Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Multi-Component Evaluation, 2011-2018

Project Overview

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) is one of multiple efforts at the Federal level to reduce teen pregnancy through the use of evidence-based programs. The goals of the PREP Evaluation are to document how programs funded through the State PREP program are implemented in the field and to assess selected PREP-funded programs’ effectiveness. The study, being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, will (1) describe how States have designed and implemented PREP programs, (2) collect and analyze performance measurement data, and (3) conduct random assignment impact evaluations and in-depth implementation evaluations in four specific PREP-funded sites.

More information on the PREP Evaluation is available here and in A Snapshot of the PREP Performance Measures Report to Congress from the Family & Youth Services Bureau.

The points of contact are Seth Chamberlain and Kathleen Mccoy (Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation) and Caryn Blitz (Administration for Children, Youth and Families).

  • Supporting Statewide Implementation of Evidence- Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs: Findings from Four PREP Grantees

    Published: November 8, 2016

    This report documents the implementation infrastructure of Personal Responsibility Education Program evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in four states – California, Maine, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.

    Analysis of the programs implementation infrastructure showed that the four states differed in size; the role grantees took in supporting implementation, resources, and the settings in which the program operated.

    Despite that, states had similarities in how they...

  • Preventing Rapid Repeat Births Among Adolescent Mothers: Implementing Steps to Success in San Angelo, Texas

    Published: October 17, 2016

    Healthy Families San Angelo, a community-based organization in San Angelo, Texas, successfully implemented two home visiting programs, Traditional Healthy Families and Steps to Success. The Steps to Success program is part of the federal Personal Responsibility Education Program and offers counseling on contraception and adequate birth spacing, as well as parenting and child development issues. Traditional Healthy Families focuses only on parenting and child development...

  • Focusing on the Boys: Implementing Wise Guys in Davenport, Iowa

    Published: February 11, 2016

    This report summarizes the key findings from the implementation of Wise Guys, a comprehensive sex education program designed specifically for males implemented in seven Davenport-area middle schools during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years.

    Wise Guys aim is to promote male responsibility while helping prevent teenage pregnancy. The curriculum also works to strengthen communication between boys and their parents...

  • Adapting an Evidence-based Curriculum in a Rural Setting: Implementing Reducing the Risk in Kentucky

    Published: December 14, 2015

    This report summarizes the key findings from the implementation of the adapted version of Reducing the Risk comprehensive sex education program in the Barren River and Lincoln Trail District Health Departments in Kentucky. In both districts, health educators delivered the program during the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 school years in relatively low-income, mostly rural high schools.

    In addition to descriptions of how the program was adapted and its implementation...

  • Disadvantaged Youth: Ongoing Research and Program Evaluation Efforts

    Published: November 3, 2015

    This brief highlights ACF research and program evaluation efforts related to disadvantaged youth. It features research projects across ACF related to youth employment and self-sufficiency, child welfare, teen relationships, teen pregnancy and parenthood, and youth development...

  • Designing an Impact Study of Four Selected Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy

    Published: May 21, 2015

    The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act. The program, overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to provide educational programs to adolescents on teen pregnancy prevention and related topics.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress. Most of the PREP funding...

  • Design for an Impact Study of Four PREP Programs

    Published: January 28, 2015

    The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act. The program, overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to provide educational programs to adolescents on teen pregnancy prevention and related topics.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress. Most of the PREP funding...

  • How States are Implementing Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs Through the Personal Responsibility Education Program

    Published: April 14, 2014

    The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act.  The program, which is overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress.  Most of the PREP funding...

  • The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP): Launching a Nationwide Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Effort

    Published: October 25, 2013

    Congress created the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) in 2010 to help reduce teen pregnancies and their negative consequences.  State PREP programs are expected to be evidence-based, provide education on both abstinence and contraceptive use, and educate youth on at least three of six adulthood preparation topics. States are also encouraged to target their programming to high-risk populations, such as youth residing in geographic areas with high teen birth rates...

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