Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Multi-Component Evaluation

2011-2021

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) is one of multiple efforts at the Federal level to reduce teen pregnancy through the use of evidence-based programs. The goals of the PREP Evaluation are to document how programs funded through the State PREP program are implemented in the field and to assess selected PREP-funded programs’ effectiveness. The study, being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, will (1) describe how States have designed and implemented PREP programs, (2) collect and analyze performance measurement data, and (3) conduct random assignment impact evaluations and in-depth implementation evaluations in four specific PREP-funded sites.

More information on the PREP Evaluation is available HERE.

To Find Out More

Point(s) of contact: Caryn Blitz and Kathleen McCoy.

You may also contact the evaluation contractor, Mathematica Policy Research:

Susan Zief, szief@mathematica-mpr.com

The impact studies are registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under the titles: Impact Evaluation of the Wise Guys Program , Impact Evaluation of the Steps to Success Program, Impact Evaluation of the Reducing the Risk Program , and Impact Evaluation of the Teen Choice Program .

Information collections related to this project have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970-0398. Related materials are available on at the PREP Information collection page on RegInfo.gov .

Related Resources

The PREP performance measures data provide systematic information about program operations and outcomes for all PREP grantees, their provider organizations, the programs they operate, and the youth they serve. In this interactive brief, we highlighted key findings for PREP between 2013 and 2017.

This brief summarizes key cost findings from the evaluation of Steps to Success in Texas. It presents information on the resources required to deliver the program and the average cost per home visit and the average cost per participant. The brief also summarizes how the average cost per participant compares to other home visiting programs.

This brief summarizes key cost findings from the evaluation of Wise Guys in Iowa. It presents information on the resources required to deliver the program for one academic year and the average cost per student. The brief also summarizes how the average cost per student compares to other federally funded teen pregnancy prevention programs.

This brief highlights the implementation infrastructure of Personal Responsibility Education Program evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in...

This brief highlights key findings from the implementation of an adapted version of Reducing the Risk, a comprehensive sex education program. The program was delivered by health educators in relatively low-income, mostly rural, high schools in the Barren River and Lincoln Trail District Health Departments in Kentucky during the 2013—2014 and 2014—2015 school years...

This brief highlights key findings from the implementation of Wise Guys — a comprehensive sex education program designed specifically for males — in seven Davenport, IA area middle schools during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years...

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act. The program, overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to provide educational programs to adolescents on teen pregnancy prevention and related topics.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress. Most of the PREP funding...

This report examines nationwide trends for PREP between 2013 and 2017. The report also highlights differences between three different PREP funding streams: State PREP, Tribal PREP, and Competitive PREP.  

This brief highlights evidence on the impacts of the Teen Choice curriculum for youth in alternative schools in and around New York City. Because alternative schools provide supplemental services to address the specific needs of youth, these schools often find it difficult to fit pregnancy prevention programming into the regular school day. The result is that youth enrolled in these schools often have limited opportunities to receive sexual health education. To help expand...

This brief summarizes key findings from a random assignment impact study of Steps to Success, a home visiting program in San Antonio, Texas, designed to reduce rapid repeat pregnancy among young mothers. A small but growing body of evidence suggests a combination of individualized support services and improved access to effective contraception can promote healthy birth spacing among adolescent mothers. To build on this promising research...

This brief summarizes findings from a random assignment impact study of Wise Guys, a long-standing, widely implemented curriculum designed to help adolescent males make responsible decisions about their sexual behavior. Nationwide, boys report higher rates of sexual risk behaviors than girls do. In addition, becoming a father as a teenager is associated with completing fewer years of schooling and being less likely to graduate from high school...

This report presents evidence on the impacts of the Teen Choice curriculum for youth in alternative schools in and around New York City. Because alternative schools provide supplemental services to address the specific needs of youth...

When policymakers and practitioners are considering a new program, cost is typically one of their key concerns. This brief provides information on the cost of implementing a teen pregnancy prevention program in school as part of a health class...

This brief summarizes findings from a random assignment impact study of an adapted version of the Reducing the Risk teen pregnancy prevention curriculum in rural Kentucky. Although rural counties have the highest teen birth rates in the United States, teen pregnancy prevention practitioners and researchers have developed and

This report presents evidence on the early impacts of the Steps to Success home visiting program for adolescent mothers in San Angelo, Texas. Rapid repeat pregnancies can have adverse consequences for young mothers and their children and can compound the negative effects of adolescent childbearing. A small but growing body of evidence suggests that interventions for adolescent mothers can promote healthy birth spacing by providing a combination...

