and train all staff.

• Test the intervention by running pilot testing with youth from the target population.

• Use the pilot to practice and make improvements or adjustments to key activities, such as:

◦ Recruiting participants.

◦ Engaging youth.

◦ Tracking attendance.

◦ Retaining participants.

◦ Monitoring whether the project is delivered as designed.

• Update intervention and training materials so they are:

◦ Medically accurate and complete.

◦ Age appropriate.

◦ Culturally appropriate.

Projects will also work closely with FYSB to:

• Develop an implementation plan.

• Develop an evaluation plan.

• Get approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

• Obtain a Certificate of Confidentiality (CoC).

• Create and improve data collection tools.

Projects must include federal performance measures in their data collection tools.

Agreements and Partnerships

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 18 https://prepeval.acf.hhs.gov/

By the end of Phase I, Projects must finalize:

• All Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs).

• All contracts.

• All agreements.

MOUs with implementation sites must cover:

• How the intervention will be delivered.

• How the evaluation study will be conducted.

• Estimated number of participants.

• Estimated timeframe for delivery of intervention.

Phase II: Full implementation and evaluation (years 2–4) Phase II focuses on delivering the intervention and evaluating its impact.

Projects may not change the intervention materials or content once Phase II begins.

Projects will:

• Deliver the intervention to participants.

• Deliver activities for a control or comparison group.

• Monitor fidelity to make sure the program is delivered as planned.

• Observe program activities and supervise staff.

• Get consent from parents and assent from youth, when required.

• Collect data from all participant groups.

• Continue recruiting participants.

• Use strategies to improve attendance and retention.

• Track participants and conduct follow ups.

• Collect and submit federal performance data to FYSB.

• Develop and finalize an Analysis Plan (Year 4).

• Finalize a written plan for sustainability.

Projects must closely track attrition (participants who drop out) and document:

• How many participants leave.

• When they leave.

• Why they leave.

Projects do not need to conduct a separate implementation or process study. However, they must document implementation and report it in the final impact evaluation report.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 19

All Phase II activities must be completed by the end of Year 4.

Phase III: Analysis, reporting, and sustainability (Year 5) Phase III focuses on analyzing results, sharing findings, and planning for sustainability.

Projects may:

• Continue delivering the intervention to new youth or sites that were not part of the study.

Projects will:

• Analyze all study data.

• Submit a final impact evaluation report to ACF/FYSB.

• Present findings at local, regional, or national events.

• Submit at least one manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal.

• Finalize a plan to sustain the program after funding ends.

Projects must also:

• Create a detailed manual of the intervention.

• Package all intervention materials.

• Carry out sustainability activities.

Projects are not required to:

• Copyright the intervention.

• Market the intervention.

• Distribute the intervention.

Moving between phases To move to the next phase, projects must:

• Complete all required activities in the current phase.

• Receive formal approval from FYSB.

Projects may not begin the next phase until FYSB approves the previous one.

For the purposes of this announcement, intervention materials are defined as all materials needed to implement the project which may include, but is not limited to, training materials, PowerPoint slides, handouts, participant workbooks, videos, and app content.

NOTE: Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act (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

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 20 respond to, a collection of information covered by such Act, unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

Program evaluation overview PREIS projects must design and carry out a rigorous impact evaluation.

The purpose of the evaluation is to find out whether the program or approach leads to behavior change.

Rigorous impact evaluation All PREIS evaluations must use a rigorous study design. Projects may use one of the following two designs:

• Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

◦ Participants (or classrooms) are randomly assigned to either:

▪ The treatment group.

OR

▪ The control group.

• Quasi-Experimental Design (QED) projects may use a QED when random assignment is not possible.

◦ Participants are still assigned to either:

▪ A treatment group.

OR

▪ A comparison group.

The design must clearly explain how the groups are formed.

Both designs must include:

• A treatment group that receives full intervention.

OR

• A control or comparison group that receives a different service or no intervention.

