Frequently Asked Questions: Promoting Adolescent Health through School-Based HIV Prevention (CDC-RFA-PS18-1807)

A1: No. Component 1 funding is intended only for the administration, dissemination, and use of the YRBS and Profiles. Support for any other school-based surveillance activities with these funds is prohibited.

A2: While agencies are encouraged to apply for funding for both YRBS and Profiles, education or health agencies in jurisdictions that are not applying for Component 2 funding are permitted to apply for a reduced amount of funding under Component 1 for a single survey (either YRBS or Profiles). Component 1 funding is intended only for the administration, dissemination, and use of the YRBS and Profiles. Support for any other school-based surveillance activities with these funds is prohibited.

A3: Surveillance activities should be representative of the consortium rather than the individual LEA. That is, for School Health Profiles, samples will be drawn to represent all secondary schools in the consortium, and for the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, samples will be drawn to represent all high school students in the consortium.

A4: Yes. All awardees funded for Component 1 who were not funded for Strategy 1 under PS13-1308 will be required to send the person designated as their Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) coordinator to a training workshop in Rockville, MD on August 28 and 29, 2018. Travel costs for this workshop will be paid through CDC’s technical assistance contractor.

A5: No. Component 1-only recipients are not required to attend the September 24-26, 2018 orientation.

A6: No. Recipients who are only funded to support implementation of Profiles are not required to attend the YRBS training workshop on August 28-29, 2018.

A7: Yes.

A8: Yes. Component 1 funding can be used for any sub-sampling that can inform the jurisdiction’s programmatic efforts. Recipients will work with CDC post-award on budget specifics related to this option.

A9: The percentage of budget allocated for the YRBS and Profiles is up to the funded recipient.

A10: No. Out-of-state travel is not allowed with Component 1 funds.

A11: No. The questions are required for local education agencies (LEA) funded under Component 2 to obtain and maintain funding for Component 2. Those agencies must include those questions on their 2019, 2021, and 2023 YRBS questionnaires.

A12: Yes. If a LEA is funded for Component 2, that district must implement both Profiles and YRBS even if that district’s state is also implementing Profiles and YRBS. CDC will work closely with states and districts when this occurs to ensure that schools are surveyed only once and data are shared appropriately.

A13: No. School Health Profiles (Profiles) must be administered to a representative sample of schools serving students in any of grades 6-12 (e.g., middle schools, high schools, junior/senior high schools) in the recipient’s jurisdiction. For Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), recipients are required to administer the survey to a representative sample of high school students in the jurisdiction, but also have the option of administering the YRBS to a representative sample of middle school students.

A14: No.

A15: Yes. Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Health Profiles (Profiles) questionnaires will be scanned by the CDC contractor. Assuming the recipient obtains the required response rate and provides the required documentation as described in the Handbook for Conducting Youth Risk Behavior Surveys and the Handbook for Conducting School Health Profiles, then the data will be weighted by the contractor and a report of the results will be compiled and provided to the recipient.

A16: No. All recipients are required to use two thirds of the questions on the standard YRBS questionnaire that will be available by August. More information about this can be found in the Handbook for Conducting Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. In addition to the standard questions, local education agencies (LEA) funded under Component 2 must also include the questions included on page 11 of the NOFO.

A17: Yes. Recipients are permitted to add questions to their YRBS questionnaire, but they must adhere to specific parameters as described in the Handbook for Conducting Youth Risk Behavior Surveys.

A18: All recipients of Component 1 funding are required to use two thirds of the questions on the standard YRBS questionnaire, which will be available by August. More information about this can be found in the Handbook for Conducting Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. In addition to the standard questions, local education agencies (LEA) funded under Component 2 must also include the questions noted on page 11 of the NOFO.

A19: Beginning with the 2019 YRBS cycle, CDC will allow state education agencies (SEA) and local education agencies (LEA) that have previously conducted a YRBS the option of doing their survey online. As with School Health Profiles (Profiles), online administration of an SEA/LEA’s YRBS will require CDC and Westat approval prior to survey administration. Recipients will be required to meet certain technical specifications according to a strict timeline before that approval is given.

A1: School curricula, policies, and services are generally locally determined under the organization of LEA. For this reason, CDC will implement the bulk of its primary HIV/STD prevention programming for school-age youth through LEA. SEA play an important role in creating support environments for LEA to implement the goals of CDC funding. Rather than fund a small portion of SEA directly, this funding announcement will make support available to all 50 SEA indirectly through the training and capacity building award of Component 3E “Addressing Policy and Practice in States.” Through Component E, all 50 SEA will have the opportunity to send a state team for in-person training and receive ongoing technical assistance.

