Wednesday, March 12, 2025
3/12/2025
Project Abstract Maryland Optimal Adolescent Health Program Maryland Department of Health/Office of Family and Community Health Services The Prevention & Health Promotion Administration Office of Family & Community Health Services is applying for year one of a three-year federal teen pregnancy grant. The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) Teen Pregnancy Prevention (93.297 TPP) (AH-TP1-20-001) is authorized 2020 cooperative agreement awards under the authority of Division A, Title II of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law No. 116-94). Federal funding is authorized through 2023. The purpose of the Maryland Optimal Adolescent Health Program (MOAHP) is to promote equity in reaching optimal health by preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in rural counties of the state by creating an infrastructure to develop and support highly effective health education and parent/caregiver programs. The MOAHP will increase the capacity of health education programs to develop students’ positive attitudes and values towards sexual and reproductive health and increase opportunities to reinforce skills and positive behaviors. Parent/caregiver programs will increase healthy communication between adults and youth. Healthy Teen Network (HTN) will lead this effort by providing instruction and guidance to health educators and administrators to improve program outcomes and promote the sustainability of highly effective health education programming in Maryland. The MOAHP consortium will use the Positive Prevention Plus curriculum, which has seen a statistically-significant delay in the onset of sexual activity and statistically-significant increases in student-parent communication around sexual health issues. HTN will model and enforce behaviors that create an environment in which students feel valued and emphasize individual and group norms that support optimal health-enhancing behaviors as well as demonstrate effective instructional and behavior management strategies that support socio-emotional learning. MDH will create networks of support for health educators and students to effectively engage youth, parents/caregivers, and the community in the MOAHP program. MDH and HTN will partner with the Maryland State Department of Education and community stakeholders to replicate, with fidelity, effective programs and supportive services that are culturally appropriate, age-appropriate, medically-accurate, and trauma-informed. Johns Hopkins University Center for Adolescent Health will evaluate and improve the project. This project will be administratively located within the MDH Office of Family and Community Health Services (OFCHS). The majority of funds will be distributed to grantees (e.g., Healthy Teen Network, Johns Hopkins University Center for Adolescent Health, local health departments, school, and community-based programs) located throughout the state. Grantees will offer sexual education programming to teens 14-19 living in areas of the state with high rates of teen birth and sexually transmitted infections.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).