Sexual Health Education

About the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program

This tiered, evidence-based program administered by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) provides competitive grants to a broad range of organizations and agencies. The TPP Program has also been featured as one of 20 success stories in the Bipartisan Policy Center's Evidence Works: Cases Where Evidence Meaningfully Informed Policy.

TPP Funding is contingent on annual appropriations, with the program currently funded at $101 million for FY 2025. The funding supports two tiers of evidence-based grants:

• 75% go to Tier 1 grants to replicate teen pregnancy prevention programs that have shown to be effective through rigorous evaluation.
• 25% go to Tier 2 grants to develop, replicate, refine, and rigorously evaluate additional models and innovative strategies to reduce teen pregnancy.
• Up to 10% of TPP Program funds can be used for training and technical assistance, evaluation, and other program support

Currently, 73 organizations received 5-year grants through the TPP Program. 55 of those organizations are implementing proven effective TPP programs (Tier 1), 12 organizations are analyzing and evaluating new and innovative programs (Tier 2), and 6 organizations are developing collaborative pipelines to incubate and accelerate innovative strategies (Tier 2). These various programs will work in communities across the country to support adolescent health.

TPP and the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) are complementary federal funding streams for teen pregnancy prevention education. Read more about these and other federal funding streams for sexual and reproductive health education.

Funding Status

Funded at $101 million for FY2025 (through September 30, 2025).

Most Recent Action: 

• On September 16, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved their version of the FY26 Labor HHS bill which among other things would completely eliminate the TPP Program. Read Power to Decide's statement on the bill here.

What Happened Previously:

• In early August, the Senate appropriations Committee voted 26-3 to approve its version of the FY26 Labor H appropriations bill. Among other things, it continues level funding for the TPP Program. Read Power to Decide's statement on the Senate Labor H bill here.
• At the end of April, the Trump administration released its “skinny” budget for FY 2026. Among other things, it includes a request to eliminate the TPP Program. As Congress takes the President's proposal into consideration, stay tuned for additional updates.

• On March 15, Congress approved and passed, and President Trump signed into law a Continuing Resolution which maintains level funding for key programs, including the TPP Program, through the end of the year.

  What Can You Do to Support TPP

  As we near the September 30th deadline, contact your Representatives and tell them to increase funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

Resources:

• Power to Decide Statement on FY26 House Labor H bill.
• Power to Decide Statement on FY26 Senate Labor H bill.
• FY 2026 Appropriations Request Letter – explains why increased funding for the TPP Program is a priority.  
• FY 2026 Budget Request Letter.
• FY 2025 Appropriations Request Letter.
• FY 2023 - FY 2025 Budget Chart.
• Polling Data: Demonstrates widespread support for the TPP Program (and PREP). 

About the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP)

PREP funds evidence-based programs dedicated to educating adolescents on both abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and STIs. PREP also educates youth on adulthood preparation topics, such as healthy relationships, parent-child communication, and financial literacy. The program targets youth ages 10–19 who are experiencing homelessness, in foster care, live in rural areas or in geographic areas with high teen birth rates, or come from racial or ethnic minority groups, as well as pregnant and parenting youth. PREP includes formula grants to states (or competitive grants to organizations in the states that decline the formula grants), grants to tribes and tribal organizations, and grants for research and demonstration projects to implement and evaluate innovative strategies. 

PREP and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program are complementary federal funding streams for teen pregnancy prevention education. They are high-quality examples of tiered, evidence-based grant making that use evidence to inform awards and continuous program improvement.

Funding Status

 Funded at $75 Million For FY 2025 (through September 30, 2025).

Most recent action:

• On September 16, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved their version of the FY26 Labor HHS bill which aims to eliminate programs that support access to sexual health information. Before appropriations for FY26 is finalized, policymakers will need to add a health extenders package to the final legislation in order to continue funding for PREP.

What happened previously:

• In early August, the Senate appropriations Committee voted 26-3 to approve its version of the FY26 Labor H appropriations bill. Read Power to Decide's statement on the Senate Labor H bill here. Before appropriations for FY26 is finalized, policymakers will need to add a health extenders package to the final legislation in order to continue funding for PREP.
• At the end of April, the Trump administration released its “skinny” budget for FY 2026.
• On March 15, 2025, Congress approved and passed, and President Trump signed into law a Continuing Resolution which maintains level funding for key programs through the end of the year. Attached to that bill was a bill to reauthorize PREP and other key health programs.

What Can You Do to Protect PREP?

Contact Your Members of Congress and tell them to authorize continued funding for PREP in FY26 appropriations.

Resources

• Developing Effective Sustainable Personal Responsibility Education Programs (from The Exchange).
• Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention in Underserved Populations: The Way Forward. American Journal of Public Health Special Supplement: Vol. 108, No. S1. February 2018. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/108/S1
• Multi-Component PREP Evaluation 2011 – 2018.

About the HHS Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review

The HHS Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review (TPPER) is an independent, systematic, and rigorous review of evaluation studies conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and managed by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (HHS' evidence and evaluation experts). The evidence review has identified a growing number of evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program models that represent a variety of approaches.

Most State PREP grantees use models identified by the evidence review. Tier 1 TPP Program grantees (FY 2010 - FY 2014 & FY 2015 - FY 2019) also used these models—and it serves as a resource for communities around the country.

TPPER findings published in 2024 identified 48 programs that meet the review criteria for evidence of effectiveness. The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review is included in the Penn State University Results First Clearinghouse.

About the Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act (REAHYA)

The Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act (REAHYA), which was first introduced in Congress in 2021, would make essential investments in inclusive and honest sex education programs. The bill would also provide funding to help young people facing the greatest barriers to sexual health services get access to quality and culturally responsive care. 

REAHYA was reintroduced this Congress on May 22, 2025, by Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) in the House and Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) in the Senate. Read their press release on the reintroduction here.