U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Phase I New and Innovative Strategies (Tier 2) to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy and Promote Healthy Adolescence : The Grant Plant, Inc. New Mexico

Deadline: June 29, 2018

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Phase I New and Innovative Strategies (Tier 2) to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy and Promote Healthy Adolescence

The Phase I New and Innovative Strategies (Tier 2) to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy and Promote Healthy Adolescence Program supports projects that evaluate and test innovative strategies to reduce teen pregnancy, improve adolescent health, and address youth sexual risk holistically by focusing on protective factors. Recipients should develop strategies to address protective factors and/or key elements of effective programs recognized by social science research to affect adolescent risk behaviors.

The Office of Adolescent Health is requesting proposals for two funding opportunities: Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 grantees must replicate a proven program; Tier 2 grantees are required to develop and test new and innovative strategies to prevent teen pregnancy by promoting healthy adolescence and addressing youth sexual risk holistically by enhancing protective factors in order to result in healthy decision making and future thriving. Projects will be funded to evaluate and test innovative strategies to reduce teen pregnancy, improve adolescent health and address youth sexual risk holistically by focusing on protective factors. Projects are expected to have high potential to enhance protective factors shown to improve the health of adolescents aged 10-19.

Recipients should develop strategies to address protective factors and/or key elements of effective programs recognized by social science research to affect adolescent risk behaviors. The Center for Relationship Education’s Systematic Method for Assessing Risk-avoidance Tool (SMARTool) describes nine elements of effective sexual avoidance programs; the Tool to Assess Characteristics of Effective Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs, developed by ETR (Education, Training and Research) Associates describes 17 elements of effective sexual risk reduction programs. Applicants are expected describe in detail how they implement protective factors and/or either elements from the SMARTool or the Tool to Assess the Characteristics of Effective Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs.

Elements of these tools are summarized below:

1. Systematic Method for Assessing Risk-Avoidance Tool describes nine elements essential for effective sexual risk avoidance: 1) enhance knowledge of physical development and sexual risks and personal relationships; 2) support personal attitudes and beliefs that value sexual risk avoidance; 3) acknowledge and address common rationalizations for sexual activity; 4) improve perception and independence from negative peer and social norms; 5) build personal competencies and self-efficacy to avoid sexual risk; 6) strengthen personal intention and commitment to avoid sexual activity; 7) identify and reduce the opportunities for sexual activity; 8) strengthen future goals and opportunities; and 9) partner with parents.

2. Tool to Assess the Characteristics of Effective Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs describes 17 elements of effective sexual risk reduction projects: 1) involve multiple people with different backgrounds; 2) assess relevant needs and assets of a target group; 3) use a logic model approach to develop the curriculum that specified the health goals, behaviors affecting the health goals, risk and protective factors affecting those behaviors, and activities addressing the risk and protective factors; 4) design activities consistent with community values and available resources; 5) pilot-test the project and contents of the curriculum; 6) focus on clear health goals; 7) focus narrowly on specific behaviors leading to the health goals; 8) address multiple sexual psychosocial risk and protective factors affecting sexual behaviors; 9) create a safe social environment for youth to participate; 10) include multiple activities to change each of the selected risk and protective factors; 11) employ instructionally sound teaching methods that actively involve participants and are designed to change risk and protective factors; 12) employ activities, instructional methods, and behavioral messages that are appropriate to youths’ culture, developmental age, and sexual experience; 13) cover topics in a logical sequence; 14) secure at least minimal support from appropriate authorities; 15) select educators, train them, and provide monitoring, supervision, and support; 16) if needed, implement activities to recruit and retrain youth and overcome barriers to their involvement; and 17) implement virtually all activities with reasonable fidelity.

Amount: A total of $22,000,000 is available to make up to 75 awards that range from $250,000-$375,000 over a 24 month project period.

Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)3 status; for-profit organizations; small, minority, and women-owned businesses; universities and colleges; research institutions; hospitals; community-based organizations; faith-based organizations; American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments; American Indian/Alaska Native tribally designated organizations; Alaska native health corporations; urban Indian health organizations; tribal epidemiology centers; state and local governments or their Bona Fide Agents; and political subdivisions of states.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=302782

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