Announcement of Anticipated Availability of Funds for Support for Expectant and Parenting Teens, Women, Fathers, and Their Families | AH SP1 18 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for AH SP1 18 001

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), through its Office of Adolescent Health (OAH), announced anticipated funding under the Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) program to help States and federally recognized tribes strengthen supports for people who are pregnant or parenting and are still in school or otherwise in need of coordinated services. The core purpose of this discretionary grant is to improve educational, health, and social outcomes for expectant and parenting teens, women, fathers, and their families by helping jurisdictions build or expand practical, “life-affirming” service systems that reduce barriers to staying in school, accessing care, and maintaining stability during pregnancy and early parenting.

The opportunity is designed to fund the establishment, maintenance, or operation of services in settings where expectant and parenting individuals are likely to need accessible help: high schools, community service centers, and Institutions of Higher Education. In practice, this can include coordinated supports that help participants remain enrolled, progress toward graduation or completion, and connect with health and social services. The announcement also emphasizes that “expectant” is defined broadly for this program and includes both women and men who are expecting a child. Likewise, “teens” includes young men and young women of high-school age, and “students” includes women and men enrolled in higher education. While the agency explicitly welcomes projects that meaningfully address the needs of young fathers, applications may not be limited to serving only expectant and parenting young fathers; proposed programs must serve the wider population of expectant and parenting teens, women, fathers, and their families.

A notable feature of the PAF program is that it allows States and tribes to direct some funding to improve supports for pregnant women experiencing interpersonal violence. Specifically, a State or tribe may provide funds to its Attorney General to improve services for pregnant women who are victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This recognizes that safety concerns can directly affect health, housing, school attendance, and a family’s overall well-being, and it gives jurisdictions a pathway to strengthen victim services and related coordination for pregnant survivors.

The program also permits the use of grant funds for public awareness and education efforts, as long as those activities are tied to promoting and connecting people to available services and resources for expectant and parenting teens, women, fathers, and their families. That can include outreach that helps eligible individuals understand what supports exist and how to access them, and community-facing education that aligns with the intent and purposes of the funding announcement.

Eligibility is limited to governmental applicants at the State/territory and tribal level. Eligible applicants include any State (including the District of Columbia), U.S. commonwealths, possessions, or territories, as well as any federally recognized Indian Tribe, reservation, consortium, council, or similar tribal entity. The application must be submitted and administered by the authorized representative of the State or tribe, and the application package must include a signed letter documenting that representative’s authority to apply for and manage the funds on behalf of the State or tribe. The announcement notes that appropriate lead applicants could be State or tribal agencies such as education, human services, or health agencies, and it encourages cross-agency partnerships early in the planning process so the project can address the population’s needs in a more coordinated, holistic way. Importantly, each State or tribe may submit only one eligible application under this announcement, which effectively requires a single lead agency and a unified statewide or tribal approach.

Key administrative details included in the source data are: Funding Opportunity Number AH SP1 18 001; CFDA 93.500; funding instrument type is a grant; activity category is health; and the awarding agency is the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. The original closing date listed for applications was April 12, 2018, and the maximum award amount (award ceiling) shown is $1,000,000. The announcement also directs readers to additional background on the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, including examples of strategies used by prior grantees, at https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/grant-programs/pregnancy-assistance-fund/index.html.

• The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Announcement of Anticipated Availability of Funds for Support for Expectant and Parenting Teens, Women, Fathers, and Their Families" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.500.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-01-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-04-12. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for AH SP1 18 001

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