A2: There are no requirements to use evidence-based interventions (EBI). However, they may be used to supplement an already existing Health/Sexual Health Education program.

A3: Yes. Page 12 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) states the following:

“For the purposes of this NOFO, each recipient must select a minimum of 10 priority schools (high schools, or a combination of middle and high schools) in which to implement all required activities before diffusing those activities to as many middle and high schools in the district as possible.”

Also on page 12 the NOFO further states the following:

“The total number of students reached through priority schools must be at least 10,000.”
CDC will work with funded LEA to finalize priority school selection post-award.

A4: Yes. “District Level” on the chart equates to “Consortium Level” for consortium applications.

A5: Yes. Page 12 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) states the following:

A6: No. The total number of students reached through priority schools must be at least 10,000 non-duplicated students.

A7: The total number of students reached through priority schools must be at least 10,000 per year.

A8: Yes. For the purposes of this NOFO, each recipient must select a minimum of 10 priority schools (high schools, or a combination of middle and high schools) in which to implement all required activities before diffusing those activities to as many middle and high schools in the district as possible. Epidemiologic and social determinants data should be used to select priority schools in which youth are at high risk for HIV and other STDs. Applicants may choose to include alternative schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and other non-traditional schools in their priority school selections. CDC will work with funded local education agencies (LEA) to finalize priority school selection post-award.

A9: Yes.

A10: Yes. For the purposes of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), each recipient must select a minimum of 10 priority schools (high schools, or a combination of middle and high schools) in which to implement all required activities before diffusing those activities to as many middle and high schools in the district as possible.

A11: Yes, if the total number of students reached through priority schools will be at least 10,000. Local education agencies (LEA) with an enrollment of less than 10,000 students may combine with other geographically contiguous districts to create a consortium application. In doing so, the consortium must designate a single LEA to submit the application and, if funded, administer the program.

A12: No. The required MOU/A is between the LEA and corresponding public health agency. See pages 23 and 44 of the NOFO for more detail.

A13: Activities in priority schools are the required activities that are initially implemented within a subset of schools in a district before expanding to as many middle and high schools in the district as possible. For the purposes of this NOFO, each recipient must select a minimum of 10 priority schools (high schools, or a combination of middle and high schools) in which to implement all required activities before diffusing those activities to as many middle and high schools in the district as possible. Epidemiologic and social determinants data should be used to select priority schools in which youth are at high risk for HIV infection and other STD. Applicants may choose to include alternative schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and other non-traditional schools in their priority school selections. CDC will work with funded LEA to finalize priority school selection post-award. The total number of students reached through priority schools must be at least 10,000. If an LEA does not have a student population of 10,000 students, more than one LEA can collaborate to submit a joint application. An example of an activity in priority schools is to provide professional development to teachers on classroom management. Refer to pages 12 and 24 of the NOFO for similar information.

A14: For evaluation purposes, priority schools should remain as consistent as possible throughout the 5 year time frame.

For the purposes of this NOFO, each recipient must select a minimum of 10 priority schools (high schools, or a combination of middle and high schools) in which to implement all required activities before diffusing those activities to as many middle and high schools in the district as possible. Epidemiologic and social determinants data should be used to select priority schools in which youth are at high risk for HIV infection and other STD. Applicants may choose to include alternative schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and other non-traditional schools in their priority school selections. CDC will work with funded LEA to finalize priority school selection post-award.

A15: Yes.

A16: Yes. The priority schools chosen at the beginning are the only priority schools for the remainder of the cooperative agreement. CDC will work with funded local education agencies (LEA) to revise or update their list of proposed priority schools post-award.

A17: No. For evaluation purposes, priority schools should remain as consistent as possible throughout the 5-year time frame.

For the purposes of scoring the application during the competitive process, only the population proposed to be reached in year 1 will be considered.

A18: Your agency will provide evaluation data on your priority schools on a semi-annual basis and Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Health Profiles (Profiles) data will be collected for all secondary schools in the district.

A19: Required activities in all secondary schools are ready for diffusion to all middle and high schools in the district after they have been refined and successfully implemented in priority schools. Diffusion may happen over time reaching as many middle and high schools in the district as possible over the 5-year award period. The decision to implement activities in additional schools will be done in consultation with CDC and will be based on readiness and potential for impact.

A20: Each year of the cooperative agreement, recipients will receive an established amount of funds for the year. In the earlier years of the cooperative agreement, these funds will primarily be used to work with the identified priority schools in the district. In later years, recipients are expected to take Strategies to scale to additional schools in the district using the funds allocated in the cooperative agreement. These expansion efforts will occur after recipient discussions with the assigned DASH program consultant.

