Teen Pregnancy Prevention Tier 2 Rigorous Evaluation Cooperative Agreements | AH TP2 23 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for AH TP2 23 001

The Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Tier 2 Rigorous Evaluation Cooperative Agreements is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, administered by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA). It is designed to strengthen the evidence base for teen pregnancy prevention by funding rigorous evaluations of "promising" interventions that aim to reduce teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and the underlying behavioral risk factors linked to teen pregnancy. The broader TPP program, created in 2010 by Congressional mandate, supports medically accurate and age-appropriate approaches for adolescents, and this Tier 2 track specifically focuses on taking interventions with encouraging early evidence and testing them more definitively.

The core purpose of this opportunity is evaluation rather than simply service delivery. Funded projects are expected to conduct both impact evaluations (to determine whether the intervention causes measurable improvements in outcomes) and implementation evaluations (to understand how the intervention was delivered, the quality and consistency of delivery, and what factors supported or hindered success). OPA emphasizes using the strongest evaluation design that is feasible for the setting, which typically points applicants toward robust experimental or quasi-experimental approaches when possible. Because the award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, recipients should expect meaningful involvement from OPA during the project period, including required participation in OPA-provided evaluation technical assistance.

OPA is particularly interested in studies that respond to changing youth and community needs and that address populations experiencing significant need or health disparities. The announcement highlights priority interest in evaluations conducted in settings such as juvenile justice systems and foster care/child welfare, as well as interventions tailored for expectant and parenting youth, youth with disabilities, and youth experiencing homelessness. It also notes caregivers as a relevant focus area, signaling that promising approaches may extend beyond youth-only programming to include family or caregiver components when appropriate.

A wide range of intervention types can be proposed as long as they are clearly defined and ready to be studied. Examples mentioned include educational programs and curricula, clinical interventions, and technology-based strategies. However, the intervention cannot be purely conceptual or in early development. OPA expects the intervention to already have materials developed, a well-articulated theory of change (a clear explanation of how the intervention is expected to influence behaviors and outcomes), and compelling positive preliminary evidence from prior research or evaluation work. The intervention also needs to be a good fit for the intended population and setting, and there should be demonstrated participant support or acceptability, which matters both for ethical implementation and for producing meaningful evaluation results.

Implementation expectations are detailed and reflect a strong emphasis on delivering the intervention with consistency and quality so that evaluation findings are credible. Recipients are expected to maintain fidelity to the intervention model while also ensuring quality assurance processes are in place. OPA also calls out practical delivery factors such as providing sufficient dosage (enough exposure to the program), achieving intervention saturation (reaching the target group adequately within the setting), using appropriate materials, coordinating and managing staff effectively, using qualified facilitators, and maintaining participant engagement and satisfaction. Stakeholder support is also emphasized, recognizing that schools, community partners, justice or child welfare agencies, clinics, and other local stakeholders often determine whether implementation is feasible and sustainable.

Another major goal is building interventions that can be scaled and replicated across the adolescent health field. In other words, OPA is not only looking for interventions that work in one place under ideal conditions, but for approaches that show promise for broader use if evidence supports them. To support field-wide learning, recipients are expected to actively disseminate results and lessons learned, including publishing in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at professional conferences. This dissemination requirement reinforces that the end product is generalizable knowledge about what works, for whom, and under what conditions.

Administratively, this opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number AH-TP2-23-001 under CFDA 93.297, with an application deadline of May 17, 2023, due electronically by 6:00 pm Eastern Time. The award ceiling is $1,000,000, and OPA anticipated making approximately 16 awards. Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; school districts; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribes and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions in those specific nonprofit categories); and for-profit organizations (including small businesses). This wide eligibility is consistent with the program's focus on rigorous research and evaluation, which may be led by universities, research organizations, community-based nonprofits, health systems, or partnerships across these entities.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Teen Pregnancy Prevention Tier 2 Rigorous Evaluation Cooperative Agreements" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.297.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 10, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 17, 2023 Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 600 pm Eastern Time.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 16 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for AH TP2 23 001

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