Implementation Evaluation of the 2020 Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants
Highlights
- While the overall teen birth rate in the U.S. has been declining, large disparities persist by race, ethnicity, and among the most vulnerable youth.
- Abt will study Teen Pregnancy Prevention grant strategies designed to prevent teen pregnancy and STIs and improve adolescent health.
- The study findings will include case studies to inform future programs and teen pregnancy prevention research.
Although the United States has made great progress in reducing teen pregnancy, teen mothers are still much more common than in other western industrialized nations. In addition, there are disparities in teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates by race and ethnicity and among the most vulnerable populations, such as youth experiencing homelessness, living in foster care, or involved with the juvenile justice system.
To address these challenges, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs (OPA) administers the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program. The TPP program supports the implementation of existing evidence-based teen pregnancy and STI prevention programs (Tier 1), as well as the development and evaluation of new and innovative approaches to reduce disparities in these outcomes (Tier 2).
OPA contracted with Abt Global and our partners, Decision Information Resources and Data Soapbox, to evaluate the 2020 TPP Tier 1-Optimally Changing the Map for Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Tier 2-Innovation and Impact Networks grant strategies.
Abt will conduct virtual or in-person site visits with each of the 75 grantees—and a selection of their grant partners—and review grantees’ program documents to understand how they are implementing the two grant strategies, as well as challenges and successes. The evaluation will include:
- A cross-grantee study of how grantees are implementing each grant strategy,
- Case studies that highlight and explain specific TPP grantees’ strategies, and
- Recommendations for additional TPP research and evaluation options.
The evaluation will help OPA, practitioners, and other TPP stakeholders shape future strategies for reducing teen pregnancy and STIs, and will result in:
- A summary report,
- 75 grantee profiles,
- Three case studies,
- Recommendations for future TPP research and evaluation opportunities, and
- Other products to be determined in collaboration with OPA.
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