A21: Funded LEA are expected to identify a list of instructional competencies, or skills, to be demonstrated by individuals teaching sexual health education. “Instructional competency” is defined on page 87 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Recipients should reference appropriate evidenced-based and practice-informed approaches to effective instructional delivery in sexual health education. CDC will work with funded LEA to revise or update their list of instructional competencies post-award.

A22: Yes. Funded LEA are expected to systematically evaluate the selected sexual health education program or curriculum. CDC recommends using the CDC/DASH Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) to determine appropriateness of SHE program for intended adolescent populations.

A23: Yes. DASH will encourage recipients to review their existing sexual health education curriculum with the CDC/DASH Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) to assess coverage of the recommended content at each grade span. The LEA may also choose to use other national documents, such as the National Health Education Standards and the National Sexuality Education Standards, to assess the content in their current sexual health education curriculum.

A24: CDC cannot identify specific curricula/programs that are to be used by funded partners. This is a local decision. However, we recommend that a team of community members and district personnel utilize the HECAT to assess health education and sexual health education curricula/programs that would best meet the needs of the community and school district in alignment with the Strategy 2A Required Activities (pages 13-14).

A25: Yes. DASH encourages school districts to nest their SHE curriculum within a broader health education curriculum. DASH funding will focus on the SHE component of the broader skills-based health education curriculum.

A26: Yes.

A27: Yes, provided that the education agency is engaged and the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) work is connected to the activities outlined in the application to DASH.

A28: Yes. This is a common practice across the country. Committees/Councils often serve multiple roles.

A29: The expectations for integrating and engaging parents are different from those in past funding announcements. The types of initiatives the applicant agency implements need to be determined by the agency. A definition of parent engagement in schools is included on page 88 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) along with additional information provided on CDC’s Promoting Parent Engagement in Schools to Prevent HIV and other STDs among Teenspdf icon resource.

A30: No. The Sexual Health Education (SHE) scope and sequence document should be updated to reflect instructional priorities under Strategy 2A – SHE activities. CDC will work with funded LEA to revise or update their SHE scope and sequence document post-award.

A31: Applicants for Component 2 are expected to address all three strategies of Component 2. Refer to pages 12-15 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a description of the required activities for Component 2. Page 12 states:

“The Component 2 required activities are listed by strategy: Strategy 2A – Sexual Health Education (SHE); Strategy 2B – Sexual Health Services (SHS); and Strategy 2C – Safe and Supportive Environments (SSE). Collectively, these required activities are intended to strengthen staff capacity, increase student access to programs and services, and engage parent and community partners.

These three strategies were selected based on evidence of effectiveness and evidence that they address known risk or protective factors. The Sexual Health Education (SHE) strategy is intended to help adolescents acquire the essential knowledge and critical skills needed to prevent HIV, STD, and teen pregnancy. The Sexual Health Services (SHS) strategy is intended to increase adolescents’ access to key sexual health services including HIV and other STD testing. The Safe and Supportive Environments (SSE) strategy is intended to increase adolescents’ connectedness to their school and increase parental monitoring and communication.”

A32: Page 12 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) states the following:

“For the purposes of this NOFO, each recipient must select a minimum of 10 priority schools (high schools, or a combination of middle and high schools) in which to implement all required activities before diffusing those activities to as many middle and high schools in the district as possible. Epidemiologic and social determinants data should be used to select priority schools in which youth are at high risk for HIV infection and other STD. Applicants may choose to include alternative schools, charter schools, magnet schools, and other non-traditional schools in their priority school selections. CDC will work with funded LEA to finalize priority school selection post-award. The total number of students reached through priority schools must be at least 10,000.”

The NOFO does not mention a comparison group.

A33: Yes. Page 54 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) states the following:

“CDC requires applicants for Components 2 and 3 to allocate at least one full-time employee (FTE) to be included in the applicant’s itemized budget and corresponding budget narrative. This 1.0 FTE position could be split among up to three staff, by effort, or among the three strategy areas for Component 2.”

A1: The purpose of 18-1807 is to “improve the health and well-being of our nation’s youth by working with education and health agencies, and other organizations to reduce HIV, STD, teen pregnancy, and related risk behaviors among middle and high school students.” Substance use is one such related risk behavior. All successful applications will be categorized as “Approved But Unfunded.” CDC’s current guidelines allow for such applications to remain active for up to two years. If funding does become available during that time frame, CDC will award Component 3D as outlined in the PS18-1807 NOFO.