Site responsibilities Recipients must make sure that:

• All implementation sites understand the evaluation design.

• All sites agree with their role (treatment and control or comparison).

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 21

Research questions PREIS projects must include both primary and secondary research questions. All research questions and outcomes must align with the program content delivered to youth.

Primary research questions Primary research questions must focus on outcomes related to at least one behavior listed in PREP legislation:

• Sexual activity (examples include delaying, stopping, or abstaining).

• Increasing condom or contraceptive use.

• Reducing teen pregnancy.

Secondary research questions Secondary research questions examine factors that may indirectly affect sexual risk behaviors. These questions may focus on one or more of the following areas:

• Knowledge, attitudes, or skills related to:

◦ Decrease in sexual activity.

◦ Increase in condom use.

◦ Increase in contraceptive use.

◦ Decrease in teen pregnancy.

◦ Increase in parent-child communication.

◦ Improvement in decision-making skills.

◦ Increase in self-efficacy and ability to negotiate safe behaviors.

◦ Improvement in future orientation and goal setting.

◦ Key elements of the program’s theoretical framework.

• Qualitative research on:

◦ Sexual behavior.

◦ Program implementation.

or

◦ Positive family environment

• Adult Preparation Subject topics included in PREP legislation.

• Risk behaviors that often occur with sexual risk-taking, such as substance use.

• Behaviors specific to the target population or location, based on:

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 22

◦ Research literature.

or

◦ A recent needs assessment.

Methodology PREIS projects must collect data at three points in time:

• Baseline.

• Short-term follow-up (up to six months after the program ends).

• Long-term follow-up (nine months or more after the program ends).

Before collecting any data, all projects must receive approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB). This approval must happen before data collection begins.

Information about the HHS Protection of Human Subjects regulations is available at www.hhs.gov/ohrp.

Projects must make sure that all consent and assent procedures, data collection methods, and data storage plans protect participant privacy and confidentiality.

Studies involving identifiable, sensitive information must obtain a CoC to protect participant privacy.

PREIS projects must:

• Actively recruit participants and keep them engaged throughout the project.

• Track participants over time.

• Reach a sample size large enough to detect program effects.

• Make sure staff have enough time, training, and resources to complete these tasks.

Implementation and delivery In addition to a rigorous impact evaluation, PREIS recipients must review how the project is delivered. Projects will use data from the program performance evaluation plan and other sources to understand:

• What services were provided.

• How the program was delivered.

• How the innovative approach was carried out in practice.

Recipients must document any changes to study procedures, setting, or other conditions that could affect study results.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 23 https://nofos.simpler.grants.gov/nofos/www.hhs.gov/ohrp

Evaluation administration and management Project implementation and evaluation must be led by different people.

The PREIS leadership team must include:

• Project Director or Principal Investigator responsible for managing and overseeing program implementation.

• Evaluation Lead/Director from an independent third-party evaluation team responsible for managing all evaluation activities.

The Project Director must manage the implementation and delivery of the intervention and oversee all related activities as well as work collaboratively with the independent, third-party Evaluator.

• Conduct a pilot implementation of the necessary proposed interventions and document adaptations.

• Develop a full implementation plan.

• Make sure facilitators get formal training in the intervention and create a plan to make sure the intervention is carried out with fidelity.

• Work with the evaluation team to adapt, document, evaluate and share your intervention.

• Collaborate with the Evaluation Lead to help collect and safely transfer study data to the evaluation team and guarantee data quality.

The Evaluation Lead must manage the third-party evaluation team and oversee all evaluation activities, including:

• Developing evaluation plans, procedures, and materials for all project phases.

• Training program staff and partners on evaluation procedures, as needed.

• Obtaining IRB approval and CoC for all data collection.

• Leading a data-informed, continuous quality improvement process.

• Working with program staff to clearly explain the study to partners, parents, and youth.

• Recruit, screen, and enroll participants.

• Retain, track, and follow up with participants in both the intervention and comparison groups.