This brief summarizes key characteristics of programs funded through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) that reported at least half of the youth they served were in foster care. PREP, which aims to reduce teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and associated risk behaviors, is administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau...

This brief summarizes key characteristics of youth participants in programs funded through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which aims to reduce teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and associated risk behaviors. PREP is administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau within the Administration for Children and Families... 

This brief summarizes key characteristics of programs funded through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) that reported at least half of the youth they served were adjudicated youth. PREP, which aims to reduce teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and associated risk behaviors, is administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau...

This brief summarizes key characteristics of programs funded through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) that reported at least half of the youth they served were homeless or runaway youth. PREP, which aims to reduce teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and associated risk behaviors, is administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau...  

This brief summarizes key characteristics of programs funded through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which aims to reduce teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and associated risk behaviors. PREP is administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Funding is awarded...

This brief summarizes key characteristics of programs funded through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) that primarily served highly vulnerable populations. Programs that “primarily served” a highly vulnerable population are defined as those that reported at least half of the youth they served were from one or more of the following populations: youth in foster care; youth in adjudication systems; homeless or runaway youth; pregnant or parenting youth; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth...  

This report presents evidence on the early impacts of the Wise Guys Male Responsibility Curriculum in middle schools in and near the city of Davenport, Iowa. In recent years, researchers and policymakers have increasingly recognized and prioritized the need to support young men in achieving positive educational and career outcomes and becoming...

This report presents evidence on the longer-term impacts of an adapted version of the Reducing the Risk teen pregnancy prevention curriculum in rural Kentucky. Although rural counties have the highest teen birth rates in the United States, teen pregnancy prevention practitioners and researchers have developed and tested relatively few programs for youth in rural areas. To add to the research on effective pregnancy prevention...

This brief summarizes key findings from a study of the implementation of the Teen Choice curriculum, a 12-session program that uses interactive exercises and guided discussions to deliver information to groups of 8 to 12 students on abstinence, contraception...

This brief summarizes key findings from a study of the implementation of the Steps to Success program, a home visiting program for adolescent mothers that offers counseling on contraception, adequate birth spacing, parenting, and child development. Healthy Families San Angelo (HFSA)—an experienced...

This report summarizes key findings from the implementation of Teen Choice in New York. Teen Choice is a comprehensive sex education program, covering both abstinence and contraception. Teen Choice was adapted to allow for implementation with  youth with severe emotional and behavioral issues...

This report summarizes short-term impact findings from rural high schools in Kentucky implementing an adapted version of Reducing the Risk, a comprehensive sex education program. The study findings indicate that the adapted version of Reducing the Risk had short-term impacts on some but not all of the program’s targeted outcomes.

This report documents the implementation infrastructure of Personal Responsibility Education Program evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in four states — California, Maine, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.

Analysis of the programs implementation infrastructure showed that the four states differed in size; the role grantees took in supporting implementation, resources, and the settings in which the program operated.

Despite that, states had similarities in how they...

Healthy Families San Angelo, a community-based organization in San Angelo, Texas, successfully implemented two home visiting programs, Traditional Healthy Families and Steps to Success. The Steps to Success program is part of the federal Personal Responsibility Education Program and offers counseling on contraception and adequate birth spacing, as well as parenting and child development issues. Traditional Healthy Families focuses only on parenting and child development...

This report summarizes the key findings from the implementation of Wise Guys, a comprehensive sex education program designed specifically for males implemented in seven Davenport-area middle schools during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years.

Wise Guys aim is to promote male responsibility while helping prevent teenage pregnancy. The curriculum also works to strengthen communication between boys and their parents...

This report summarizes the key findings from the implementation of the adapted version of Reducing the Risk comprehensive sex education program in the Barren River and Lincoln Trail District Health Departments in Kentucky. In both districts, health educators delivered the program during the 2013—2014 and 2014—2015 school years in relatively low-income, mostly rural high schools.

In addition to descriptions of how the program was adapted and its implementation...

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act. The program, overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to provide educational programs to adolescents on teen pregnancy prevention and related topics.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress. Most of the PREP funding...

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act.  The program, which is overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress.  Most of the PREP funding...

Congress created the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) in 2010 to help reduce teen pregnancies and their negative consequences.  State PREP programs are expected to be evidence-based, provide education on both abstinence and contraceptive use, and educate youth on at least three of six adulthood preparation topics. States are also encouraged to target their programming to high-risk populations, such as youth residing in geographic areas with high teen birth rates...