A2: To fulfill the inventory requirement, Component 3 recipients will gather program information annually from Component 2 LEA recipients.

A3: Recipients funded for Component 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are expected to have a SME available to the Component 2 LEA funded recipients. The decision of how to provide a SME is to be made by the prospective applicants.
Page 15 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) states:

“Components 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D recipients are expected to work with all Component 2 LEA recipients. However, this support will vary across LEA based on those recipients’ current capacity and need. Component 3 applicants should include a tiered plan to build the capacity of up to 35 LEA funded for Component 2 that includes technical assistance, specialized capacity building, and intensive program implementation support. CDC will work with these Component 3 recipients post-award to determine the degree to which the Component 3 recipients will work with each of the Component 2 recipients, in conjunction with the tiered approach.”

A4: Yes. 6% is the minimum to set aside for evaluation.

A5: Yes.

A6: The recipient of Component 3E funding will convene multiple in-person trainings for 50 state-level teams culminating in action plans that address identified gaps between model policy development and program implementation for the state-level teams in attendance.

A7:

Technical Assistance: Targeted support provided to an individual or group of individuals with the intent to increase knowledge and skills to strengthen an organization’s capacity to achieve PS18-1807 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) goals. Support may be provided through professional development events, technical assistance, the provision of guidance and resource materials, or referrals to other agencies or organizations.

Capacity Building: The process of improving an organization’s ability to achieve its mission. It includes increasing skills and knowledge; increasing the ability to plan and implement programs, practices, and policies; increasing the quality, quantity, or cost-effectiveness of programs, practices, and policies; and increasing the sustainability of infrastructure or systems that support programs, practices, and policies.

Intensive program implementation support is not defined in the NOFO. The applicant should propose in their application how they plan to implement intensive program implementation support.

A1: A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a plan to preserve data collected (such as surveillance or evaluation data) and make it available for public use. 1807 recipients will receive guidance on creating a DMP for all data collection activities so that they can submit a DMP 6 months after award. For more information about CDC’s policy on the DMP, see https://www.cdc.gov/grants/additionalrequirements/ar-25.html.

A2: The Data Management Plan (DMP) is a federal requirement to plan to preserve and share with the public all data collected, including surveillance and evaluation data. The Evaluation Plan refers only to program and performance measurement and includes what data will be collected, how it will be collected, who will collect it, and on what schedule. It does not apply to surveillance data. The DMP and Evaluation Plan are separate documents, and both will be required six months after the start of NOFO PS18-1807.

A3: Page 54 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) addresses the travel requirements of the initial application:

“Components 2 and 3 applicants should also budget for CDC-required and other approved professional development events that require in-person attendance.

In addition, all recipients are required to attend a grantee orientation September 24-26, 2018, at the CDC main campus in Atlanta. This travel should be reflected in the itemized budget and corresponding budget narrative.”

Information about budget is repeated on page 70:

“Components 2 and 3 applicants should also budget for CDC-required and other approved professional development events that require in-person attendance.

In addition, all recipients are required to attend a grantee orientation September 24-26, 2018, at the CDC main campus in Atlanta. This travel should be reflected in the itemized budget and corresponding budget narrative. See “Budget Narrative” on pages 53-54 for further information on budgets.”

A4: Regarding Component 1, CDC does not require IRB review for state, territorial, tribal, or district surveillance. All recipients, however, must follow any requirements that their jurisdiction has for IRB review.

Regarding Component 2 and 3, to date DASH is not aware of required evaluation activities needing IRB approval. Program evaluation has typically been exempted because it is not considered to be research.

A5: Yes. We expect short and intermediate outcomes will be achieved by the end of the 5-year grant period. Short-term outcomes are likely to be achieved earlier in the 5-year period than intermediate-term outcomes.

A6: Under PS18-1807, DASH continues to support education agencies to implement sexual health education, sexual health services and safe and supportive environments. We continue to see the value of identifying priority schools for piloting new approaches and establishing best practices. However, unlike PS13-1308, we also expect that over the course of the 5-year period those activities will be disseminated and implemented district-wide across the funded local education agencies (LEA). In an effort to support all 50 state education agencies, we will fund a partner with national reach to deliver intensive training and technical assistance to state education agencies (SEA).

A7: All recipients are required to attend a recipient orientation September 24-26, 2018, at the CDC main campus in Atlanta, Georgia. This travel should be reflected in the itemized budget and corresponding budget narrative. Aside from the recipient orientation, the number of conferences/professional development events are not yet determined. If your organization is funded, you will have some budget flexibility post award to attend these events.