All evaluation activities must be done by an independent, third-party evaluator.

Acceptable evaluators include universities, research organizations, evaluation firms, or consultants with experience conducting rigorous evaluations of similar size and scope.

Projects must use at least 20 percent of their PREIS budget for evaluation.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 24

Medical accuracy review During Phase I, projects must submit all materials for medical accuracy and completeness review by FYSB. This includes materials used for both intervention and control groups, such as:

• Teacher manuals.

• Student materials.

• Scripts and role plays.

• Videos, podcasts, and presentations.

• Posters, pamphlets, and handouts.

Projects must correct any medically inaccurate or non-age-appropriate content identified by FYSB. Projects may not use any materials until completing the review and making all required changes.

All project materials must be finalized and approved before Phase II begins. Projects may not make changes to materials after final approval.

PREP performance measures Performance measures are a set of indicators that reflect program performance.

Recipients report on performance measures through semi-annual reporting. These performance measures provide information based on these three data collection categories:

• Structure, cost, and support for program implementation.

• Attendance, reach, and dosage.

• Participant entry and exit surveys, which capture characteristics, behaviors, program experiences, and how effects are perceived.

Recipients are expected to:

• Check local and state laws, policies, and procedures to make sure there’s practical data collection, and obtain any necessary permissions such as formal agreements with partners, IRB approval, and copies of school district approvals.

• Make sure all subrecipients and implementation sites collect and submit the PREP performance measures data. FYSB will provide training on how to collect and submit data.

While FYSB has specific indicators for collection, recipients may:

• Use FYSB’s approved questions related to program performance and include additional, non-approved items to the end of the entry or exit surveys.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 25

• Collect additional service satisfaction feedback from youth participants entry and exit surveys.

For more information about the PREP performance measures, including definitions, survey instruments, and data collection tools, please see the PREP Performance Measures websitehttps://prepeval.acf.hhs.gov/.

Cooperative agreement—description of ACF’s involvement In a cooperative agreement, the Federal Government works as a partner with the grant recipient and is actively involved in the project. ACF will provide strong support to help make the project and its evaluation successful. ACF/FYSB will be more involved than usual through regular communication, conference calls, and site visits. ACYF/FYSB will partner with the grant recipient and provide support by:

• Holding monthly meetings with recipients to track progress, help with project activities, and make sure program goals are met.

• Conducting at least one site visit during the project period.

• Review and approve the implementation and evaluation plans.

• Providing technical assistance, training, and resources to help recipients meet PREIS requirements.

• Assigning recipients a research and evaluation technical assistance provider who will meet with them regularly to offer guidance, resources, and support on evaluation activities.

• Reviewing and giving final approval on all program, implementation, and evaluation plans (FYSB will get OMB clearance for the templates used to submit these plans).

• Sharing lessons learned and best practices from PREIS cohorts.

• Reviewing recipient manuscripts before they’re submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 26

Funding policies and limitations Changes in HHS regulations As of October 1, 2025, HHS adopted 2 CFR 200, with some exceptions included in 2 CFR

300. These regulations replace those in 45 CFR 75.

General policies

• We will only make awards if this program receives funding. If Congress appropriates funds for this purpose, we will move forward with the review and award process.

• Support beyond the first budget period will depend on:

◦ Appropriation of funds.

◦ Satisfactory progress in meeting your project’s objectives.

◦ A decision that continued funding is in the government’s best interest.

• If we receive more funding for this program, we will consider:

◦ Funding more applicants.

◦ Extending the period of performance.

◦ Awarding supplemental funding.

• To the extent permitted by law, including any relevant court orders, you may not use funds from this NOFO for any diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI and DEIA) activities. This includes:

◦ DEI- or DEIA-related research.

◦ Activities that discriminate or show preference based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or other protected traits.

◦ Any efforts that promote a “discriminatory equity ideology.”

• To the extent permitted by law, including any relevant court orders, ACF will also not allow funds awarded under this NOFO to support any services or activities that inculcate or promote gender ideology.

