U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Relationships, Education, Advancement, and Development for Youth for Life

The Relationships, Education, Advancement, and Development for Youth for Life (READY4Life) program will award demonstration grants that support healthy marriage promotion activities. The following elements of Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programming have been identified as key ingredients to prepare Youth for Life (READY4Life)—Relationships, Education, Advancement, and Development. Grants will support projects that provide a broad array of healthy marriage promotion services designed to support healthy relationships and marriage, including the value of marriage in future family formation and skills-based healthy relationship and marriage education to youth in high school (grades 9-12), high-school-aged youth (ages 14-17), and/or youth in late adolescence to early adulthood (ages 18-24).

Grants will support the following three Healthy Marriage promotion activities that are particularly applicable to youth:

• Education in High Schools – Education in high schools on the value of marriage, relationship skills, and budgeting.
• Marriage and Relationship Education/Skills (MRES) – Marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs that may include parenting skills, financial management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement.
• Public Advertising Campaigns – Public advertising campaigns on the value of marriage and the skills needed to increase marital stability and health.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide comprehensive services that help youth build healthy relationship skills (including healthy relationship skills in dating, with peers, with caring adults, in other inter-personal relationships, and, as appropriate, marriage and co-parenting relationship skills), while supporting positive socioemotional development and promoting successful transitions to young adulthood. Where appropriate, projects may also provide services for parenting youth, and for job and career advancement.

Funds may be used only for costs associated with the three authorized Healthy Marriage promotion activities and the administrative costs associated with these activities. Grantees will be expected to implement at least 12 hours of workshops; meet program participation targets; and achieve specified program completion rates. Applicants requesting funding from $1,000,000-$1,500,000 are expected to propose and conduct impact evaluations (those requesting less than $1,000,000 have the option of proposing to conduct local evaluations). READY4Life will also support projects that implement only one specific program model designed for one specific youth service population (e.g., youth in high school or disadvantaged young adults).

Amount: A total of $24,000,000 is available to make up to 27 grants that range from $500,000-$1,500,000 each year for a 5-year project period. The following sets forth the organizational capacity scopes and funding levels:

• Large scope services: Requests from $1,000,000-$1,500,000
• Moderate scope services: Requests from $750,000-$999,999
• Smaller scope services: Requests from $500,000-$749,000

Eligibility: Public and private entities are eligible to apply, including, but not limited to, state, territorial, local, and quasi-governmental agencies; Native American tribal governments and tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations; independent school districts; public, private or tribal institutions of higher education; and for-profit entities. Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are also eligible to receive awards

Eligible participants are youth in traditional or alternative high schools (grades 9–12); high-school-aged youth (ages 14–17); and/or youth in late adolescence to early adulthood (ages 18–24). ACF has a particular interest in services targeting the following populations, although participant eligibility is not limited to these populations:

• Youth in, or aging out of, foster care
• Runaway and homeless youth populations
• Youth involved in the juvenile justice system
• Low-income and at-risk youth
• Parenting youth
• Youth attending Title I traditional or alternative high schools (as applicable)

Additionally, there is a special interest in project designs that target services to young parents by proposing evidence-based or evidence-informed parenting curriculum instruction and related activities under the parenting element of the Marriage and Relationships Education and Skills specified activity.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=324637

Note: This is one of three Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) FOAs, with this FOA addressing youth populations (including young fathers and mothers). The other FOAs are:

• The Healthy Marriage FOA that addresses adults is: Family, Relationship, and Marriage Education Works – Adults (FRAMEWorks) (HHS-2020-ACF-OFA-ZB-1817).
• The Responsible Fatherhood FOA is: Fatherhood – Family-focused, Interconnected, Resilient and Essential (Fatherhood FIRE) (HHS-2020-ACF-OFA-ZJ-1846).

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