Through the Tribal Personal Responsibility Education Program (Tribal PREP), FYSB awards grants to Tribes and Tribal communities to develop and implement abstinence and contraceptive education adolescent pregnancy prevention programs

FYSB Mission

To support the organizations and communities that work every day to reduce the risk of youth homelessness, adolescent pregnancy and domestic violence.

FYSB Vision

A future in which all our nation’s youth, individuals, and families — no matter what challenges they may face — can live healthy, productive, violence-free lives.

Purpose

Through the Tribal Personal Responsibility Education Program (Tribal PREP), the Family & Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) awards grants to tribes and tribal organizations to educate American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS.

Tribal PREP programs are encouraged, to the extent possible, to use models (or elements of models) of existing adolescent pregnancy prevention programs that have been proven by scientific research to be effective in changing behavior. FYSB, through extensive consultation with tribes, designed Tribal PREP specifically to honor tribal needs, traditions, and cultures. If existing models cannot be adapted for a particular tribe or native community, programs must show how new strategies are likely to be effective based on the unique cultural needs of their youth and relevant theories of behavior change. This “practice-based evidence” may be drawn from prior experiences, practices, or customs from an array of culturally specific youth programs.

Services

Tribal PREP programs must target services to youth, ages 10—19, who are at high-risk or vulnerable for pregnancies. This group includes youth in or aging out of foster care, homeless youth, youth with HIV/AIDS, victims of human trafficking, pregnant and/or parenting youth who are under age 21, and youth who live in areas with high teen birth rates. Programs must place substantial emphasis on both abstinence and contraception education for the prevention of pregnancy and STIs.

Tribal PREP projects must educate young people in at least three of the six congressionally mandated subject areas below:

• Healthy relationships, including marriage and family interactions
• Financial literacy
• Parent-child communication
• 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
• Educational and career success, such as developing skills for employment preparation, job seeking, independent living, financial self-sufficiency, and workplace productivity
• Healthy life skills, such as goal-setting, decision making, negotiation, communication and interpersonal skills, and stress management.

History

Section 2953 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Public Law (Pub. L.) No. 111-148) established PREP. 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 Section 3822 of the CARES Act, 2020 (Pub. L. No. 116-136).

Measuring Progress & Performance

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) oversees the effectiveness of each PREP project. The Administration for Children & Families (ACF) collects the following broad categories of performance measures to facilitate this oversight:

• Measures of structure, cost, and support for implementation
• Measures of attendance, reach, and dosage
• Participant characteristics
• Measures of participants’ behavioral intentions and perceptions of the program and its intended effects

Grantees use these performance measures to track their progress in achieving program goals; monitor program providers and implementation sites; plan for training and technical assistance needs; share progress with funders and other stakeholders; identify opportunities for coordination, collaboration, and referrals; and enhance planning for sustainability.

Grant Award Process

FYSB solicits applications for Tribal PREP from tribes and tribal organizations. Applications are competitively reviewed by peer panels and successful applicants receive five-year grants. In fiscal year 2019, $3.28 million was awarded to eight tribes and tribal organizations and Tribal PREP projects served 1,750 youth. Additional information on these PREP projects can be found in the Tribal PREP Grantee Profiles.

Contact Us

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program
Training and Technical Assistance Center
FYSB Website
APP Website
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