For guidance on other types of costs that we restrict or do not allow, see General Provisions for Selected Items of Costs of the Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR part 200.

Program-specific limitations and policies We do not allow the following costs under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO):

• Construction.

• Purchase of real property.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 27 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-III/part-300 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-III/part-300 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72

• Major renovation.

• Pre-award costs.

• Recipients are prohibited from including gender ideology in any program or service that is funded under this award to the extent permitted by law, including any court order. The statutory authority for the PREP program under which this grant has been awarded, at 42 U.S.C. 713, does not authorize teaching students that gender identity is distinct from biological sex or boys can identify as girls and vice versa, or that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex. Therefore, gender ideology is outside of the scope of the statutory authority for this award. In addition, any costs associated with gender ideology are not allowable expenditures of federal grant funds for this grant because they are not necessary, reasonable, or allocable for the performance of this award. See

2 CFR 200.403-405.

PREIS projects allocate a minimum of 20 percent of funding per year towards evaluation activities.

Funds under this NOFO cannot be used for the following purposes:

• To replace current public or private funding.

• To replace existing, ongoing, or usual activities of any organization involved in the project.

• To pay for any health care or related services that grant recipients or subcontractors may have referred youth to.

• Referrals that are not related to activities authorized under the award.

Indirect costs Indirect costs are those shared across multiple projects and not easily separated.

To charge indirect costs you can select one of two methods:

Method 1 — Approved rate. If you currently have an indirect cost rate approved by your cognizant federal agency, you may use that rate.

Method 2 — De minimis rate. If you do not have a negotiated indirect cost rate, you may elect to charge a de minimis rate (see 2 CFR 200.414(f)). This rate may be up to 15% of modified total direct costs (MTDC). See the definition of MTDC (2 CFR 200.1). You can use this rate indefinitely.

You may not charge costs included in your indirect cost pool as direct costs.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 28 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.414#p-200.414(f) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Modified%20Total%20Direct%20Cost%20(MTDC))

Subawards As the prime recipient, you must maintain a substantive role in the project. This means that you conduct funded activities and provide services necessary and integral to completing the project.

Monitoring your subrecipient’s activities alone as described in 2 CFR 200.332 is not a substantive role.

We do not fund awards where your role is primarily a conduit for passing funds to other organizations unless that arrangement is authorized by statute.

All subrecipients must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) through the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).

Subrecipients must meet the eligibility requirements of this NOFO.

Salary rate limitation The salary rate limitation in the current appropriations act applies to this program. You may not use awarded funds to pay a salary at a higher rate than the rate for Executive Level II.

For the Executive Level II salary, please see the Office of Personnel Management information on executive and senior level employee pay.

The salary limitation reflects a person’s base salary (including any portion of the salary that is paid with indirect costs). It does not include fringe benefits or any income the person is allowed to earn outside of the duties of the applicant organization.

This salary limitation also applies to subawards, contracts, and subcontracts under an ACF grant or cooperative agreement.

Program income If you earn any money from your award-supported project activities (known as program income), you must use it for the purposes and under the conditions of the award. Find more about program income at 2 CFR 200.307.

Use of E-Verify All funded grantees and subgrantees are encouraged to use the national E-Verify system operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with the Social Security Administration, to ensure their employees are American citizens or are eligible to work in the United States.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 29 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#200.332 https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/ https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#200.307

Step 2:

Get Ready to Apply

In this step

Find the application package 31

Get registered 32

Learn more 32

Find the application package The application package has all the forms you need to apply. You can find it at this NOFO’s Grants.gov opportunity page. Then select the Package tab.

We recommend that you select the Subscribe button from the View Grant Opportunity page for this NOFO to get updates.

If you can’t use Grants.gov to download application materials or have other technical difficulties, including issues with application submission, contact Grants.gov for assistance.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 31 https://www.grants.gov/support

Get registered SAM.gov You must have…